Big bream

[Steve Burke]

A good idea, Andrew.

 

However I fished the pinch point for several years from the same spots (Brambles and the LHS of the Point) and had nothing from there either.

[Anderoo]

A good idea, Andrew.

 

However I fished the pinch point for several years from the same spots (Brambles and the LHS of the Point) and had nothing from there either.

 

Ah, OK, thanks Steve. That was a short-lived theory, even for me!

[lutra]

Has no-one else noticed these single beeps and tiny lifts before catching bream?

As Budgie says "pretty standard with all sizes of bream", but there is a big differance between an odd bleep or two from a fish nosying round your feeder/rig and having them digging/feeding under your main line because you've dropped your rig or some feed in the wrong place.

 

When Budgie talked about him feeding large beds of feed over previous anglers bait on other waters. I can only think the potential for liners must be very high doing that.

[Dick Dastardly]

As Budgie says "pretty standard with all sizes of bream", but there is a big difference between an odd bleep or two from a fish nosying round your feeder/rig and having them digging/feeding under your main line because you've dropped your rig or some feed in the wrong place.

 

When Budgie talked about him feeding large beds of feed over previous anglers bait on other waters. I can only think the potential for liners must be very high doing that.

 

 

Very much so Brian.If you ever fished a swim where the guy before you hadn't got his feed accurately on the spot (due to these often being the only relatively weed free areas we would be pretty much fishing the same small areas) and the bream gad decided to move into the weed to feed (rare but I have experienced it a couple of times) it was liner city untill you realised and pulled back in until you stopped getting them. I actually caught a 13 one night by doing this that was weeded as soon as I struck in to it.Threw me for a good few months as I thought the old folklore was maybe flawed and I tried in the weed for them!.....................but alas it was just a fluke.Normally though it made no difference as you simply didn't have any fish over you a lot of the time full stop!.Incidentally when "swim vulturing" at Queenford I wasn't putting that much out in the end (well not the balling it in I used on other waters)

 

Even feeding in a "virgin" swim though would often result in you having to pull back until you stopped getting liners (other waters than Queenford as the times you were lucky enough to get a "problem" with liners there you usually caught!) Ive always preferred to fish (most likely the bream match back grounding) on the edge of my feed as this helps prevent any spooking of the rest of the shoal when you get a fish as well as avoiding liners. I have heard several say that bigger fish hang back at the edge of the feed but I'm not entirely sure this is relevant with SB/LSD bream due to the smaller numbers and more similar size of fish in the group.

 

In general liners give me confidence BUT that said on TC Pit (only fished it a handful of times thanks to Alan) I had a few sessions when I had a lot of liners and expectations were high but I blanked and the only to fish I saw caught there (one to me one to my mate) came completely out of the blue no other activity at all.But the theory at the time was that all big bream were loners,but with hindsight I'm not so sure.

[Anderoo]

As Budgie says "pretty standard with all sizes of bream", but there is a big differance between an odd bleep or two from a fish nosying round your feeder/rig and having them digging/feeding under your main line because you've dropped your rig or some feed in the wrong place.

 

When Budgie talked about him feeding large beds of feed over previous anglers bait on other waters. I can only think the potential for liners must be very high doing that.

 

True, but if it doesn't worry them and you know not to strike, I don't think it really matters. I do try to fish on the nearest edge of my baited spot though to avoid them as much as possible. Once I've found the spots I want to present hookbaits on, that becomes my 'nearest line' of feed, with further bait either side and to the rear.

 

I'd love to know how much disturbance a little group of big bream make when they're feeding. Perhaps they're quite delicate about it a lot of the time, and at other times they're quite aggressive. I wonder if it's the more aggressive feeding that creates these little liners (even when your line is not laying across the bait), which is why they seem to usually lead to a proper bite? It does seem to be the case with smaller shoal bream.

 

I hope to bump into Ken at Wingham next season and ask him about this. I know he does absolutely everything to completely avoid liners, as his location skills are so spot on he knows if bream are in the area or not, and so he doesn't need to rely on liners to tell him anything. But I don't know if he gets them anyway.

 

(PS for the record, although it was very interesting to talk to him this season, I haven't actually copied his method of location. I was very impressed with it but I didn't think of it, so I'm sticking to looking for patterns from the data we have, which is a lot more long-winded but the patterns are starting to emerge!)

 

(PPS if I do see him and he lets me, I'd like to take a photo of his unhooking mat and post it here. Whenever he catches a big bream he writes the weight, date of capture and venue in permanent marker on his mat. It is a sight to behold! Truely one of angling's unsung heros in my opinion. Or maybe he's just lucky... )

Edited January 11, 2011 by Anderoo

[Anderoo]

A quick point on undertow, noting something Steve D said in the winter bream topic. He said something along the lines of, 'if nothing else, undertow would make all the fish face a certain direction'.

 

Worth thinking about that one!

 

Undertow was brought to my mind again this morning as a load of little polestyrine packaging balls had been dropped on a pavement. The gentle breeze had moved them all over the place, but there were big concentrations of them in little depressions, against 'bars', and where the breeze had petered out. It was quite interesting to see so clearly what happens to food on the bottom of the lake.

[teddy]

A quick point on undertow, noting something Steve D said in the winter bream topic. He said something along the lines of, 'if nothing else, undertow would make all the fish face a certain direction'.

 

Worth thinking about that one!

 

Undertow was brought to my mind again this morning as a load of little polestyrine packaging balls had been dropped on a pavement. The gentle breeze had moved them all over the place, but there were big concentrations of them in little depressions, against 'bars', and where the breeze had petered out. It was quite interesting to see so clearly what happens to food on the bottom of the lake.

 

 

I just wanted to say a big thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.

 

I have finished reading the whole thing - so much food for thought.

 

Due to illness i have not fished for 5 years – last year I returned to what has been a passion since I was 6 years old. I have always tried to be thoughtful in my fishing rather than chucking and chancing it, so I have been reading magazines and watching DVDs and TV programmes to get up to speed.

 

I previously carp fished, at that time the monster size method feeder was on the rise and it was boillies all the way. In what I have seen and read I noticed that the carp boys have now moved to particles. I used to fish a notorious commercial water in north Essex, where 100 LB bags might get you in the top ten of a match – the carp seemed to be pigs with fins – you had to feed big – 10 KG of bait was the order of the day.

 

I originally decided to read it to see where the changes came since I last fished – I have been moved to consider my fishing carefully. I fish for bream and tench, a 4 LB tench instead of a bream will never disappoint me. I have decided on only minor alterations to my fishing:

 

1st Rod.

I will fish one rod with a small PVA stick with a critically balanced bait of a single grain of sweet glugged fake corn as a bottom bait on an anti-eject rig at some distance from the other rod on an area without weed on a patrol route.

 

2nd Rod.

The other rod will be fished over a spodded bed of bait of particles: pellets of various sizes – mainly halibut and coarse fish micro pellet, chopped up maize steeped in molasses, chopped worm, corn steep liquor, hemp, some halibut groundbait and some chopped up boillies. this will be on area free of weed. Hook bait will be cycled through maize, 8mm halibut pellets, chopped worm and chopped boillies. Fished with a flatbed method feeder on a short hooklength tied anti eject with the bait hair rigged and critically balanced.

 

I have plotted the moon cycles for the year and will be mindful of undertow and wind etc. so when the weather improves I will be out and I will let you know how it goes.

 

Thanks again to all who contributed.

Big John.

[Dick Dastardly]

Welcome to AN and back to fishing John.Good luck and be sure to let us know how you get on.

[Steve Burke]

Ditto.

[Anderoo]

Welcome to AN John, best of luck with the bream fishing and I look forward to your reports

 

What type of waters will you be fishing, out of interest?