Big bream

[lutra]

In reply to where to fish in relationship to wind and tow for bream, Ive always found the best place is straight into the wind. firstly tow on the line is minimal there as its coming straight at you. Secondly you often find a channel or deeper holes have formed off the bank that gets the prevailing wind made by the water turning over from the tow. The position of these holes or channels if they are there at all can vary a lot from under your nose to 100 yds out, I suppose it depends on how much tow a water generates ( size and shape of a water come in account here) and what the bottom is made of, but if you can find them they can be hot spots. Same thing applies to the bottom of drop offs as they collect food and fish seem to patrol there.

[Anderoo]

Cheers folks

 

In gravel pits there are often areas of rows of parallell bars. If the wind is blowing straight down them, I would assume that these areas would not be good for big bream because of the undertow (no shelter). If the wind is blowing across them (assuming they're shallow bars, coming to within 2-3ft of the surface), I doubt much undertow would build up in the gulleys.

 

It seems to me (armchair theory coming up!) that no wind is better from a fishing point of view, as bream don't like undertow. However, in a big wind, they will move/be pushed to areas out of the undertow, thereby making location easier. So, ideal bream conditions would be a big, steady, warm wind all day, then a still night. Good feeding areas would be the larger, featureless areas near the daytime sheltering spots.

 

Get the baiting right and everything sorted out well ahead of darkness, and you've done all you can

[lutra]

It seems to me (armchair theory coming up!) that no wind is better from a fishing point of view, as bream don't like undertow. However, in a big wind, they will move/be pushed to areas out of the undertow, thereby making location easier. So, ideal bream conditions would be a big, steady, warm wind all day, then a still night. Good feeding areas would be the larger, featureless areas near the daytime sheltering spots.

 

Not really my findings, the more wind the merrier for me. Like i said if you fish straight into the wind there isn't much tow, maybe thats one of the reasons they like it there to.

 

Once the wind stops the bream stop to a lot of the time.

[Kappa]

Questions for the floor:

 

You have an area of lake that is shallow on one bank and has lots of randomly assorted bars and humps on the other bank. Both types of bottom extend out to the middle where there is a deeper more even area around 20x 20 yards across surrounded by shallow water and random bars, what is the undertow doing in this bit?

 

Question 2, the ends of several long (150 yards) parallel bars that tend to have the wind blowing along them run into this area, how would this change the undertow?

 

Rich

[poledark]

Who knows? such variables are what makes fishing difficult. Re your 2nd question,one pit I fished had 5 parallel bars running the length of it. Direction was SE to NW, Any reasonable S wind would push water along the bars and it would then run along the bank each side into the middle,and then back up between the middle two bars. A strong SW wind would cause enough tow to shift silt, a coloured mass of water moving back up the central channel.

 

You can also get several small areas of tow, specially where there are islands or the shape of the lake is irregular.

 

MKF Chilham lake gets this effect. In a SW blow, the 30's section has a tow, this meets up with a larger area in the middle section, and then a smaller area up by Shooters. Where these areas of tow meet you can see the change in the wave pattern. It also rotates around the islands:)

 

Den

[Dick Dastardly]

Ive found fishing into a wind is normally best for most species.I suppose this is because a lot of the food is this end of the lake. Working out how far out (due to the resulting under tow) is possibly the question here? Dens "shotted stick" might be the answer here? I for one am going to try it next time Im out.

 

Also like Den said the big problem with trying to "plot" the under tow on waters with lots of features is that there are sop many variables. Great project for a student to build a computer model! but far to complicated for me to even try and work out.Back to the old trial and error thing for me.One thing here is for me to get a topographical map of the lake and mark in all the places (in the lake as opposed to swims) that big bream have been caught from.A winter project though me thinks as time on the bank will be more relevant at the monent.

 

Lutra mentions how the temperature can be so much colder 6' down in the derep waters.From my diving experience I can also add that the water doesnt have to be massively deep to notice this.Plenty of 20' areas of pits Ive dived are like this as are most areas over 30' on reservoirs. I regret never having dived on any really deep (Lake district/Scottish Lochs) waters as It would have been interesting to actually locate the thermocline (if one existed) then dive it.

[Dick Dastardly]

Not really my findings, the more wind the merrier for me.

Once the wind stops the bream stop to a lot of the time.

 

 

Thats interesting as on waters that dont normally cop the wind too much Ive found the exact opposite to be true! As such I had always assumed that on the waters where I fished that had a strong prevailing wind on them most of the time they had just got used to it.

 

When you say that fishinbg into the wind is good possibly because there is less tow there could you explain that a bit more please as I had always assuimed that that would be the strongest area? or is it because you think that a side ways (ie parralell to the bank rather than straight out from the bank) is really what the bream dislike? (and why?).

 

Would you also mind saying what waters (size depth etc) you are reffering to?

[Dan Dan]

I know we're discussing gravel pit bream fishing, but I've recently found a stretch of the River Bourne near me where I seem to catch as many Bream as Chub! They're a decent size too, had one the other day of 5-6.

 

What I want to ask is are the sort of techniques for targetting the larger bream (I know they won't go anywhere as large as pit bream) are the same on rivers as lakes and pits? Does the current of the river have the same effect as undertow on a lake?

[lutra]

Thats interesting as on waters that dont normally cop the wind too much Ive found the exact opposite to be true! As such I had always assumed that on the waters where I fished that had a strong prevailing wind on them most of the time they had just got used to it.

 

Given that bream live happily in a lot of rivers, i think they will put up with a bit of tow if that is where the best chance of a regular meal is. Although i wouldn't doubt that they prefer still water given the chance or when they aren't feeding.

 

When you say that fishinbg into the wind is good possibly because there is less tow there could you explain that a bit more please as I had always assuimed that that would be the strongest area? or is it because you think that a side ways (ie parralell to the bank rather than straight out from the bank) is really what the bream dislike? (and why?).

 

If you have the wind and tow coming straight in your face at some point that water has to go somewhere, usually down and back away or down and sideways. This downward water is what digs out channels, holes and drop offs that the bream seem to like. I'm not sure of the science of they the tow on your line is less when its straight in your face ,but maybe its because it pins your line to the bottom rather than drag it down the lake. all i can say is try it and you will see what i mean.

 

Would you also mind saying what waters (size depth etc) you are reffering to?

 

Large waters 30 acres+ into the (hundreds of acres) where wind and tow take good effect. I would mind naming some of them but the fore mentioned castle loch and many Irish loughs are the types of waters i was thinking of.

[Dick Dastardly]

Thanks for that very interesting.