Big catches of bream
Records fall as big shoals go on the feed - dig out your feeders and fill your boots!
“I spent the first 25 minutes with a big feeder on, just filling it in with choppie and casters”
IT’S been one of the best ever starts to the river season for bream anglers.
Despite many waterways running low and clear because of the lack of rainfall, anglers have been cashing in on incredible early-season form. Huge shoals of bream are on the feed everywhere from Yorkshire in the north down to the ever-popular River Thames further south.
The river record tumbled on the Yorkshire Ouse during a contest run by York & DAA.
With the sun blazing down on competitors, the match organisers admitted to being ‘stunned’ when the honours were decided with a net-busting 164lb 12oz of slabs.
Leeds angler Lee Edson drew near Killingbeck sandbed and fished a groundbait feeder with worm on the hook to land 48 bream to 7lb.
“I knew I could be on the fish, so I spent the first 25 minutes of the match with a big feeder on, just filling it in with choppie and casters,” Lee told Angling Times.
“After 30 minutes I made my first cast and had one straight away. Just as I got it in the net I saw four of five other bream roll in front of me, so I knew it was going to be a good day, even though by then it was 80 degrees!”
Moving down the country, the River Nene has also been in top form for the species, with a string of new personal bests recorded.
Harry Murphy was one of many to take advantage of the river’s great early-season form.
A week of prebaiting was the key to the Peterborough youngster’s success and he’s pictured (right) with just part of his 90lb haul. This included 21 slabs, all of which were caught during a day on the river upstream of Orton.
He fished the feeder with chopped worms, casters and pellets, tactics that he also used lower down the Nene on the North Bank to land 38 bream.
“This was truly incredible fishing,” said Harry. “On both sessions I started with a big feeder and chucked that out six times to get some bait out there. Then I’d cast every 90 seconds until the bream arrived.”
Harry used short hooklinks, and his hookbaits were either worm and maggot cocktails or two dead red maggots threaded on to a size 12 or 14 hook.
Other waters including the Warwickshire Avon, the River Trent, the Norfolk Broads and the River Thames have all been producing huge bags of bream.