RIVER BREAM FEEDER RIG
A PROLONGED spell of rain sees rivers up and coloured, but once the levels begin to drop, bream will go on the feed. It is then that you can expect some great sport from slabs.
The groundbait feeder is still the most precise and prolific method for catching a bag of bream but you’ll need a hookbait they can home in on when the water has a drop of colour in it. That means worms, worms and more worms!
Fishing the feeder inside a long loop will show up positive indications on the quiver tip. The feeder runs as the fish picks up the bait and then hits the end of the loop. This is translated to the tip as a dropback, when the feeder is dislodged, followed by a big pull round when the lead stops. Strike when this positive pull occurs.
Tackle needs to be robust as you can expect some big fish that will put up a good show of themselves in the flow. A 5lb mainline, a hook length of not much less breaking strain and a large size 16 hook is about right.
Pack the open-end feeder with plenty of roughly chopped worms and a few casters and grains of corn and fish a whole worm on the end, but nip the tail off to allow the juices and scent to leak out. Better still, try a couple of red maggots. There’s no need for a long hook length in coloured water as the bream will home in on the feeder first, so keep your bait close at hand and a take won’t be far off coming.
In terms of the size of open-end feeder to use, pick a weight that will hold bottom in the current. This may need a few changes and several casts to get right but effectively you want a feeder that holds bottom yet is easily dislodged by a fish to show up those drop-back bites.