Big bream

[Anderoo]

Fascinating stuff. If you could ever be bothered to scan/copy the Queenford notes I would love to read them!

 

You having fish from swims that produced a week earlier, convinces me even more that these huge bream don't actually travel that far a lot of the time. I can't remember if I've said this or not, but one year Alex had 2 from a swim at Wingham, went back to the same swim the next weekend, and had exactly the same two fish again!

 

Do you reckon the extra bait you were using encouraged the larger groups of smaller fish, as opposed to the smaller groups of bigger fish? Or the bigger baits were just not taken by the bigger fish that were actually in the swim mixed in with the smaller ones? I remember in Derek Quirk's book he had bream of all sizes from 12-15lb in his multiple catches, so they must have swum around together, unless two groups of different sized fish combined to feed on his bait?

 

Or probably that it was just bad luck that the smaller fish got caught and the bigger ones didn't, and that over 5 or so seasons it would have evened out?

 

Here's another one for you...tricky one this!

 

Why do you think some people never even caught one?

[Tigger]

I remember in Derek Quirk's book he had bream of all sizes from 12-15lb in his multiple catches, so they must have swum around together, unless two groups of different sized fish combined to feed on his bait?

 

 

I'm surprised you think a shoal of fish are all around the same size. Even the same year class will very in size quite a lot. Just like people fish will grow at different rates, I think it's down to growth hormones ...well it is in humans anyhow. Saying that though fish from different year classes will shoal together when they get that bit bigger.

[BreamBoi]

Following on from Richard's excellent breamy bobbins topic, I'd like to get opinions on some of the more specific things about big (15lb+) bream in low-stock waters.

 

I've been thinking about rigs and I think I've come to the conclusion that they don't actually matter that much, as long as they don't tangle. What do you reckon? I can see the benefits of both semi-fixed and free running. I think I'm favouring free running.

 

Bait on a hair or on the hook? Again, I don't think it matters too much, but I would probably use a hair for semi-fixed and on the hook for free-running.

 

Amount of bait - as there aren't many fish probably not that much actual food but a fair amount of attraction?

 

Bait - any preferences? I'm not convinced it matters too much. Corn, boilies, maggots, worm, caster...

 

hi ... i was at a water a few months back called farlows lake located ion west drayton , middlesex and its full of bream there .. i caught about 60lb of bream in 5hours smallest being 3lb to 7lb .. i use a free running cage feeder with a 12'' hook lenght with 2 peices of corn haired to a size 12 hook .. that catches me loads of bream . but ive also caught them on pellets and boilies but corn has been the most sucessful for me.. i aint caught a double figure bream yet even tho that lakes has a 19lb bream init .. hope ive helped with my little info on the subject

[Dick Dastardly]

Here's another one for you...tricky one this!

 

Why do you think some people never even caught one?

 

 

Just the same old reasons as to why some don't catch on other waters mate!

 

Some just ain't got a clue!

 

Some used to heavy tackle (most who caught used really light hook links of below 4lb with small hooks and small baits,hence all the effort and frustration I went through with trying to find an ultra thin but reliable hook length for Wingham)

 

Most didn't pay enough attention to baiting and accuracy.

 

Some just couldn't put the time in.

 

Several hooked fish but couldn't land them on the unbalanced tackle they were using (powerful rods to get the distance coupled with fine end tackle)

 

No one was just "unlucky"

 

Above all some learned quickly,some slowly and others never did!

 

It was (I thought any way) quite noticeable that initially at least the Tring guys did better than the Mere guys. That incidentally was the real split of anglers in my day as we had all become members of the syndicate via knowing existing members who fished with us on one or other of the two! Early days members were mainly mates of Jo Taylor's. For example my opening was via Alan Wilson who I knew from Tring and my own syndicate. Two distinct types of water and types of approach.

[Steve Burke]

hi ... i was at a water a few months back called farlows lake located ion west drayton , middlesex and its full of bream there .. i caught about 60lb of bream in 5hours smallest being 3lb to 7lb .. i use a free running cage feeder with a 12'' hook lenght with 2 peices of corn haired to a size 12 hook .. that catches me loads of bream . but ive also caught them on pellets and boilies but corn has been the most sucessful for me.. i aint caught a double figure bream yet even tho that lakes has a 19lb bream init .. hope ive helped with my little info on the subject

 

Thanks, BreamBoi, and please keep the comments coming. Whilst they may or not be relevant to Wingham they certainly are to other waters that Angler's Net members fish. And this topic is about big bream, not just big Wingham bream.

[Dick Dastardly]

hi ... i was at a water a few months back called farlows lake located ion west drayton , middlesex and its full of bream there .. i caught about 60lb of bream in 5hours smallest being 3lb to 7lb .. i use a free running cage feeder with a 12'' hook lenght with 2 peices of corn haired to a size 12 hook .. that catches me loads of bream . but ive also caught them on pellets and boilies but corn has been the most sucessful for me.. i aint caught a double figure bream yet even tho that lakes has a 19lb bream init .. hope ive helped with my little info on the subject

 

 

Thanks for that.Bream an sweet corn is a strange thing! Many bream hunters I know reckon its the crappiest bait for them going! I must admit that Ive fished a few waters where it certainly isn't that good but I did once have a really good hit of (big at the time) bream of 8-9lb purely on corn fished over loose fed corn.Had three or four evening sessions just using the corn where I had a dozen or so each time.Prior to that bread flake was top bait over cereal feed but once the eels all up and left worm over cereal feed became top method.I had the occasional one on corn (as a change bait) fished over the feed but nothing like those few evenings. I wonder why this is?

 

For the record my current PB fell to worm and corn cocktail fished over just corn.

[Dick Dastardly]

I'm surprised you think a shoal of fish are all around the same size. Even the same year class will very in size quite a lot. Just like people fish will grow at different rates, I think it's down to growth hormones ...well it is in humans anyhow. Saying that though fish from different year classes will shoal together when they get that bit bigger.

 

 

While I would say that size is the be all and end all to shoaling rather than just year class the difference between a 11lb bream and a 15 (for example) isn't enough to stop them being "of the same size" for shoaling purposes.

 

Fish of the same general size shoal together purely as a defence mechanism.There being so many "of the same" size that its harder for a predator to single one out to take.

 

I am pretty sure that on the big bream waters Ive fished that 11's and 15's (once again just for example) will "shoal" together its just that I still feel with fish of this size that the "shoal" is more likely a "group"........but how big a group I'm still not sure.

 

One thing that Wingham has made me think though is that these big bream ain't as solitary as was often thought.Multi catches being rare more to the fact that we scare the others when we hook one rather than that there was only one or two in the swim to start with.

[Dales]

I am toying with doing some Bream fishing on a local water later next year Walthamstow Reservoirs. I used to fish it for Bream around twenty years ago and it produced plenty of shoal Bream in the 7 - 9 lb bracket. They would show to "old skool" tactics of plenty of balled in groundbait, maggots, castors and chopped worm.

 

The fishery has drifted more and more to big Carp fishing mainly due to a massive population of cormorants that have been in residence for many years. It's supposed to be one of the biggest cormorant rookeries in the UK and they have devastated the general pleasure fishing.

 

However I have started to hear plenty of good things about the Bream fishing over the last year with doubles seemingly plentiful and in large shoals with a good head of fish in the 11lb to 14lb bracket. It's a day ticket only fishery with no night fishing but its local and so would be easy to do a few day sessions. So certainly worth doing a mini campaign to see if the rumours are true.

 

I've been mulling it over the last few weeks and think a scaled down Carp approach with spodding plenty of pellet and mini boilies and fishing PVA bags might work as I am guessing the increase in size may be down to the Bream getting switched on to the Carp baits.

 

I did read a piece in one of the angling rags early this year when they done a weekend session on the reservoirs and tried a maggot and feeder approach on the Saturday that did not seem to work but when they tried the boilie approach on the Sunday they had fish to 12lb.

 

It's certainly worth having a go.

[Dick Dastardly]

My first thing would be to find out if the carp anglers are catching them and if so how and how many.I keep saying it (and getting poo pooed) but not all bream switch on to carp baits to the same degree.

[Steve Burke]

Thanks for that.Bream an sweet corn is a strange thing! Many bream hunters I know reckon its the crappiest bait for them going! I must admit that Ive fished a few waters where it certainly isn't that good but I did once have a really good hit of (big at the time) bream of 8-9lb purely on corn fished over loose fed corn.Had three or four evening sessions just using the corn where I had a dozen or so each time.Prior to that bread flake was top bait over cereal feed but once the eels all up and left worm over cereal feed became top method.I had the occasional one on corn (as a change bait) fished over the feed but nothing like those few evenings. I wonder why this is?

 

For the record my current PB fell to worm and corn cocktail fished over just corn.

 

I'd also read that the Queenford lads struggled to catch on corn alone. I started on their favourite of lob and corn cocktail as can be seen from my Wingham results below, although the first fish was an accidental capture. It's interesting that matchmen have long favoured various cocktail baits for bream.

 

You can also see that I caught 2 big bream on corn alone, although it was flavoured.

 

19/06/03 - 2 days before last quarter - early morning - 13-14 - lobworm/pineapple flavoured corn

26/05/04 - 1 day before first quarter - 2nd night - 14-00 - lobworm/pineapple flavoured corn

04/06/04 - 1 day after first quarter - 2nd night - 15-02 - dendra/Perch Magic flavoured maggot

19/06/04 - 2 days after last quarter - 2nd night - 11-10 - dendra/Perch Magic flavoured maggot

30/09/04 - 2 days after last quarter - 1st night - 15-07 - Perch Magic flavoured corn

06/10/04 - 3 days after last quarter - 1st night - 14-15 - Perch magic flavoured corn