Bream eating weed

[Couta]

Today I went for a fish off the rocks near Pearl Beach. On the way I noticed that there was a tremendous amount of cabbage weed on the rocks that was not there two weeks ago. It was everywhere and very lush. Its the cabbage weed that blackfish eat. I ended up catching a decent size bream and when I cleaned it I noticed that it was absolutely stuffed full of the cabbage weed. I did not know that bream ate cabbage weed but I know they will eat pretty much anything.

I'm wondering if the recent flood from the Hawkesbury River may have been rich in nutrients that encouraged the weed to grow. Pearl Beach is just around the corner from the Hawkesbury and the water there was brown for a long time. Has anyone seen prolific weed growth in other areas recently?

Would the weed affect the taste if the bream?

thanks

[Koalaboi]

Cabbage often grows well as the weather cools in autumn. The summer heat seems to bleach it on exposed platforms during hot dry weather and it dies off but it comes back in autumn.

I find the same with the stringy weed, both soft and wire, in Tuggerah lakes.

 

KB

[Yowie]

Bream are mostly carnivores, though at times they will eat various weeds. Have found them with stomachs full of weeds and other foods chewed off the rocks. A little bit will not affect the taste, though long term weed eating MAY affect the taste.

In a reversal, blackfish are weed eaters, though at times when fishing Lake Illawarra as a kid, and mainly during spring, they would feast on squirt worms, live shrimps, live prawns and not eat weed.

[XD351]

42 minutes ago, motiondave said:

They might be vegan bream 😁

It would sure make bait gathering much more convenient- just a quick trip to the grocers for a chunk of broccoli 🤣

Maybe the bream are into the barnacles on the rocks and the weed is being picked off at the same time ?

They would be trying to put on some fat for the spawn run about now and eating anything they can to do so ? I have also caught bream while fishing for Luderick - not often but it was something that occasionally occurred in Narrabeen lagoon.

[noelm]

Most fish species are opportunist feeders, and can be very single minded when feeding, at times they will take only one type of food, as mentioned, at times Blackfish will take only Squirt Worms, even the best weed wont get a bite. In a way, that's why (in my opinion) how you burley is important, using rubbish munched up and tossed over, then using a well present bait can often not work, they will eat only the rubbish, I prefer to burley lightly with what I am using for bait. Same goes for lure fishing, the old saying "match the hatch" rings true, if fish are feeding on tiny bait fish, a small lure matching the bait fish size will outfish a big lure every time, just like those Bream, they were "fixated" on that weed (maybe there was little Prawns and stuff in the weed) and unless you used that weed for bait, you're chances are slim.

[Burger]

2 hours ago, noelm said:

Most fish species are opportunist feeders, and can be very single minded when feeding, at times they will take only one type of food, as mentioned, at times Blackfish will take only Squirt Worms, even the best weed wont get a bite. In a way, that's why (in my opinion) how you burley is important, using rubbish munched up and tossed over, then using a well present bait can often not work, they will eat only the rubbish, I prefer to burley lightly with what I am using for bait. Same goes for lure fishing, the old saying "match the hatch" rings true, if fish are feeding on tiny bait fish, a small lure matching the bait fish size will outfish a big lure every time, just like those Bream, they were "fixated" on that weed (maybe there was little Prawns and stuff in the weed) and unless you used that weed for bait, you're chances are slim.

There is a line of thought that Blackfish look for protein after spawning, thus taking squirt worms and nipper, etc more in spring.

There are definitely 'critters' in cabbage weed, I dunno whether they'd satisfy a hungry bream.

Also heard that blackfish need the 'critters' in cabbage as part of their diet.

[Rebel]

Great report.

[Yowie]

23 hours ago, motiondave said:

I've caught blackfish on prawns

I've caught blackfish on dead prawns, live prawns, live shrimp, nippers, squirt worms, blood worms, bread, floating bread crusts, 2 at night time on salted tuna pieces while bream fishing, and one on a wonder wobbler metal lure.

[noelm]

8 hours ago, Yowie said:

I've caught blackfish on dead prawns, live prawns, live shrimp, nippers, squirt worms, blood worms, bread, floating bread crusts, 2 at night time on salted tuna pieces while bream fishing, and one on a wonder wobbler metal lure.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up, if you fish often enough over a very long time, you catch all sorts of fish (big and small) on all sorts of rigs, methods and baits.

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, noelm said:

Yep, that pretty much sums it up, if you fish often enough over a very long time, you catch all sorts of fish (big and small) on all sorts of rigs, methods and baits.

More than 60 years of fishing, so nothing surprises me. Fish have to eat. 😂

[PaddyT]

on the theme of chucking metal i did actually catch a blackfish cleanly hooked in the mouth on a 10gm slice at Terrigal Haven once-but ive caught quite a lot of bream on weed-especially on cabbage off the rocks in winter. 

[luderick -angler]

I’ve chased blackfish for 40 years and the number of bream caught on weed as a bycatch is quite a few. I had one session in the Parra River where the first four fish, were bream, using weed. I would average 20 plus bream a year whilst solely targeting luderick with weed. 

[Ozzybass]

I too have caught bream on cabbage weed while blackfishing the rocks.