Pudding-best bait for big bream

[reelcrazy]

Here's a recipe for making killer big bream pudding, great for estuaries.

Using this I've fished for bream from Sydney and Middle harbours, Hawkesbury, and the back of South Straddie.

Used in combo with the berley mix below you'll get the grandaddy bream if they are there. Fish light, little or no weight.

Roll the pudding into a long thin strip and plait onto hook.

The secret is in the emulsified oysters, #1 feed for estuary bream.

Jar or container of fresh oysters
Plain Flour
Can of sardines in ligh oil, (no tomato sauce)
Bran (cheap packs from supermarket)
Tuna Oil.

Eat half the oysters, throw the rest and their container water in a blender along with the sardines and their oil and emulsify.

Take 2 cups of flour
Half a cup of bran
About a couple of tablespoons of tuna oil.

Mix these all together, I usually rub it so it starts to look like pellets, if ever you've made damper you'll know what I'm talking about.

Start slowly adding the emulsified oyster/sardine mix and work into a pliable dough, add water or more flour if it is either too dry or too sticky.

It should be the consistency of putty.

Pinch a piece, and roll out into a long thread like thick string, if it breaks its too dry.

I usually divide the mix up and put into plastic containers about a handful in each, you can stick in the freezer for when needed.

For the burley.

Couple of packets of bran (cheap no frills packs)
Tuna oil
Dry fine beach sand.
Pack of small paper sandwich bags.


Rub the tuna oil into the bran, you can also add some minced sardines in their oil, not too chunky.

Make a ball about tice the size of a golf ball and put it inside the bag along with half a handful of dry beach sand. Tie off with string or cotton.

Either drop the burley bags over the side of the boat, or you can toss them out into the tide, fish down stream from the tide.

These burley bags can be used for bottom bouncing too. The bag drops to the bottom, gets soggy and breaks. The ball of oil soaked bran breaks apart leaving an oil slick.

Works like gang busters for me.

[Islander44]

Hi Folks

Re bait for Bream.

In Tasmania, where we do get some very nice Bream..not uncommon to get 2 pound plus, the bait that appears to be getting a few 'big ones' at the moment is a floating mussel.

Hope that helps!

[Luke]

The bait sounds like a winner. We use something similar but more just a bread mix with a bit of tuna oil. But for the burley I just boil up a stack of wheat with a touch of tuna oil till its soft and swollen and throw a handful out every now and then. I've pulled some big bream out and when I've gutted them they have been full of this wheat.
Cheers Luke

[reelcrazy]

Hi Folks

Re bait for Bream.

In Tasmania, where we do get some very nice Bream..not uncommon to get 2 pound plus, the bait that appears to be getting a few 'big ones' at the moment is a floating mussel.

Hope that helps!

This would fit my observation that whatever is the predominate shellfish in the area is the best bait.

In the Sydney and environs estuaries, rock oysters seem to be the diet. The pudding mix "bleeds" and brings them onto the bite when nothing else will.

My theory is that the oyster "milk" attracts the bigger bream and encourages them to feed, herd instinct?.

A few of the Sydney estuary old timers used to crack rock oysters at low tide with brick hammers, then fish the general area on the incoming, they always had a feed.

This might be something worth looking into for jacks.