Understanding bream fishers

[bigtez]

For me it comes down to time and $s. I don't have much of either spare, so I hit the local creeks for bread and butter species. Bream are one of the most challenging of these on lures so they are a regular target.
I have a fairly good network of fishos that keep some fillets in the freezer most of the time so I don't need to keep anything. Reef fish are much better on the chew then bream imo.

[Blaster Bretty]

I havnt caught a bream for a while now (3-4 months) and I can probably say I wont target them anymore, I am a catch to eat bloke and I found bream at 30 cm are still too much hassle to strip down for a feed and then I also find them very bland as well. Nowadays I like to target the tailor in winter and bulllies in summer as I find these fish are much better on the chew, jacks are much better but are less common , to me anyway, but I do have a few mate's that love to fish like crazy but are dead set against eating fish or any seafood for that matter, they just love to fish.
I also find flathead very plain too but rest assured the same fish taste's different to every one

Bretty

[topcatch]

for fun, to improve/test your techniques and catch and release - to make fishing possible in the future (It takes 15 years for a bream to get to 23 cm's). Theres no chance you will pay off your boat with fish, let alone petrol and tackle. Fair enough you may take a couple of bream for a feed, but i dont think theres any need to take anymore then necessary, i guess it just depends on how plentiful the fish is in that area.

I hope this answered your question, not sure if it did

Mud

I am one of the fish for fun, my partner cant understand it, she is a keeper. One thing that fascinates me Mud....where do you live that it takes 15 years to reach 23cm?

The yellowfin bream has a long history of stability of both the length ... Yellowfin bream grow slowly, taking. about 5 years to reach 23 cm fork length . according to NSW DPI.

[BR65]

I am one of the fish for fun, my partner cant understand it, she is a keeper. One thing that fascinates me Mud....where do you live that it takes 15 years to reach 23cm?

The yellowfin bream has a long history of stability of both the length ... Yellowfin bream grow slowly, taking. about 5 years to reach 23 cm fork length . according to NSW DPI.

Thanks tailortaker - i got my stat from a dvd, where starlo stated that it took 15 years for a bream to get to 23cm's.

Some fish for the challange Spears, not the meat.
Each to their own though.
I suspect a trip to a barra dam would really have you questioning why some fish to release, lot of money tied up in boat and gear, lot of hours on the water, lot of satisfaction to be had by fooling, fighting and releasing a big fish!

cheers
brian

[2manylures]

Spearsy, I’ll try my best to answer your question.

The species we chase is irrelevant, after all, it’s all fishing.

I love the thrill of feeling a fish trying to get off the hook and away to freedom, in other words the “fight”

It’s also a challenge for me to be able to go out on any given day and catch my targeted species. I bust my balls to get my first fish and once caught I can then totally relax knowing I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.

I release all the fish I catch because I don’t eat them and can’t see why I should kill them for the sake of it. I just love catching them.

The reasons I fish & not in any particular order are:
1.Sport=Challenge
2.Thrill-personal satisfaction/gratification
3.Relaxation-Piece & quite away from crowds +++. We all need to relax, some more than others.
4.Scenery-You don’t see beautiful wild country, wildlife and get to observe mother nature at her best while sitting at home playing chess.
5.Bonding-Family & friends seem to come together when you are fishing together.

1 & 2 could best be described as “my passion”
3, 4, 5 could best be described as “living life”

My preferred species to target is Trout but as I live so far from them these days I target native species.
To fish for trout I must travel 1100-1200 kms round trip.
To fish for natives I must travel 150-160kms round trip...There is no in between for me unfortunately.

Most bream anglers more than likely started to target them due to proximity. Just up the road or around the corner, I’m only guessing on this.

Bream are a schooling fish and are relatively easy to catch {contrary to what some say} like most schooling species. Bream fight reasonably well on light tackle so it’s easy {for me at least} to understand why anglers get hooked on them. {pardon the pun}.

So with bream we have:
1.Close proximity.
2.Numbers
3.Fighting ability.

The five reasons I mentioned above outlining why I fish could more than likely be associated with all anglers. Not bad reasons to take up the sport.

There are only three reasons sensible anglers kill fish. They are:
1.To eat
2.For bait
3.Noxious pests & illegal to return to the water.

The reason sensible anglers release fish would be:
1.Educating children {dad, grandpa, uncles taking the kids fishing, teaching sustainability for the future}
2.They don’t eat fish.
3.Sustainability {different from #1}
4.Some cannot kill any creature
5.They’re greenies. {It’s ok to be green without being a greeny}

Unless we are professional sports people then our chosen sport will cost us money. We will get very little return back for our investment. All sports people have to travel to participate.

It’s just unfortunate that fishing can be the most expensive of all.

For those who enjoy a nice feed of good healthy fish good luck to them. As long as it’s within the boundaries of the law they should be allowed to take & not be ridiculed by the righteous few.

On the other hand those who prefer to spend a lazy time catching & releasing fish should be granted the very same courtesy.

I hope that explains my personal view which can be read into answering your question.

[spears]

Good explanation lures.

[stevej]

also a lot of sydney waterways youd be a idiot to eat the fish

makes your testicles shrivel up

i fish to get away from work life pressures and most of the time just to zoom around in the boat.

going out to justify a purchase is kinda silly, you use it to have fun and do what you want with that time no matter what it may be

[breamnut]

why does it matter what people enjoy doing? keeping fish fora feed or releasing them just do what you enjoy doing, as most know i enjoy cnr in the rivers.
but nagg pritty much nailed it

[Chamelion]

My descision for releasing rather than keeping is one to do with sustainability. The ammount of decent fish in the Maroochy river has deteriorated significantly in the last 20 years.. What sort of bloody idiot would I be to reduce the fish stocks further? After all, it's the thrill of the hunt and the fight that follows which interests me!

There is a local creek that you generally can't fish, plenty of structure.. It's gone mostly unfished for the last 15 years and the quality of fish that hang around there is unlike anywhere else around the area that I've seen. I caught 5 trevally there (all small, but there were some bigger ones further out chasing down schools of smaller fish) in half an hours casting the other day.
Later that night I returned with a mate and a cast net, mullet were boiling up the water significantly. Casting 6ft off the bank netting a dozen 5-8" per cast.
There were so many that on my first cast with a surface lure (PX45) I jagged one through the side during my walk the dog retrieve.

What is it they say? Don't shit where you eat?... It can apply.

ps: obviously the trevs were returned, 28 mullet were kept for future use as bait.

[Jeremy87]

Wether you realise it or not spears you go fishing for the same reason bream fishers do. . . because you enjoy it. If you were truely after a feed of fish for the lowest price you would just buy it from the shop.

As far as fish go to me bream do not rank highly in terms of eating or fighting. I would much rather catch snapper, sweetlip, spotties etc for food and much rather chase bass, jacks, barra, sooties etc for the fight. And yet through a combination of factors i probably end up spending as much time chasing bream as anything else. Probably cost, and accessability.

I can call up a mate to see what he's doing for the afternoon and half an hour later have loaded and launched the canoe in the local creek and expect to catch anywhere between 5 and 50 fish for a few hours effort. It's inexpesive, we probably go through a couple of jig heads and a packet of plastics each so about $10, and it keeps our skills sharp between serious fishing trips. As a bonus you might even catch a big lizard or a rogue bass.

So yeh as far as sport fishing goes there are bigger and better fish and as far as table fish go there are better eating fish. I would never drive 3 hours to go chase bream like i do for bass or barra. But they are still a worthy adversary for the beginner or a casual spare of the moment flick.

[Dirtysanchez]

For me it is a simple approach to simple fishing, I don't have a lot of time for specialised fishing, but my dad tought me basic beach fishing when he was alive, and when I holiday near the coast with the family I usually get a few hours when the tide is low, so I get some beach worms from the sand banks, then when it is high tide I go fishing..

For some reason I don't catch many fish, but generally I can consistently catch a decent Bream from the surf, usually well over 35cm, usually fat, and usually enough for my wife and I to have a small meal of, earning me some points and praise, which is a bonus adjunct to the relaxation and fun I got from wetting a line