Bream

[dezza]

I'm very happy with my day today. I went down a very quiet part of the Trent and discovered what I have been after for some time - Big River Bream.

But these bream were not only big - for a river that is, they were pretty, very pretty indeed. Golden bronze with not a mark on them, and clean as a whistle - hardly any slime. I got 3 - 7lbs 6oz, 6lbs 10 oz and 6lbs 2 oz. And all three fought as hard as many barbel of the same weight.

And then the rain came pouring down and I had to pack up after a complete washout. I also caught a barbel (there is always the danger of getting one of those whose running around probably spooked my bream) of about 5 lbs.

So next time I am going equipped with a lot more groundbait.

I want a ten pound Trent bream. I am told that double figure bream have been caught along this particular stretch. It's strictly private and I was very lucky to get carte blanche along this rather pretty bit of the Tidal Trent.

I'll be back.

 

[sam vimes]

I'll never have a problem catching bream of that order, even if I am targeting barbel. Not quite so happy to encounter a hungry shoal of their lb(ish) bretheren, but even they are better than a blank.

 

[bennygesserit]

Ron I am confused I haven't fished a river since I was a kid so the only bream I have ever caught were on a canal or a commercial , my biggest barbel on a river was about 4 - 5 lb - in the early seventies - how can a bream fight like a barbel ? Other than perhaps the initial lunge ?

 

[barbelboi]

Ron I am confused I haven't fished a river since I was a kid so the only bream I have ever caught were on a canal or a commercial , my biggest barbel on a river was about 4 - 5 lb - in the early seventies - how can a bream fight like a barbel ? Other than perhaps the initial lunge ?

Turning sideways on a strong current I think Ron may be fishing for bites.
Jerry

 

[bennygesserit]

Turning sideways on a strong current I think Ron may be fishing for bites.
Jerry

Maybe , I am being a bit cautious in my replies lately as my views on other threads seem to have left me struggling to get any replies even to the odd PM , but I have heard this view before about river bream , and I must admit I thought they mean't "turning into the current" but I have never caught a really large bream and certainly not on a river , so it was a genuine question.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

I'd rather catch bream than blank but I'd never target them no matter how big

 

[chub_on_the_block]

pretty bit of the Tidal Trent.

That must narrow it down a bit

 

[dezza]

Ron I am confused I haven't fished a river since I was a kid so the only bream I have ever caught were on a canal or a commercial , my biggest barbel on a river was about 4 - 5 lb - in the early seventies - how can a bream fight like a barbel ? Other than perhaps the initial lunge ?

In the natural world, bream belong to rivers, especially sluggish rivers as are found in the fens. Remember that other than the lakes in the lake district, Hornsea Mere and the Cheshire Meres, bream years ago were only found in rivers. Just as they are found in the Shannon and Erne systems of Ireland. The huge bream, 20 pounders are found today in man made gravel pits and reservoirs, eg The Tring group. There are very few rivers that produce wild bream over 10 pounds.

The Thames did produce double figure bream years ago.

The Trent has produced double figure bream quite recently although they hardly ever get reported.

But bream are naturally a river fish, make no mistake about that.

By the way Benny, I do feel sorry for you not having fished a river since you were a child. I would certainly want to put that right

Bream fighting power? of course no bream fights like a barbel. These two fish are built differently. However in a fast river like the Trent, bream, as barbel boi says, can put up a hell of a resistance, especially when they get that dustbin lid body sideways to the current. I had to give line today to the 7 pounder. The smaller fish caused the rod top to bounce. I had to put maximum pressure on that fish to keep it out of the rocks, a common structure on many tidal Trent swims.

---------- Post added at 12:01 ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 ----------

Oh and as far as I know, the only still waters in England where bream are found naturally are the Cheshire Meres.

There are no bream in the Lake District, and certainly there were no bream in Hornsea Mere in the days I used to fish it.

 

[peter crabtree]

The Thames did produce double figure bream years ago.


Last year or this year ?

 

[barbelboi]

Forget the Thames years ago Ron, there are stretches of the Colne today that give up double figure bream. A friend of mine drives up from Crawley to fish our syndicate stretch of the Colne and has taken them to over 14lb - not for me but i have fished for them a couple of times just to be sociable.
Jerry

 

[Philip]

I have been lucky enough to catch some unbelievable river Bream, shaped more like Carp than Bream. One in particular gave me such a fight I was convinced it was a Carp and when I landed it it was really dark in colour, thick across the shoulders and sleek rather than dustbin lid shaped..amazing fish.
Weight wise it was not that big but I have regretted to this day slipping it back without a photo.

I think the Thames is still throwing up some big ones..

 

[David Dalton]

There is no doubt that river bream can fight very hard indeed - not as hard as a barbel, but certainly as hard a chub of the same weight. I've hooked a few on the Royalty that have been a real struggle to land. When they turn broadside on to the current, not only is it really hard to reel them in, but they can throw the hook easily too. When fishing the Trammels earlier this year, I was using a size 10 barbed hook, and lost as many as I landed.

It seems fashionable to despise bream these days, but I don't. A well conditioned river bream is a worthy quarry for any angler.

 

[dezza]

Forget the Thames years ago Ron, there are stretches of the Colne today that give up double figure bream. A friend of mine drives up from Crawley to fish our syndicate stretch of the Colne and has taken them to over 14lb - not for me but i have fished for them a couple of times just to be sociable.
Jerry

OK, but I think that as specimens, they are being undervalued. Specimen fish should not be judged purely on weight.

My old friend and one time member of this website - Gary Knowles, recently wrote an article in Angling Times about the 15 pound Cheshire mere bream he caught recently. This was a true wild fish make no mistake, that had not been fed up on boilies.

Where I live, a 10 pound river, canal or fenland drain bream is extremely rare and a prized specimen make no mistake.

Not all Trent bream I have caught have fought as hard as barbel. Those yesterday did.

 

[no-one in particular]

I can corroborate some of whats been said. The odd bream can fight very hard in deed. And its not always just putting its body mass side on. I caught a 5/6 lb in a very slow river 3 weeks ago and it just fought very hard. I was very surprised it was a bream. Granted, most will just come in like a sack but, don't take it for granted that they will. And I agree with with Ron they can be lovely fish to look at. I have had some with that deep bronze look. My only complaint about them is the slime. I have never caught a bream bigger than about 7lb and that too me is a very finefish in deed, in fact; any bream 2/3lb and over is a very good fish too me and is welcome any time.

 

[dezza]

Talking of Trent bream, there seem to be areas of the river where quite big bream are found. On the other hand there are stretches where you only get skimmers and fish up to about 2 1/2 lbs.

But it was always like this I guess.

To get the big bream, you have to groundbait. On the Tidal Trent, the best time to groundbait is when the river stands still, just before the tide runs off. Then the groundbait will sink quickly to the bottom. When the river flows, it will transmit am attractive cloud of bait and aromas downstream which will attract bream.

It will also attract barbel so beware.

 

[chav professor]

I had a fantastic bream session on my first trip to the Royalty.... they went mad for my fishmeal and hemp based groundbait in a feeder laced with tuna and chilli oil. Had 11 bream to 7lb5oz - each fought surprisingly hard in the strong current and every time the tip wretched over I was convinced it was a barbel due to the ferocity of the bites.

It was my first trip to the royalty as I had never caught a barbel.... When a barbel finally succumbed it was a pretty little fish of just over 3lb. the fight in comparison was brutal compared to that of the bream.......

pretty little barbel, 3lb5oz

 

[no-one in particular]

Nice fish Chav, never caught a bream from the royalty but, did hook one further up at the Bisterne fishery just below Ringwood once. It was huge but, slipped the hook just as I was getting the landing net to it. I was fishing the deepest slowest bit of that fishery at the time.

 

[flightliner]

I would suggest that bream in a river fight pretty much the same as one in stillwater, altho it seems like the fish is putting up a fight its just the flow thats pushing the fish downstream, Over the years I,ve hooked all manner of rubbish coming down the trent and ,to put it as so often said-- its pretty much the same as a sack or polythene bag that you,ve hooked accidentally with the occasional thump thump thump.

 

[Paul Morley]

Fit and healthy river bream are still an interesting quarry. I had two bigger ones on the upper Trent on chub gear and couldn't move them initially; there are some like that in the Ribble too. Ron I saw one heck of a shoal on Monday in a Witham tributary you know of, they all looked excellent - I've had them to 6.08 from there. John Conway's archived FM articles on bream from the Lune are fascinating. And if you can get these fish on the float, say stret pegging or laying on, all the better!!

 

[dezza]

Fit and healthy river bream are still an interesting quarry. I had two bigger ones on the upper Trent on chub gear and couldn't move them initially; there are some like that in the Ribble too. Ron I saw one heck of a shoal on Monday in a Witham tributary you know of, they all looked excellent - I've had them to 6.08 from there. John Conway's archived FM articles on bream from the Lune are fascinating. And if you can get these fish on the float, say stret pegging or laying on, all the better!!

Fit and hard fighting river bream are indeed an interesting quarry. What got me interested in them many years ago were the bream in the River Witham in Lincolnshire.

At the time I was fishing for them I exchanged a great deal of correspondance with Peter Stone of Oxford. One of the aspects of bream fishing we aired was rod top legering v swing tips and other types of bite indicator. I caught more fish using a butt style indicator than using the rod tip. If I was to fish the Witham today, I would be inclined to use a 1 1/2 oz quiver tip rod and an in line method feeder with a short hooklink.

John Conway was one of the first of our members to order a FM Concept rod, which he found ideal for Ribble chub. I remember his pieces on Lune Bream. I wonder if that river still produces big bream. If I remember right, John caught a few doubles from the river. I've not heard from John in many years.