How to catch bream: the essentials
After a long summer period, autumn offers some unique catching opportunities for anglers with one of them being bream. While certainly not everyone’s favorite type of fish, it can still offer the same satisfying feeling of being able to angle something hefty on the other end.
As the warmer seasons wind down and fish are preparing for winter, all of them will be looking to properly feed and stack up the necessary weight for survival, bream included.
In general, many professionals agree that this type of fish is fairly easy to catch as they aren’t that picky when it comes to bait and they can also be reeled in using a variety of different fishing methods.
Still, there are some things every angler should know about catching bream, especially if you lack the experience.
In this article, we will talk about just that - essentials you need to know when catching bream.
Waters best suitable for bream
It’s generally agreed upon that bream can be pretty much caught at any river or lake. Native to the UK, they are quite often targeted by anglers practicing shore methods and can be easily brought to bank because of their flat and shiny profile.
When deciding what waters should you go for, aim for a river, lake or water reservoir that’s bigger and more open as it's sure to offer more catching opportunities.
At what time should you go fishing?
Since bream is a coarse fish, the best time to go catch them will be either at dusk or dawn, especially when it's bright and sunny outside. So, it's best to aim around these specific times of the day.
Sometimes you might find yourself fishing all day to no avail and just when the sun is coming down and you’re packing to leave, the fish come to feed as it gets cooler. Ideally, aim for a day where there’s a slight overcast and mild weather and fish are likely to come out to feed even earlier.
Choosing the right tackle and rig
Bream, as mentioned before, can be caught fairly easily using a variety of tactics, but arguably feeder fishing works best for them.
To prepare, a standard feeder fishing rod with a quiver tip on the softer side is more than enough to do the job. Match the rod with a size 4000 reel with a mono line and your setup is pretty much done.
For your rig, again, it's best to keep things simple and going with a running feeder rig is more than enough with an open ended type working better for shallow waters and caged models better for deeper ones.
Choosing your bait
In our opinion, the best choice for bream bait is groundbait with something like worms, maggots and sweetcorn making up your combination. Some professionals even suggest bringing a few different types of bait on your journey so you can keep the fish interested in what you're doing.
For hookbait, any of the above mentioned components will work just just fine, just make sure that everything you throw that day has a nice and effective presentation to it.
Also, don’t be afraid to bring extra bait along with you. If you encounter a hungry flock of bream you might need to cast regularly in order to keep them right where you want them at.
Importance of accuracy
In order to ensure the most success it's very important to keep fishing and baiting in a concentrated area.
You might even consider picking a marker from your surroundings to ensure that you cast at the same spot every time. Remember, your goal is to make fish compete for your food, and a concentrated area ensures that.
How to detect a bream bite
Unlike most fish, bream aren’t known for their speed or huge strength, which means you won’t look out for a strong and quick, but instead a slow and steady pull.
Another point to note is of course patience. Don’t pull, unless you’re absolutely certain that the fish are biting. Fake bites happen often and might be tempting, but pulling too early might scare them entirely and ruin your whole trip.
All in all
Today, we’ve talked about the essentials when it comes to catching bream. They aren’t that tricky of a fish to catch, however, having the right know-how is key when it comes to catching them successfully.