Soft plastics for bream

Since their sudden rise in popularity in Australia over 20 years, soft plastics have been a staple for bream. Bream fans from tournament buffs to casual anglers trying their hand at luring regularly turn to these versatile little devices, particularly when other methods fail. Plastics have become such a useful weapon because they can be used to imitate virtually any food source for a hungry bream. Anything from small insects on the surface, a fleeing prawn, a small baitfish, down to a crabs defending itself on the bottom can be replicated with plastics, and there is a model out there to suit just about any situation you may find yourself in.

One of the big positives with plastics is that because they are rigged to sink, you’ll be able to work lures to bream at any depth. In this way you’ll be able to deliver food right to their door, and often this is the encouragement they need to strike!

To get the most out of plastics though, particularly for bream, you’ll need to have a think about a few things. Identifying the bream’s main forage is the first big clue when choosing a plastic, and if this isn’t immediately obvious, you can do this by having a few set-ups rigged and ready. If you don’t have extra gear though, there are several plastics that I would call ‘all-rounders’, and always deadly if tossed in front of a bream.

A couple of fantastic general plastics are the Ecogear Aqua Bream Prawn Soft Plastic,  Berkley Powerbait Nemesis Soft Plastic and ZMan 2.5in ST-GrubZ. These plastics will usually draw the interest of any bream nearby, and given the different rigging options (regular jig head, hidden weight, weedless) they can be used in virtually any environment.

If wanting to imitate something more specific, such as a yabby, crab or worm, you could try the ZMan TRD Crawz Soft Plastic 2.5inch, Bait Breath Rocking Crab or the Berkley Saltwater Gulp! Sandworm Soft Plastics respectively.

As with bream anywhere, make sure you fish with as light a spin gear as you can get away with. Fluorocarbon mainlines and long, light rods are the tools of the trade in this game, and it makes sense to give yourself any edge you can.

If you want to target bream more seriously, you simply can’t leave home without some plastics in your box!