Brisbane River

If you live around the river, especially around the CBD or east of the CBD, good fishing is right on your back step. Bream are pretty common in the river along with other species. The key is to find a good spot. Things to look for are mangroves, rocks, and/or significant structure such as bridges, jetties, pontoons, etc.

I've heard a few rumors since I moved here about fishing around the river:
Can you fish the stretch where the City Cats run?
Absolutely. You can't fish from the Cats jetties, and there may be regs about how close to the cat jetties you can go, but everywhere else on public land is fair game.
Is the fish out of the river safe to eat?
I'd have to say this depends on what you catch. Something like a Bream is just fine out of the river. These fish go up and down the river and creeks and out to the bay & back. It's all the same water. Legal size bream are anywhere from 2-5 years old. They haven't had decades of eating other fish and accumulating Mercury and other toxins. If the fish is active when you catch it, no visible infections, and the gills are red, it's fine. If in doubt, catch and release.

For river fishing, the best times to target ambush predators/scavengers such as bream and flathead are on the rising tide, and the start of the run-out. I find once the water starts really moving out, it's moving too fast for Bream. Winter is definitely better than summer, but the summer Bream are much more active and fun to catch.

Good spots can be spotted via Google Maps, but these include around the Gateway bridge, Newstead Park, and the parkway stretch in West end between the bend and the new bridge. (look for the the areas with rocks rather than the paved wall they've been putting in.)

Newstead: The key area for bream here is right in the corner between the river and breakfast creek. Be warned, visit here at low tide before going for a cast. There is a LOT of various size rock around here that will gladly hold on to a poorly placed cast. Smaller bream come into these rocks so with a light hook & float you can have a lot of fun with the kids watching the float bob along until a smaller bream grabs the bait and runs. The bigger fish tend to set up a bit further out at the entrance to cabbage creek. Casting about 5-10m out or just outside the major rock structures can entice a few decent Bream. Be prepared for a good fight to get anything legal in past the rock structures Hooking up here is literally the easier half of the battle.

West End: This is a more relaxing spot where you can wedge a couple rods in the rocks and sit back. Bream are up and down this stretch fairly regularly during the day. I'm not that comfortable here late evening though, the fishing does turn on as it cools down:) There's little to worry about snags unless you head a bit further towards the bend where they have the rocks in mesh sections. (which did lead to an amusing duel with a honker of a mud crab I hooked.) The areas closer to the bend across from the Regatta with the meshed stones is productive at high tide, though you can end up with long/short fin eels. The rocky areas across from the river seafood restaurant are good pretty much any water level on incoming tide. The key is that as the tide comes in, bring your casts in shallower, especially in winter. Large bream, and even cod come in no more than 2m from shore to scour the rocks. At times I literally cannot keep two lines in the water with one being hammered as I re-bait the second. Out deeper you run into more catfish. One note: This location is pretty much a Sunday-only spot. Weekdays you won't find parking anywhere around here, and Saturday mornings are the same story with a market in the nearby park.

Gateway: There are a few good spots around the south end of the bridge, and along the north shore. I don't head this far East very often, but be prepared for snags.