pete1000 0 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Hi everyone,I'm looking for some tips on getting some bream gear. I've got a rod (6'6" Silstar powertip) and reel (DAM Quick 330) I can use, but in terms of line and rigs I'm at a bit of a loss.At the moment, I'm spooled up with 12lb mono...I'm planning to try out some sp's and some blades in the river.What sort of line (braid, fluoro, mono) would you recommend and what strength? With a lure, do I still need a leader or can I tie it directly to the main line?Cheers,Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kelvin 2,206 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 With lures, I strongly recommend upgrading to a graphite rod and light braid.With a powertip and mono, You loose a lot of sensitivity as well as casting distance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger 48 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Kelvin is correct.If you are looking to toss light lures/soft plastics, you will need a graphite rod around 7' and a sized 1000-2500 reel. A wide spool can be beneficial for casting, and braided line will be far superior to monofilament.I have a large range of Bream outfits of my own (from budget priced through to top end) you are welcome to have a look at, and I would be happy to offer any advice I can give, prior to you considering purchasing your own.A great starting point for you is the Berkeley Soft Plastics DVD - Adam Royter (available at all good tacklestores).this DVD explains rods, reels, lines, leaders, knots, jigheads, leaders, techniques and much more, in an easily understood format.If I can be any assistance to you, feel free to make contact, and I'll do what I can to get you started on the right foot.Be warned though, this style of fishing can be addictive! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Top info from the Ranger as ever :fishing:Just got to get a plug in here for the Shimano "Raider" series by Ian Miller of Bream tournament fame :fishing:My Raider is the 7 ft 6inch, 2 piece "Finesse Bream" model and although it is classed as a budget priced graphite, I was so impressed with it that I went and bought another one as a spare when it eventually comes to grief for one reason or another ::)AND another "Millenium" special edition just to be certain :PMy fishin' buddy Scorpion is on his third Raider, but I am led to believe his "bride" is very understanding indeed on these ticklish matters :icon_lol:I use 8lb braid with a metre long "Vanish" flurocarbon leader also in 8 lb and any snap offs always happen at the hook eye :fishing:An added advantage is that with care, hooks can be pulled out of snags and even small branches can be moved underwater :fishing:A good joining knot for braid to fluro carbon is the improved/modified "Surgeons knot" which is described along with Albrights, etc elsewhere on this forum :fishing:Although Ranger correctly stated that this form of fishing is deadly addictive, he omitted to say that you also need a hefty wallet to keep up with all the "Killer" lures that abound in the tackle stores ::)I'm going through the "blade" stage just now and these are, in some cases twice the cost of a pack of SP's : : ::)A warm welcome to S&H mate and I just know you'll enjoy your "journey"Cheers, tonyb. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
projoe 261 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 g'day pete.another rod that has seviced my needs exceptionly is a Tica Crisp-x 66UL at 6'6" it packs quite a whollop when casting if that one a bit light or short the crisp-x 70XL(crisp-x have really thin solid graphite tips They are real sensertive to fish bites) 3-5 kilo is another great rod & i also see the duffman tournament series are still availaible at 6'10" & 7'6" these are excellent rods as well. A nice reel to match these rods is the tica spinfocus GT1000(6 ball bearing) Go to braid (fireline 6lb)(& like tony I like vanish flourocarbon for leader material) you'll cast further & bite sensertivity absolutey kills mono. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve-Bream-Fishing 4 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 G'day Pete,Ranger and Tony have given some excellent info as you get into it more you will learn more about it Why don't you pop down to the SABT Bream Classic weigh in at 2pm on Sunday the 5th of April at the Angus Inlet Boat Club at Garden Island, Ranger and I, Team Strikehook, will be happy to have a chat after the weigh in and the boat washing so from about 3pm I'm sure we'd have a few minutes free . Although Ranger correctly stated that this form of fishing is deadly addictiveAddictive its more like an obsession for some :icon_lol: *cough* cough* :icon_lol:that you also need a hefty wallet to keep up with all the "Killer" lures that abound in the tackle storesOh yeah ;DGood luck pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Both of these guys are too modest to post that they are top class competition Bream Anglers and every word is pure gold from thier own experiences and fishing with others in thier class Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pete1000 0 Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Hi guys - thanks alot for all the great help! I feel a bit out of my depth here!I am very new to the sport (most of my experience comes from bait fishing at the beaches down victor way) so I'm slowly coming to grips with everything. Having said that, I've never had a chance to fish with braid, and not only that, but I've never fished for bream with lures. Also never used SPs....i'm a real novice!I'll do my best to make it down to the bream classic on April 5 - would be great to meet you guys in person to talk fish! I'm heading over to KI (middle river - hence my post!) around easter so I'm not sure if these dates clash, and I can't remember off the top of my head when I'm actually going!I've heard about those raider rods before, and from what I understand they are about $100 in the stores? I think my best option is to save up some coin and get myself a graphite rod and new reel to get started. After your advice, it's pretty clear that I'd be more or less wasting my time with my current gear. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
carps 1 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 pete 1000 i to had never even considered bream fishing before entering this site but after venturing down to one of the bream weigh in days and meeting ranger (even if only briefly) i was keen to give it a crack.. upon talking more to ranger i was invited out for a days coaching clinic il call it,ranger explained it all to me in lamens terms tought me to tie on leaders and casting technics,,and even managed to land me a couple of fish..oh did i mention that i am now hooked and have now purchased a new boat in the aim of chasing these little critters as well as others oh yea and cant walk into a tackle store without purchasing lures.. good luck and happy fishing buddy ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonyb 1,017 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Come down Sunday morning to the SAFWAA club outing and meet us and some of the S&H blokes 8) have a bit of a fish/BBQ :fishing:I'm sure the guys will all be only too pleased to help, as all of us will be using our favourite Bream Rods and lures :fishing:Cheers, tonyb. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pete1000 0 Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Hi guys,Unfortunately with other commitments I haven't been able to make it down to meet you :'(But - I fished in the port with my mate on the weekend (dunno where to be honest) and managed to pull a couple of dozen bream ranging from 5cm up to about 15cm...They were biting on pieces of whitebait which we picked up for the STs in the St Kilda channel, which we never ended up fishing. Bigger baits were just getting picked apart.Anyway, I'm convinced to take the plunge and gear up for the bream. I subscribed to SA Angler, and picked up a Daiwa Crossfire 2500 in the process, which I believe should be a good reel to get started with the SPs and lures.I'm going to check out the raider rods tomorrow and probably pick up one of them. The ones I saw today were around 7' and rated for lures 3-12g. Does this sound about right?My only concern is what to pick up in terms of braid, fluoro and lures. I'm not sure of which brands people recommend, and which ones I should steer clear of. I'm going to KI for 5 days over Easter (fishing river and beach - can't wait!) and I was planning to pick up some SPs, a blade lure and maybe a HB of some type.You guys have been a great help already, but any more advice on braid/fluoro brands and lure types (including SPs and jigheads) to look for would be much appreciated! :icon_e_smile:Cheers again,PeteEDIT: I should also mention that I'd like to target mullies on occasion with the same setup - is this possible, or am I dreaming? ??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Leethal 1 Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Pete, as per braid brands etc, usually you want something with a low diameter to high braking strain ratio. The more you pay the better this gets. All though saying this all braids are different. A braid I use regularly is Nitlon PE which is about $38 a spool which you can get from salisbury dive and tackle world (who also sponsor the site) or you could go for some fireline which you can pcik up from your local big w. For leader material nitlon is another good brand which is also available at salisbury dive and tackle world, but berkley vanish will do the job which you can also get from big w. And while your in there grab yourself a pack of gulp 6 inch worms or even 2inch shirmp. Color is not a big factor with these. And dont forget some jig heads to suit, nitro jig heads are one of the best out there in my opinion. As for the blades there are heaps of different brands available, one of the more popular and more productive on bream would be the ecogear VX35, natural colours will work, most of them will, that is what they are made for. As for a HB try a ecogear SX40 these are on speical at salisbury tackleworld (if they have any left) for $14 and this is a bargain with the current price inflations. And these are tried and tested bream catches.As for chasing mullys with this gear little schoolies shouldnt be too much of a problem Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Keen 0 Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 hey there Pete,I too am a novice to the sport of light gear bream fishing and also came from a surf fishing background.i am completely addicted. i fish at least twice a week in the onkaparinga river and have been doing quite well(scored a pb of 38.5cm two weeks ago).september last year i purchased a couple of hardbodies on a whim, got a few medium bream, was happy, about two weeks later i did battle with a 60cm mully and have been unable to concentrate without a rod in my hand ever since. this was with a $30 jarvis walker combo, 6lb mono, not even a leader, so please i am/was the ultimate novice :Di am still using the jw rod, have a $50 shimano reel, tho i now use braid and a leader and am blown away by the soft plastics ability to get good catches. i have really cranked it up since about december and have many many good fish to my name from the onk(a dozen mullies in the 60 - 70cm range and countless bream in the 'horse' range). all on what many would class as budget/inferior gear.i think the moral of this post is that if your heart and mind are in the right place and you put in the hours and effort you shall be rewarded (positive that Ranger can say it better). sometimes good gear or not, apparently it is not what you have got it is the way you use it lodue to financial restrictions i will have to wait til tax time before i can upgrade my gear then free from ambarassment i can hold up my hand to the likes of ranger, lazylure and tonyb and say i am here to learn anything you are willing to teach me. i am hoping to get very involved with the scenei have set myself a goal to be a competent competition fisho within 10 years, like it to be quicker but i am a realist, very patient and very very keenon another note, i am taking the light gear for a spin down waitpinga(my old home ground) this weekend to apply some of what i have learned in the last few months on the awesomeness that is sambo fishing, should be quite a thrill.if ya ever wanna fish the onk and want a partner, me and my bro are there every weekend, feel free to pm me and we can go for a flickalways Keen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
carps 1 Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 have a karma keen well said Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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