Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
5 hookbaits bream can’t resist – Paul Garner
Want to catch a big net of bream? Paul Garner reckons that having a choice of hookbaits and knowing when to switch can lead to a memorable day
IN THIS era of carp-dominated commercials, it is easy to forget that not so long ago if you wanted to catch a big bag of fish, your best bet was bream. Huge shoals of bronze-backed slabs averaging five or more pounds apiece can be found in venues up and down the country and can provide brilliant sport, especially at this time of the year. Best of all, the tactics needed to target them are cheap and simple. On a breezy morning we joined Paul Garner, no stranger to catching bream, on the banks of Badshot Lea Big Pond in Hampshire. His challenge? To demonstrate his simple bream fishing tactics, and talk us through his favourite baits for the species. Choosing a swim facing into the prevailing wind and setting the line at a comfortable 12 wraps on both rods, Paul chose two far-bank trees as markers and set about introducing groundbait to attract the roaming shoals of slabs.
Simple groundbait mix
To begin with Paul carefully measured out some sticky black liquid, added it to a bait tub full of water and slowly mixed it with the pungent groundbait in his shallow bowl. He explained that he keeps things simple when it comes to bream groundbaits, adding just a few crucial ingredients. “Having experimented with a lot of different groundbaits over the years, and finding that complex mixes don’t catch any more fish, I now keep it really simple. A good quality fishmealbased Method feeder groundbait forms the base and to this I add a tablespoon of liquid molasses to each pint of water. A handful of 3mm pellets adds some larger food items to keep the bream nosing around, and that’s it!” Most fishmeal-based groundbaits can absorb a lot of water, but over-wet them and they will turn into concrete, so it is important to take your time. Add the water slowly, allowing a few minutes for it to be absorbed before adding any more. “Normally, I will introduce a dozen to 20 30mm balls of this groundbait mix, made with my Ball Maker, by catapult and then rely on the feeder to top up the swim. I cast regularly, never leaving the feeder out for more than 15 minutes, because by this time little bait will still be around it. The worst thing you can do is leave out the feeders for too long. You need that steady addition of bait to keep the bream looking for grub and not moving on,” explains Paul.
Use a Method for quick bites
With both rods cast either side of the area that Paul had groundbaited, it was time to sit back and await for the arrival of bream. It didn’t take long before the bobbins began to twitch and Paul was in business with a dark bronze bream soon resting in the landing net. “That’s the beauty of the Method,” says Paul. “The fish home-in on the small pile of groundbait and there, right in the middle, is the hookbait. The short hooklength means that the hookbait is right where you want it, and often bites come very quickly.” And just like that, the second bobbin falls like a stone and the Siren alarm lets out a continuous wail as Paul’s other rod signals a bite. It is shaping up to be a good morning. This fish is of a similar stamp to the first, at around 5lb. The fish in Badshot Lea do run much bigger, but often fish of a given size hang around together. Recasting regularly keeps the swim topped-up with feed and either a proper bite or a line bite signals that the bream are still present. There is now a distinct whiff of bream slime in the air as the fish keep on coming. Then, just as it seems that a big haul is on the cards, the bites stop. After 20 minutes with no fish on the bank, Paul decides it is time to swap hookbaits. “So far I have been fishing pre-drilled 8mm pellets on both rods. Bream love pellets, especially oily ones, and they blend in well with the groundbait that I am introducing. Sometimes, though, they can blend in too well and it can pay to swap to a more visual bait. “Normally when this happens I know it is going to be a tough day. The line-bites tell me that the fish are still present, but for some reason they are not feeding confidently, so I will have to try some different hookbaits.”
Experiment for more bites
Paul winds in both rods and swaps one to fish sweetcorn and the other to a dark-coloured wafter boilie. “Now we will see if the fish are interested in feeding on a brighter bait,” he says. The response is not long in coming. The bobbin on the corn rod pulls tight and another bream is soon in the net. “The groundbait on the feeder couldn’t have
even broken down before I had that bite, which proves that the bream will sometimes home in on a bright hookbait. I will see if it was just a lone fish, but if I get another one on corn I will swap the second to a bright bait too.” The question is answered as the corn rod signals another bite, while the dark hookbait remains dormant. With the fish returned, Paul winds in the wafter rod and swaps the rig to one loaded with a bunch of maggots. “When the fishing is a little slow, dead maggots will often catch a few fish when all else fails. The only problem is that maggots can be too attractive and lead to you catching a lot of small fish. Using dead grubs is one way of overcoming this problem because it’s movement that normally attracts silver fish.” After a positive start, it is obvious that the bream have decided that they are going to need more persuasion. But by recasting the rods and continually swapping the hookbaits, Paul is able to keep the odd fish coming. Paul is philosophical about how the day is going. “In some ways the fishing has been a lot more interesting than simply casting out any old bait and winding in another bream. “It goes to show that changing baits can make a difference when the going is tough because not all the fish want the same thing. There is no such thing as a best bait today, and if I had stuck with just one then I don’t think I would have winkled out as many fish.” By early afternoon the swim had completely dried up and line bites ceased, signalling that the shoal of bream had departed. With around a dozen bream banked, it hadn’t been a bad morning’s work. “I don’t think that I have done a lot wrong today,” reflects Paul. “By recognising the signs and switching baits I have kept a few fish coming to the net, which is the aim of the game when the fish don’t really want to play ball. What always surprises me is how a seemingly dead swim can yield a few more bites by simply changing the hookbait. It’s a lesson well learned, and one that can make a big difference to your catches, not just for bream, but for many other species too.”
“It didn’t take long for the bobbins to twitch and Paul was in business”