Targeting Bream

[zammo]

Hi,
My local water has some large bream in that are never fished for (everyone just trys for the carp) and i'm looking to target them. Can anyone give me any advice on how best to aproach it? The venue is quite small (2 acres), averages 5-6 foot throughout and night fishing is available. There are no bait bans and i don't own a pole.

Thanks and tight lines!

 

[Towpath Tyke]

Normally I`d opt for the Groundbait and maggot/caster/corn approach, but seeing it`s been mainly carp only!!! I`d opt for a mini boilie approach, due to the fact that boilies are the fishes staple diet more than likely.

 

[bozzy]

Well, it might appear presumptious having only caught my first proper slab today but here's my observation. The large lake I was on produced incredible undertow. I noticed that only when I held the float back would the Bream take the bait. It happened with such regularity I was convinced the bait had to be static or nothing happened. I was told by the bloke near me to kill my red maggotts first or I would be plagued by Perch. When I let them be I would catch a Perch, when I rolled them on my leg (thanks mate) I caught a Bream. Thats the limit of my advice but I did catch about 10 of them today. It would seem the feeder would be a safe bet?

 

[nigel clark]

you will do well to get the bream rather than carp as generally bream like to graze as a shoal, therefore a blanket of bait required only thing with that by the sounds of your fishery, so do the carp. You will probably find you may get a couple but then the carp will move in unless they are large shoals of large beam then they may keep the carp away. They like particles as jonjoe said so a large cage blocked with a groundbait and fill it with feed. Mini boilies,hair rigged,or 2/3 grains corn....sit and wait.

 

[cess monkey]

Chopped worm and caster over brown crumb is the method i use when targeting bream.
I dont think you will be able to avoid the carp but persistance overcomes resistance, so stick with it and you should get the results you are after.

 

[Ady]

As said above, Bream are lazy, they will not taking moving baits very often, float fishing would be ideal but only if its dead calm and you can keep your bait still on the deck. If there is a bit of wind or the peg isnt right id go for a cage feeder with a sweet croundbait, fish worm or breadflake and maybe get some corn out there and/or chopped worm

If fishing the afternoon/evening 6pm+, they can come up in the water, try the float at a couple of feet deep (if it go's dead on the feeder). Ive taken a few nice Bream lately on the canal shallow of an evening, nothing in the morning though, infact ive had a few Carp shallow early doors so stick to the deck, might be worth getting out pellets that break down quickly as a blanket too.

 

[BARRYBLOKE]

If there are a good head of decent bream in your water have a natter with the carp lads because its a certainty that they catch them for a pastime.
Dont be fooled by the commonley held misconception that you have to fish at distance to catch slabs.
Ive had 75 percent of my best slab nets at 10 metres or less. They come in close just the same as any other fish do.
They love paste, fish flavoured or sweet.
Casters are a brilliant attractor and holding bait for them and red worm and caster cocktail is still one of the best bream baits going.

 

[zammo]

Thanks guys, I'll give them a bash with caster amd worm over groundbait this weekend and see how i get on.

 

[cess monkey]

Zammo, i would start off on a small feeder and have 2 or 3 casts, just incase the fish are in your swim when you get started.
If after the first few casts you haven`t had any response, switch to a large feeder and bang out 10 or 15 casts in quick succession to get a bed of feed down.
Switch back to the small feeder and continue fishing as normal, the reason i would fish a small feeder is that in 5-6 foot of water bream might spook with a large feeder banging down on top of them and they might not settle onto your feed.
Try and get hold of 1/2 a pint of squatts, they are a brilliant holding bait for bream and they are well worth adding to your groundbait.

Good luck on your next outing.