Yellowfin Bream
Cagey, hard-fighting and available all year, the yellowfin bream is one of Sydney's most popular estuary and harbour fish. They test your finesse and light tackle, and reward you with sweet, firm fillets, which is why generations of anglers have cut their teeth chasing them.
About the yellowfin bream
Yellowfin bream are a silver, deep-bodied fish with distinctive yellow-tinged fins, at home right through Sydney Harbour and the surrounding estuaries. They are famously wary, using structure, oyster racks, pontoons, bridge pylons, rock walls and mangroves, to their advantage, which is what makes fooling a big one so satisfying.
They are around all year and will eat a bait or a well-presented lure, but their caution means you have to fish light and clever. Pound for pound they pull hard and dirty, diving for the nearest snag. At the table they are sweet and firm, and a feed of pan-sized bream is a Sydney classic.
Yellowfin Bream at a glance
| Name | Yellowfin Bream |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Acanthopagrus australis |
| Best season in NSW | Year-round |
| Habitat | Estuaries/Harbour |
| Where found in NSW | Sydney Harbour, estuaries |
| Size and bag limits | 25cm min, bag 20 |
| Average size | 20–35cm |
| Max size | 50cm |
| Fishing method | Bait fishing, lures |
| Best bait / lure | Worms, prawns, lures |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Eating quality | Very Good |
| Taste | Sweet firm |
| Recipe ideas | Pan fry, whole |
Light bait and lures around structure
Bream reward a light, finesse approach fished tight to the structure they call home.
The proven methods
Fish light lines and small hooks with fresh bait, peeled prawn, beach or blood worms and fish strips are all bream magnets, presented close to structure and rock walls where they feed. Lure anglers work small hardbodies, blades and soft plastics along the same edges, and a quiet approach makes all the difference with such a wary fish. Bream bite through the day but often fire on a moving tide. All the gear is on board and ready to go.
How Wahoo puts you on them
Bream are all about fishing the right structure at the right stage of the tide, and Sydney Harbour is full of it. George Aslanian has spent more than 30 years learning the harbour's rock walls, pylons and edges where the better bream hold. On a light-tackle harbour session we put you on the productive spots, rig you light with bait or lures, and help you tempt these cagey fish. Keen to get among them? Ask us about a Sydney sport fishing charter.
Other Estuary fish
Australian Bass
Australian Bass (Macquaria novemaculeata): an iconic native NSW sportfish. Season, size, methods and eating quality, plus where to find them in NSW rivers and estuaries.
Bluespotted Flathead
Bluespotted Flathead (Platycephalus caeruleopunctatus): a common Sydney harbour and estuary flathead. Season, size, bag limits, methods and eating quality off Sydney.
Dusky Flathead
Dusky Flathead (Platycephalus fuscus): the Sydney estuary staple. Season, size, bag limits, methods and eating quality, plus how to catch them around Sydney Harbour.
Flounder
Flounder (Bothidae spp.): a well-camouflaged NSW estuary flatfish. Season, size, bag limits, methods and eating quality, plus how to catch them around Sydney.
Fancy tangling with some bream?
Tell us your dates and crew and we will get you fishing light around Sydney Harbour's structure for yellowfin bream, all gear supplied, every level welcome. Browse the full species guide, or get among them on our sport and reef charters.