Bed locating.

[Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon]

If you don't have a good sniffer, these are few places & things to watch for to aid you in your search for Brim bedding areas:

Look for lots of water swirls in the shallows - this happens from competition for prime bed locations, and also from the males running off preditors too.

Check along gradually tapering lake points - there is usally a section of it that will offer the correct depth and compositon the Brim prefer to bed on.

Cat Tails near the banks usually indicate areas which hold the desired bottom composition 'gills prefer to bed in, normally on a flat, or gradually sloping bottom.

Look for main lake flats which have water just slightly deeper than you can see the bottom on. Weeds, or shallow lay downs help give these locations away.

Check near tree root systems or brush piles along the banks. Redear prefer these areas over those without wood. If you are hunting meat, these hogs will fill the bill quickly if they are in the waters your fishing!

Full baskets to ya, but remember to leave plenty of the biggest Males behind to guard the nests and dictate brooding sizes.

<,"}/>{ Rippa

[Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon]

I thought I'd post this as an after thought to your original question.

Crappie beds are a bit tougher to find than Brim. A few of the better areas to search for these are along Creek Arm, or River banks. Some will Spawn mainly on sandy bottoms areas, other might have to Spawn right on top of stumps if that is all that they have available. It really depends on where you are at, and what type of water system you are fishing in. Lots of variables to be considered for the 'ole Specks. Luck to ya!

<,"}/>{ Rippa

[Cane Pole]

I smelt that "smell" about 3 weeks ago on West Sandy Creek, Tn. I have not a clue where it was coming from, or who was doing what. I can't hear good, or see good, but I can smell a poot in the pough...What could it be this time of the year here???/

Tom

[Minus 1]

Thanks for all your information. I t should help me out next spring. I gotta tell you tho, when you're fishing downwind from my fishing partner after he's had two or three pickled eggs and a brew,you don't want to do much sniffing. :p
Good fishin to all of you
Norm

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Tom:

I think Bream spawn in the Fall as well as the Spring don't they?

[KARL]

Hey Tom:

I think Bream spawn in the Fall as well as the Spring don't they?

..during the time the water temp is right for them......according to SC board....you can search it.. .....recent discussion...

[Bushrod]

You can definititely smell a bream/shellcracker bed if you're downwind of it...a distinct "fishy" odor will be detected...scull closely (and quietly) to the banks and watch for telltale signs...if they're shallow, you can see the disturbances in the water from the males "fanning" the nests...sometimes you'll see small weeds moving as they're disturbed by the fish...as you get closer to a suspected spot, stand up and put on your polarized eyeglasses...if the water is relatively clear, you'll spot the beds...for bream, about 1-2 ft across, laid out close together-almost looks like a "checkerboard" on the bottom-you'll see the fish moving in/out of the beds...drop in a cricket and let the fun begin! BTW, I've seen shellcracker and bream bedding together...one day I was catching bull bream from the front of the boat, and my Dad was pulling in big shellcracker from the rear! One morning I saw the bottom of a sandy point literally black with fish on the bottom...caught 98 on 100 crickets, as fast as I could bait and toss 'em!! Good Luck to Ya!!

Bushrod:-)

[squirrel hunter]

YOu fellows that can smell out those bream beds are pretty good. I just have to keep moving that cricket around but it ususally dont take long because I know about where the beds will be, depth etc.
I have been planning to train my Squirrel dog to sniff them out but just havent gotten around to it(couple years to retirement and then I can do all those things, maybe). I know they use cadaver dogs to finds bodies that are way below surface so Im sure a good Yellow Black Mouth cur or other treeing dog or Lab could do well. I can see them sitting in the front of my boat now, me just trolling around waiting for the alarm to go off.

A cur might smell the bed but my feist puts the cricket on the hook and can drive the boat! :D

[jigdancer]

Alright Squirrel Hunter , I know theres a big rivalry between Hounds and feists when it comes to squirrel hunting. Guess we'll have to have a field trial for bream bed treeing.
Seriously, it sounds like most of the info here about smelling and seeing bream beds is talking about Redear. I have smelled them and seem large beds on the bottom in real shallow water in smaller lakes and ponds. I mostly fish MS river oxbows and catch very few redear. I'm told this is because I dont fish on the bottom with worms. I catch big bluegill bream and have sat on many a big bed and can't remember smelling it though my smeller may not be that sensitive. I also dont remember seeing a bed of bluegill. Beds I find are normally about 4' deep and water is not clear enough. Although I can remember one time seeing several blue gills ( I dont think they were on a bed but may have been) in very clear water and would throw a cricket to them and watchthem attack. I caught 5 or six I could see hit the cricket.

I am told by the MS Fish Biologist for the MS Dept of Wildlife that Crappie lay their eggs on wood. I didnt go into a deep discussion but I assume that would mean they dont scoop out actual beds on the bottowm like bream, bass etc.

[roybuoy]

find that strong fishy smell and you will catch them I do