Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Want 100lb of bream? Then get baiting – Andy Grimes
Keep the bait going in and you could have your best ever bream session, as Andy Grimes proves with an incredible haul of slabs
BIG bream are without doubt the hungriest of fish. Marauding their home waters in giant shoals, they can mop up a bed of bait in no time at all. Feed a small handful of bait and the bream will clear the lot and move on before you’ve had chance to capitalise on what could have been a stunning day of filling your net. Put simply, if you want to hold the slabs in your swim you have to ‘fill it in’ with bait and give them a meal that will satisfy their enormous appetites. Andy Grimes loves fishing for big bream and spends a long time priming a spot before he even thinks about casting a baited hook into the water. “I don’t believe you can fill up a shoal at this time of year,” stated Andy. “If you don’t put in enough bait in you might catch one fish when they turn up and by the time you cast back out they will have moved on and that’s your day finished,” he cautioned.
Spomb it out
The traditional way of baiting a swim is to use a large cage feeder and cast it upwards of a dozen times to build a carpet of feed. However, this tactic is time consuming so Andy uses a device that acheives the same result in half the time.
“Carp anglers use a Spomb to bait their swims at distance and I use one to put out the amount of bait required. “One cast can introduce the equivalent of three or four big feeders so you only need to chuck it five times at the start of the session to deposit the desired amount.” Rather than pile it all in over a tight spot Andy picks two far-bank markers and spreads it between them. This encourages the fish to keep grubbing around for longer. Topping up mid-session with a Spomb is also important and this is best done whenever bites dry up for a period. “The noise doesn’t seem to put big bream off the feed – especially in deeper waters – so I have no fears of scaring off any fish that may be lingering nearby,” reassured Andy. A cheap specimen carp rod is ideal for Spombing because it has the necessary power to punch out the weighty, loaded device without fear of breakages.
Bait choices
Bream aren’t usually that picky when it comes to what they eat. In fact, they’ll scoff pretty much anything! Andy carries a wide range of baits in his carryall and mixes the lot to create an irresistible concoction. “Small baits will hold the fish in the swim for an extended period because they take much longer to hoover up. Small pellets, corn, hemp, dead maggots and casters give the fish plenty to feast on. “When it comes to actually fishing I use a Method feeder because the bites are unmissable and I use two different types of small, dampened pellets moulded around the frame. “It doesn’t matter which pellets you choose, I just believe that any contrast in colour stands out and leads to quicker bites.” Rotating hookbaits is important. When bream fishing it is common to get a run of bites before they suddenly tail off. Although a top-up of loosefeed may be needed, it is best to try something different on the hook first as it could simply be that the bream have wised up to the trap. “I find that highly visible baits work best, probably because they are easier for the fish to see once they start churning the bottom up,” explained Andy. “Mini boilies, corn and wafters all work well and it is a good idea to carry them in a range of colours to keep your options open.”
Keep on casting
Old-school bream tactics comprise chucking the feeder and waiting a long time before repeating the process is required. But Andy doesn’t subscribe to that theory and believes times have changed. “Anglers think that it is just the fish in commercials that associate noise with food but bream in natural waters are definitely starting to do the same. I think it pays to cast the feeder regularly and I have lost count of the number of times I have had bites in less than a minute of it hitting the deck,” he revealed. Casting every five minutes is a good starting point although you should make a note of how long it takes for bites. If you notice the tip is wrapping round after four minutes then there is no point leaving it in for any longer. On the flip side, it can sometimes take a little longer for the fish to take the hookbait.
Breaming paradise
Imagine a venue where you are guaranteed quality bream, where the ‘tiddlers’ are 4lb and specimens run to over 11lb. It might sound too good to be true but that is what Andy enjoys each time he visits Grimsbury Reservoir in Banbury, Oxfordshire. There are no obvious features to hold the fish so a big bed of bait is the only thing that is going to stop them in their tracks. “I’m going to cast a loaded Spomb six times. It is built to dive nose first and the second it hits the water it opens up and the bait is released.” With overcast skies and a breeze running across the venue, conditions were ideal but where the fish would be was anyone’s guess. Once the food-filled carpet had been laid, Andy got into his regular casting routine. The fish clearly weren’t playing ball, though, with no sign of them in the first 40 minutes. Out came the Spomb to make a bit more commotion and the swim was transformed in an instant. The next three chucks producing as many fish for more than 20lb. Each one had the battle scars you would expect from such old fish, with their dark shade of brown a pleasant change from the washedout colour of bream in most waters. Over the next few hours the bites kept coming and going but it was noticeable that piling in the bait and switching hookbaits brought quick bursts of fish that contributed to a highly impressive 100lb-plus haul of slabs. “If I’d have been cautious with my feeding I could have blanked today. “Bream are extremely greedy – don’t be afraid to keep piling in the bait and you’ll put together some amazing catches,” concluded Andy.
“Out came the Spomb with the next three chucks producing as many fish for over 20lb”