Bream might not fight like carp or tear off like barbel, but when they arrive in numbers the fishing can be awesome and the scales can soon tell the story. The UK is blessed with venues where you can put together huge weights of bream, whether you prefer long-range feeder fishing, traditional float work, or fishing a pole line over a bed of groundbait.
Get it right and you’ll enjoy one of the most rewarding sessions in coarse angling, get yourself covered with bream slime coat and get your keepnets bulging with bronze slabs. In this guide, we’ll run through some of the best waters in the country where big bags of bream are not just possible, they’re expected.
Southend Farm Fishery, Waltham Abbey, Essex
The Main Lake produces to float and feeder tactics, with fish in the 2lb-4lb bracket. Try corn and meat on the pole at 13m.
Contact: 07950 012614
Durleigh Reservoir, Bridgwater, Somerset
This 80-acre reservoir is good for bream hauls over 100lb. A Method or Hybrid feeder loaded with micros and a wafter hookbait is a good tactic.
Contact: www.wessexwater.co.uk
THE BEST DISTANCE FEEDER FISHING RODS ARE PERFECT FOR BIG NATURAL RESERVOIRS.
Kingsbury Water Park, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
Bodymoor Heath Water holds large shoals of bream from 3lb-7lb. Try feeder lines at 40m and 60m, and rotate them.
Contact: www.kingsburyfishery.co.uk
Esthwaite Water, Hawkshead, Cumbria
Bream bags to over 200lb have been landed this summer, but heavy loosefeeding is needed to draw the shoals in. Use a combination of groundbait and particles to get their heads down.
Contact: www.esthwaitewater.com
THE BEST FEEDER FISHING REELS ARE PERFECT FOR HAULING BIG BREAM.
Southfield Reservoir, Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Patience and line rotation are key at Southfield, with areas at 40m and 60m recommended. Cast every five to seven minutes and introduce a little worm to each feederful if you get off to a slow start.
Contact: www.ddaa.co.uk
Calf Heath Reservoir, Cannock, Staffs
This Blackfords Progressive AS water responds well to a running cage feeder approach, with 40lb netfuls on the cards.
Contact: www.blackfordsprogressiveanglingsociety.co.uk
Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent
Start your session by baiting heavily at 35m before slowly building up a 50m line by fishing it early on. Expect bream to 7lb to respond.
Contact: www.maidstonevictoryanglingsociety.com
THE BEST FISHING SEATBOXES PROVIDE A STABLE PLATFORM FOR FISHING.
Albans Lakes, St. Albans, Herts
The Match Lake received a top-up of bream in the 6lb-9lb bracket several months ago, and these fish are regularly caught on Method feeder tactics. A mix of micro pellets and groundbait works well.
Contact: www.albanslakesofficial.co.uk
Rudyard Lake, Leek, Staffordshire
Use a cage feeder with a hooklength of 2ft-3ft at the start of the session, but if line bites persist, cut it back to 1ft-2ft. Dead maggots, worms and sweetcorn are all effective hookbaits for the bream here, which run to around to 5lb.
Contact: www.rudyardlake.com
Blythe Water, Solihull, West Midlands
Bridge Pool has become a fantastic bream fishery since the venue received an overhaul, with slabs to 8lb having been stocked. Try long pole tactics into open water areas.
Contact: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
YOU NEED TO TRY THIS TACTIC FOR BIG BREAM ON LARGE RESERVOIRS.
