Techniques

[Shine Runner]

I have never fully pursued just bream. I have read a good bit on catching them, but not much on the how to. Is it just a stumble on them by beating the banks and then just sit on them till they quit? I know that since the side imaging game has started that finding a bed is a little easier. I don't have side imaging. How about a few pointers on things like:

Water depth and parts of the lake (creeks, main lake, river parts of a lake, etc.)

Species specific technique (crackers, gills, redbreast) and rig type (split shot & worm tight lined or laying on bottom, float and worm/cricket, beetle spin type baits and color)

How to not spook a bed or how to approach fishing a bed (outside first, start on deeper side.....)

How do you target them when they are not on the beds?


Is it really just you got to know "where" from past experience or a tip from a friend?

[T.C.]

A good pair of polarized glasses go a long way......a good pair, not a $20 Wal-Mart pair. Im not sure where you fish and if its even possible to spots beds but it has to be extremely stained water for you not to see the bigger beds. The best time to locate beds is between 12-3pm when the sun is at its highest and beaming straight down on the lake......this makes the beds stick out and are easier to spot. The sun will light up the cleaned area from the beds and you can tell a difference between the bed and the dirty bottom that hasnt been cleaned yet. If you see ANY lighter looking spots in the water its a potential bed. Something had to clean off the bottom, it doesnt just naturally clean itself off.........They dont always stick out like a sore thumb, the slightest change in water color can mean its a bed. Some folks smell em out, some ride around and look for a good hard bottom (good hard bottoms show up red on color screen units......the thicker the red, the harder the bottom and the better, especially for shellcracker) before even trying to locate beds. Good luck......once you find them almost anyway will work to catch them. Good luck! and post some pics if you decide to go afer them!

[Danbo]

Water depth and parts of the lake (creeks, main lake, river parts of a lake, etc.) Crackers like water 8" to 3'. Gills will bed in shallow water to 8' deep. Both like a firm bottom with rocks, sand, and especially shells.

Species specific technique (crackers, gills, redbreast) and rig type (split shot & worm tight lined or laying on bottom, float and worm/cricket, beetle spin type baits and color) For bedding Crackers or Gills the worm on the bottom works best. Keep the worm moving. You can use a slip cork or just sinker. Gills will also feed off crickets on cork just off the bottom. Redbreast are best caught using a spin dandy in Crawdad skirt. Cut the skirt off at the hook and put a cricket on. Works in river or pond.

How to not spook a bed or how to approach fishing a bed (outside first, start on deeper side.....) Don't matter, they will come right back.

How do you target them when they are not on the beds? Troll and pitch, look for hard bottom, they also love wood.


Is it really just you got to know "where" from past experience or a tip from a friend? Always best. They will always bed in the same areas every year and with Gills, every month. Look for the boats in the big lakes.

Your nose is one of the best tools. A large bream bed will let you know where they are if on the bed.

[T.C.]

Danbo ofeered up some excellent advice. Also a rule of thumb for myself is the clearer the water the depper they will bed. Some of the springs in FL that I fish I catch them in about 10-12 fow bedding. The water is super clear and I have to use flourocarbon line and a number #10 hook just to catch them.......the cricket completely covers the hook when its this small, I have tried to use the standard #6 hook that most use and they will not touch it. Another one of my buddies actually figured this out. My dad and his buddies came down last year with a boat to fish some beds I found the week before. I told them to have flourocarbon and the small hooks but they wouldnt listen......my dad said "ive been catching gills my whole life, you dont need all that", i said OK. Next day him and one of his buddies went in his boat and me and his other buddy went in mine. I showed them 3 diff beds and marked them all with bouys for them.............me and the other guy went down to some more beds i found and we had our limit of 100 in about 2 hours. We couldnt get ahold of my dad on the phone so rode back to the beds i showed them and asked them how they were doing......they had only caught 3!. He said they were fed up and were going croaker fishing in the St. Johns instead. We took 3 of our fish out of the cooler and gave them the remaining 97 so they could have their limit to take back to SC with them. Me and the other fella stayed about 2 more hours and fished the beds they couldnt catch any on and caught the other 97 to take back and finished out a 4 man limit for the day. This story may be irrelivent to the questions you asked but i thought i would share it anyway, it just shows that even catching bream off of beds can sometimes not be as easy as people think. Here is the haul from that day. I let my dad get in the pic and go back to SC and let him buddies think he actually caught some, lol

[deathb4disco]

How do you target them when they are not on the beds?

I actually prefer it when they're not on the beds. You can catch just as many, and you have them all to yourself. (Most people forget about 'em once the spawn is over.)

My favorite artificial bait is the trout magnet in red or black -- deadly. For live bait, maggots fished under a float are beyond deadly. I look for deeper water near the spawning areas and never go heavier than 4# line.

[Dutch]

All you need is a U/L rod and reel (I prefer a 5' 6") spooled with 4lb line and a 1/32 Betts (or Beetle) spin in Catapla (black w/yellow stripe).

Work the banks slow rolling it and you will catch the mess out of them. 1/32 Rooster tail in fire tiger is another favorite.

Take along another U/L rigged for cork fishing and some crickets if it is spawning time for any beds you find.

[papasage]

what river was that in Dutch

[Dutch]

what river was that in Dutch

The Suwanne. My Dad has a place in Brandford.

[T.C.]

Beetle spins are awesome as well, I prefer the white with a red dot. I throw beetle spins in small creeks and rivers and destroy the redbreasts with this color.

[Shine Runner]

Good info. Thks !