Bream (also known as Black Bream, Yellowfin Bream, Tarwhine, Southern Black Bream) in Victoria. Minimum legal size, daily bag limit, possession limit — verified against the VFA guide, 2026.
In Victoria, the minimum legal size for Bream is 28 cm and the daily bag limit is 10 combined (bream and tarwhine); reduced to 7 black bream in the Gippsland Lakes and tributaries, with a possession limit of 10 combined (7 black bream in the Gippsland Lakes and tributaries). There is no closed season in VIC.
No closed season
Victoria's 28 cm minimum and 10-fish bag are a combined total for bream and tarwhine. A 38 cm maximum size and a reduced 7-fish bag apply ONLY to black bream in the Gippsland Lakes and tributaries (which do not include Lake Tyers); elsewhere there is no maximum and the bag is 10. The bag is a daily catch limit, with no separate statewide possession limit.
These limits are pulled from the VFA Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide — size and bag limits. Last verified June 2026.
Always check the official guide before keeping any fish. Regulations change. Victorian Fisheries Authority updates its guide annually and occasionally mid-year. Fines for over-bag or undersized fish are significant.
Victoria requires a Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) to fish in all Victorian waters (marine, estuarine and inland fresh). Exemptions apply for anglers under 18 or aged 70 and over, qualifying concession-card holders, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Buy or learn more from the VFA.
Olli-Mikael Vaittinen has fished his whole life. Fifteen years of fly fishing, guiding seasons on Norway's Lakselva — his favourite Atlantic salmon river — and a blue marlin landed in Vava'u, Tonga. Founder of Fishare — the app that puts the data behind the decisions every angler makes on the water.
Fishare tracks your home spots and pings you when the next 3-hour peak window opens. Log catches and blanks to teach the model your local patterns. Free forever for everyone who joins now.
Open Fishare