BAGGING UP ON RIVER BREAM
Positive tactics will pay off on big autumn rivers
THE recent heavy rain and floods that we have seen in many parts of the country have definitely kick-started our autumn river fishing campaign.
Often the change in the colour and level of a river can be almost imperceptible but, with the coming of autumn, all of a sudden the conditions improve enough to spur the fish into a feeding frenzy.
After the low water conditions of summer, an increase in flow can have a dramatic effect for many species, not least bream.
RELIABLE SLABS
Although they may play second fiddle to barbel, river bream make a brilliant target and can often be much more reliable than their torpedo-shaped cousins, especially if you want to fish during the daylight hours.
In many larger rivers the bream have attained an exceptional size too. Double-figure fish are no longer out of the question if you visit the Severn, Thames or Trent.
Bream might be considered a nuisance species if you are targeting barbel or river carp, but a slab’s willingness to hang itself on ‘animal’ gear should give us a clue to the tactics that we can employ to catch them.
Forget about small baits and fine tackle – river bream at this time of the year can be easily caught on a much more aggressive approach.
This is also a great time of the year to give your bait stocks a good once over and use up anything with a short shelf life. This includes baits such as pellets and breadcrumb, all of which are the ideal feed for bream, but which won’t last right over winter.
LAY IT DOWN
Big rivers mean serious gear, and the easiest way to ensure that your bait goes where you want it is to use swimfeeder tactics.
Big cage feeders are ideal, as they hold plenty of groundbait and feed, enabling you to get enough bait in to attract and then hold a shoal of bream. I tend to start off by using two rods, simply because this enables me to put in double the amount of bait, but you could alternatively make several quick casts every so often to get a decent amount of bait out in short order.
The feeders are filled with a stiff fishmeal groundbait mix that is loaded with small pellets.
After 20 casts with the feeder I will have laid down a decent bed of bait. It is important to make sure that the groundbait remains in the feeder until it hits the riverbed, as this will ensure the contents stay where you want them and don’t get washed away.
TEMPTING HOOKBAITS
I use pellets to attract the bream, but generally speaking it will take a more attractive hookbait to bring