TO STRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE?
Bream can be tentative biters on the quiver tip. When should you strike? If you’re expecting skimmers and the odd bigger fish, any positive movement where the tip plucks and holds should be hit. If tiny bites don’t seem to develop, try taking just a little tension out of the quiver tip to see if the fish bite better with a fraction less resistance. beeston lock The rules can change with a shoal of real dinner plate ‘slabs however. These can give false ‘line bites where the tip pulls rapidly once before bouncing flat, hence it may be best to wait for the tip to pull right round.
Balanced tackle should indeed be the watchword for bream fishing, because not only will light tackle provide better fight from this sleepy customer, but forgiving tackle also prevents hook pulls, and the smaller skimmers, especially, have quite soft mouths.
Beeston Canal Fishing Photo Gallery
As a confirmed bottom-feeder, bream are one of those species that demand a still hookbait, right on the bed. For this reason, as well as their sometimes finicky bites, the pole represents unbeatable stability and sensitivity. But a feeder rod can quickly become first option on wide sections of canal where a pole won’t reach or the weather turns nasty.
Deads are deadly
Dead maggots are an excellent bait for bream These are less attractive to small fish and won’t bury into the bottom, providing your chosen quarry with an easy mouthful. beeston weir fishing One quick way to create dead maggots for the hook is to roll them on your knee. Where real net fillers are expected, try a trio of dead reds on a size 12 hook.
Early morning on the Exeter Canal and the author studies a wide bend for signs of rolling fish.
A trio of summer bream cruise in plain sight. In such conditions an early or late session might be best.
Where bigger bream are present, a worm and caster cocktail is a winner.
Maggots catch bream year round, but try a bunch if small fish prove a nuisance.
