Trio of bream goes 43lb 8oz

Trevor Pole has continued his run of form on a tough Leicestershire stillwater with the capture of three big bream for a combined weight of 43lb 8oz.

After an uneventful first night without so much as a liner, sport eventually picked up for the 55-year-old when a shoal of specimens honed in on his bed of bed which consisted of two pints of dead red maggots, two pints of casters and three tins of sweetcorn.

In a manic spell of angling he landed a brace of huge slabs weighing 15lb 7oz and 15lb 5oz before completing the hat trick with a 12lb 12oz specimen.

“There was a time when many of us used to pack all of our bream gear away by the end of September, but if you’re fishing a lake that’s got decent depth it’s possible to fish way into November,” the self-employed gardner told Angling Times.

“Even when we start to get the first consistent frosts of the year I will continue to sit it out because it takes a lot longer than people think for the water temperatures to really start to get down and stop the bream from getting their heads down.

“When you’re fishing for bream  like this it’s vital to fish with quite fine end tackle because they are very finicky and under pressure, but I did get a bit nervous when the lead became snagged in the rocks while the 15lb 5oz bream was attached to the other end of the rig. I guess it was just meant to be.”

Trevor offered imitation caster hookbaits on helicopter rigs comprising 7lb Berkley Fireline hooklinks and size 14 Korum hooks.

Big bream after 80 night sessions

Extreme dedication eventually led to Matt Clayton catching this 15lb 10oz bream, his first fish in around 80 night sessions.

The 32-year-old from Mountsorrel has been tackling a tough Midlands reservoir where he rowed his rigs and baits out to a range of 200 yards with a boat, feeding a good helping of groundbait, casters, pellets and corn.  He latched into the slab on the third morning of a five night stint after a series of tentative bleeps on his alarms.

“I thought it might weigh 12-13lb when I netted it but it was very bulky across the back. I hadn’t seen one of these bream for two years so I was delighted. I used three rubber casters hair-rigged with a size 12 hook, a 3oz lead rig, 8lb mainline and 10lb IQ hooklength,” explained Matt, who also took another double figure specimen just days later.

It’s his second biggest bream ever, with his personal best standing at 16lb 8oz.

Prebaiting pays off with two double-figure bream

Andy Loble got his campaign on a new Cambridgeshire pit off to a flying start, landing two double-figure bream in just six nights.

The 32-year-old fed heavily with hemp and pellet to catch bream of 12lb 8oz and 10lb 7oz as well as tench to 6lb 1oz.

“I’d spent the first few sessions on the water with just a set of polarised sunglasses and a marker rod and have been baiting two promising areas ever since, putting 9kg of bait in already,” explained the Cambridgeshire-based environmental consultant.

“I am going to be putting a lot more work in to the venue and hope a new personal-best will grace my net soon,” he added.

Andy used a bright yellow CC Moore Silent Assassin boilie to tempt the specimen slabs.

Personal best bream falls in haul of doubles

Persistence certainly paid off for Leicester’s Trevor Pole who, in the space of just five hours, landed a 15lb 11oz personal best bream from a local stillwater along with other fish of 12lb 14oz, 12lb 2oz and 11lb 9oz.

Targeting a long range feature at 130 yards range, he put his faith in three imitation casters with he mounted on helicopter rigs.

He said: “The venue only contains a very small head of big bream so to catch a pb along with a bag of other double figure fish is a real achievement as months can pass on this place without a bream even being seen, let alone caught.”

Feeding time for big bream

October isn’t usually a month associated with the capture of big bream but they are certainly feeding up ready for the winter with a string of specimens hitting the bank topped by this 17lb fish.

Targeting this species is all about location and this was emphasised by Tring-based all-rounder Ken Brown, who located a clear spot between two weed beds and primed the spot with two kilos of pellets, a kilo of boilies, two tins of corn and two pints of dead maggots.

The first night of his 48-hour session failed to produce a bite, but his method feeders with two hair-rigged 10 mm boilies proved too hard to resist for the resident bream that reside in the tough southern stillwater.

Ken used 10lb line, 12lb coated braid hooklinks and size 8 hooks to get the better of bream weighing 13lb 6oz, 12lb 5oz and 11lb 8oz, but he had to wait until the final few hours of his stint until this huge bream graced the net.

“Big bream are creatures of habit so when you are targeting a hard water it’s important to make a note of all of the swims, areas and spots where you know fish have visited in the past as I had this catch from a location that had produced fish for me before,” said Ken.

“When I’m fishing over a bed of bait I’ll position one rod right over the top of it and then the other two on the edges and the biggest fish almost always fall to the baits that are presented on the perimeter of the feed.”

Another angler who had success at a difficult venue was Leicester’s Trevor Pole, who in the space of just five hours landed a 15lb 11oz personal best backed up with fish weighing 12lb 14oz, 12lb 2oz and 11lb 9oz.

He was fishing his local stillwater, that only contains a very small head of big bream, at 130 yards with helicopter rigs baited with three imitation casters  when he made his memorable haul that was topped with the fish that beats his previous best for the species by 3 oz.

“To catch a ‘pb’ along with a bag of other double figure fish is a real achievement for me because months can pass on this place without a bream even being seen let alone caught,” said Trevor.

A single bite brings best bream ever

Jamie Cartwright only had one bite during his latest session on a midlands stillwater - but he wasn’t complaining as it resulted in this new personal best bream of 15lb 6oz.

The 36-year-old Northampton Specimen Group member had upped his pb with a fish of 12lb 8oz a few weeks earlier, but went one better on his latest session.

Targeting a clear channel in the weed at around 60yds-70yds range on the 25-acre lake, he offered three hookbaits consisting of a stack of artificial corn over a bed of corn, pellets, mixed particles, dead maggots and whole and crushed 10mm CC Moore Odyssey XXX boilies.

“I use four pieces of fake corn, two pop-up and two sinking, so that the rig is nicely balanced,” Jamie told Angling Times. “At the start of the session I put out 2.5kg of bait and kept the spot topped up. I must have got through about 10kg over the duration of the trip.

“On the second morning, just before it got light, I received a small drop back bite. It was a typical slow and ponderous big bream fight but I didn’t see exactly how big it was until it came up under the rod tip.

“I’ve had several fish around the 10lb-11lb-mark from the venue this year but things have really gone up a gear in recent weeks. The lake has a decent head of bream which average double figures. It has done a fish over 18lb in the past so hopefully I’ll be able to up my pb again soon,” he added.

Jamie mounted his hookbaits on scaled-down carp rigs comprising size 10 ESP Curve Shanx hooks and 15lb Korda N-Trap hooklinks.

Big bream falls to new feeder trick

A revolutionary new maggot feeder has accounted for this new personal best 12lb bream from an untapped Shropshire stillwater for Adam Firth.

Glovers Lake on the Baden Hall Fisheries complex is due to open to anglers in the near future, and with the opportunity of an early session on the 7-acre lake, the Korum media manager thought that maggots would give him the best chance of catching one of the venue’s unknown specimens.

“All fish love maggots and they are the perfect bait to take to lakes that are rarely fished, or to those that haven’t seen a barrage of pellets and boilies,” he told Angling Times.

Armed with two pints of mixed red and white grubs Adam set up an inline maggot feeder rig incorporating the new Korum Grub Feeder.

“A common problem with most maggot feeders is that they are a pain to fill. The little flick cap on the top isn’t the easiest to get your maggots in and can easily snap off, rendering your feeder useless. They’re also not very aerodynamic, so casting accurately, especially at long range, can be a difficult task. Until the Korum Grub Feeder that is,” he explained. “They are extremely aerodynamic and fly like a bullet. They can also be filled in seconds by simply flipping open the clam shell style lid.”
After failing to spot any signs of fish during a quick lap of the lake, Adam followed his gut instincts and settled in to a corner on the end of a southerly wind.

“Short hooklinks were the order of the day so that I could use the full weight of the feeder to create the ‘bolt effect’. My rigs couldn’t have been any simpler - 4ins of 10lb braid to a size 10 or 12 Xpert Power hook. I like to fish it Mag-Aligner style by threading a white artificial maggot onto the hook and then nicking on three real maggots. On other occasions, popped-up baits can be more effective. Simply swapping the artificial maggot with a small maggot shaped piece of foam will make the bait buoyant. Clip your hooklink into the specially designed line clip on the top of the feeder, and your hookbait will be sitting prime and ready.

“I filled two grub feeders in less than 30 seconds, I was ready to cast. Both rods were fished between 80 and 85 yards, just short of the far bank, into the slightly deeper water where the weed had died back and I thought the bream might be residing.

“I didn’t have to wait long for a take, although taking off at 100mph up the lake, I wasn’t sure that I’d connected with the right species. After a long dogged fight, a muscle packed, lean common carp appeared in the clear water in front of me. After quickly popping the hook out, I put on a fresh hookbait, re-filled the feeder and got the rod back out onto the spot.

“After a couple more interruptions from the wrong species, my left- hand bobbin very slowly lifted up, before dropping back down. I could then feel the tell-tale heavy thump, thump of a big bream upon lifting the rod. My colleague Mat Woods did the honours with the net, exclaiming ‘That’s a blooming big bream. What’s your PB?’ Rushing over I looked down on what was without a doubt the biggest bream I’d ever caught. On the scales, the fish swung the needle round to 12lb exactly. A PB by 4lb. After the pictures we slipped it back and I was left to wonder how big they went in the lake…

Corn nets new personal-best bream at 12lb 8oz

Jamie Cartwright banked a new personal-best bream in the shape of this 12lb 8oz specimen.

The Northampton-based all-rounder targeted a Midlands stillwater and took the specimen alongside a common carp of 32lb 2oz.

Jamie said: “Both fish were caught on artificial corn stacks over large beds of corn, pellet, mixed particles and 10mm boilies.

“Interestingly, every fish I’ve caught from there has fallen to the corn despite having a boilie on at least one rod fished over the same baited area.”

Baden Hall bream a venue best at 16lb 7oz

Mark Bartlett set a new venue record at Staffordshire’s Baden Hall Fishery with this superb 16lb 7oz bream.

Finding a clear area at 70 yards on the Quarry Pool, the 29-year-old spodded out half a bucket of corn and casters. The specimen slab came in the early hours of the morning to a single grain of artificial corn on a size 7 Fox Arma Point SSBP hook, a 4ins 15lb Reflex hooklink and a 3oz inline lead. Bristol-based Mark, who is sponsored by Fox, Mainline and Hinders, presented a solid PVA bag of Little Gemz pellets.

He said: “I’d heard that a few big bream between 10lb and 13lb had been coming out so I kept my options open fishing sweetcorn for bream, tench or carp. I’m really pleased with this capture as it’s a fish of a lifetime and I’m sure it will grow much bigger as the Quarry Pool has such a rich water quality.”

Big bream on the Ouse

A huge catch of bream from the Great Ouse was capped off in style for Alan Lawrence when he banked this 10lb 3oz fish.

The Bedfordshire-based rod had spent the majority of the season targeting big carp on a local stretch of the waterway, but having suffered numerous blanks he switched his attentions to the resident shoals of slabs.

A suitable swim was baited with a large bed of CC Moore Hemp-n-Halibut groundbait laced with particles before a helicopter feeder rig made up of 6lb mainline, a 5lb fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 12 hook was placed over the top.

His tactical ploy soon paid dividends and by the end of the session he had taken 11 fish on fake corn hookbaits for almost 90lb.

Monster 20lb bream taken

Two grains of sweetcorn fished at 300yards has accounted for the capture of one of the biggest bream of all time weighing in at a colossal 20lb 12oz.

After 25 blank nights in pursuit of carp at an ultra-tough Cambridgeshire gravel pit experienced specimen angler Michael Kennedy decided to target the venues bream after seeing a group of fish ‘rolling’ at distances far beyond casting distance.

He used a rowing boat to introduce over 10 kilos of mixed particles, broken boilies and sweetcorn over the top of his chosen area and then used scaled-down carp rigs in order to target the bream.

The 27-year-old’s first session produced a superb 15lb 8oz specimen and after topping up his baited area he returned a week later in the hope that an even bigger bream would graze over his bed of feed.

It proved to be the perfect trap as the new personal best, that falls 1lb 15 oz short of the current British best, took two grains of corn that were fished on a long hair rig and tied to a size 10 Gardner ‘Mugga’ hook.

“I’m still in shock as I thought I’d be in with a chance of catching after seeing so many fish at range, but I didn’t expect to catch a 20 ‘pounder’. “I weighed it three times as I just couldn’t believe how big it was. ” Michael told Angling Times.

“Some carp anglers probably put this fish back without even as much as second glance, but to say that I’m over the moon is an understatement as it’s so rewarding to know that all of the hard work and observation has paid off.

“To me this fish means as much to me as banking an English carp over 40lb and I know that there aren’t many carpers out there that would row their baits out 300 yards to catch a bream, but I’m so glad that I did.”

TV presenter bags bream at Lake John

TV star Les Dennis proved he is as capable on the bank as he is in front of an audience when he caught a big net of bream at Lake John Fishery.

The former Family Fortunes presenter has become a regular at the Essex venue and took advice from local experts to catch a series of fish to 3lb during his latest outing.

Complex boss Colin Bartlett was on hand to pass on his top tips. He said: “Les told us he hadn’t been fishing for a while and initially it showed! A few tweaks to his approach and he was soon getting bites on a regular basis though.”

Horseshoe Lake bream best is toppled

The bream record at one of the UK’s most famous big-fish waters has been smashed with a 16lb 6oz specimen.

Horseshoe Lake in Gloucestershire is better known for its large carp, rudd and tench – and hasn’t produced a single slab in over four years - so all-rounder Andrew Grimshaw was certainly surprised when he banked the new personal best for the species.

Concentrating his efforts on a clear spot in the weed at 35 yards range, he cast 12mm Baitworks Monster Red hookbaits over the top of a spod mix laced with maggots. It was the addition of these grubs that the Brighton-based rod is convinced attracted the attentions of the historic specimen.

It was the highlight of a prolific four-day session on the Carp Society owned venue, which also produced 25 carp to a best of 28lb. All of his fish were beaten with rigs constructed from 10lb braided hooklinks and size 10 hooks.

“This incredible fish is one of the best I’ve ever caught and I reckon it must be 25-years-old,” Andrew told Angling Times.

“Many carp anglers see this species as a nuisance, but I’ve been an all-rounder for more than four decades and I’m truly delighted . The fact that it is such a rare specimen for this lake makes the capture even more special.”

Elsewhere, Tim Gulliver got in on the big bream action when he banked a trio of double figure fish from a midlands reservoir topped off with an impressive 15lb 2oz specimen.
He kicked off his session with the introduction of a bed of mixed particles and ellipse pellets from Blakes Baits then cast lobworm hookbaits over the top.

The Daventry-based rod’s catch - which also included bream weighing 12lb 8oz, 11lb and 8lb - was taken from a gap between two weed beds at 80 yards range.

“The weed here is really thick so I’ve been using lead clip systems that drop the weight as soon as a fish is hooked. This is vital because I’ve lost big fish in the weed due to the lead getting snagged up in the past,” said Tim, who used 15lb Drennan Strip Teaze hooklinks attached to size 12 Gardner hooks.

Double figure river bream on bread

CATCHING double figure bream is usually associated with fishing stillwater venues but this 10lb 11oz specimen was landed from a stretch of the tiny River Ivel.

Fox-backed Dan Sales was targeting the waterway’s carp and chub when he spotted three huge bream grazing on the bottom so decided to try and tempt a bite with a thumb-sized piece of bread flake folded around a size 6 wide gape hook.

“I’ve never seen bream this big in the river before and this was the smallest of the tree,” Dan told Angling Times.

“There’s no doubt that the other two were around 12lb to 13lb and they were actually pushing the carp out of the way to get to the bread.”

Two bream for over 30lb

THE decision to fish over a large bed of bait paid dividends for Tim Gulliver with the capture of two bream for a combined weight of 30lb 12oz.

His huge brace - which featured a new personal best of 16lb 12oz and a 14lb specimen - were taken from an ultra-tough southern gravel pit which is home to a small population of very large slabs.

And throwing caution to the wind, the Daventry-based rod used a small boat to row out 20kg of corn and Blake’s Baits Ellipse pellets which he fed with a catapult to create a carpet of feed at the end of a weedbed 80 yards from the bank.

It proved to be a wise move and both fish came to simple rigs tied with 12lb ESP Strip Teaze hooklinks and size 10 Gardner Mugga hooks baited with three or four pieces of imitation corn.

“Fishing is all about confidence and I just got a feeling that a big bed of bait was the right method for this session – and thankfully I was right,” Tim told Angling Times.

“When you’re baiting up with a boat the temptation is to overdo it and just dump the lot over the side. I like to feed with a catapult, though, to produce a more evenly distributed bed of feed.

“This gives these fish, which can easily eat vast volumes of particles, quite a wide area to graze over confidently.”

Tim also revealed that he hooked into a fish that he believes was even bigger than his new personal best, but unfortunately he lost it in the weed as it approached his landing net.

“I was gutted when the hook pulled and I watched it swim off through the weed, but it just makes me want to come back and keep trying,” he added.

200lb haul of bream at Thames free fishing spot

A FREE fishing hotspot on the River Thames has produced one of the best catches of the season so far after Tony Curd hauled out almost 200lb of bream in just three hours.

The MAP backed angler took time out from the competitive side of the sport to enjoy a short pleasure fishing session and headed to the Kingston stretch of the waterway at first light.

Confident the slabs would be in the mood for a feast, he fed 4kg of groundbait - which consisted of a 50/50 blend of Bait-Tech Omen and Kult Sweet fishmeal - and a kilo of 2mm pellets. A cage feeder presentation with a triple red maggot hookbait was then offered over the top.

Despite a slow start to the session, regular recasting soon triggered a response which led to a manic couple of hours.

“It took almost 60 minutes to get a bite but once the first fish was in the net, the action never stopped. By the end of the session I had netted 33 bream which averaged 5lb each, with a few at around 8lb,” explained Tony, who used 6lb mainline and an 0.15mm hooklink to a size 14 Kamasan B560 hook.

“I have had some great catches of bream from the area in the past but this has to rate as one of my best ever sessions. It just goes to show how good the Thames can be if you do your homework,” he added.

Members of Edmonton and Tottenham AS also capitalised on the impressive form of the river, with the top three of their latest match on the stretch sharing over 225lb of bream between them.

Leading the way on the day was Dave Whiteman who used worm and maggot to tempt fish to 7lb for a 91lb 8oz total.

Tench session results in huge bream haul

THE decision to abandon a dour tench fishing session and switch focus to big bream proved a wise move for Gary Knowles as he went on to land seven double figure specimens to 12lb 6oz during a manic overnight stint.

The Dynamite Baits-backed angler had struggled to attract his intended species while fishing a tricky North West stillwater but had been plagued by line bites throughout. Convinced the indications were being caused by bream moving into a shallow bay, he drove home to pick up tackle more suitable for targeting slabs.

On his return he put out a large bed of hemp and pellets at 50 yards with a Spomb and cast two mag-aligner rigs over the top.

A 10lb-plus bream then signalled the start of a frantic spell of action which saw six other doubles and a brace of 9lb fish landed in a five hour period.

“I was certain that the line bites were bream moving towards the weed to spawn but before they began I knew they’d be unable to resist feeding.

“From previous experiences I thought a few fish could be possible but I didn’t expect the best multiple catch of my career,” explained Gary, who used 9lb Korum Xpert mainline, a 20lb Kryston Jackal hooklink and a size 10 hook.

Two bests in one session

ADRIAN Eves’ first session of the year targeting bream and tench turned into a real red letter trip during which he landed double figure examples of both species.

Arriving at a southern stillwater which he has been focusing his attentions on for the past four years, he found the lake much quieter than he’d been expecting and was able to drop in to one of his favourite swims at the shallower end.

“I knew there was a very good transitional area where the soft silt moves on to hard silt or clay and then on to a small gravel strip,” said the Fox and Dynamite Baits consultant.

“With several years’ experience of this extremely difficult water I felt that too much bait would be a mistake, so I just put out a small bed of 6mm betaine pellets mixed with krill groundbait, maggots and sweetcorn.”

With three rods cast over the top he received his first take towards the end of the first night when a 10lb 6oz tench picked up his two pieces of hair-rigged corn mounted on a size 10 Fox Kuro S2 hook and a 5ins Coretex hooklink.

“If I had gone home with just this fish I’d have been delighted. The very next morning, however, I had a much slower take and this time it was a huge male bream of exactly 15lb. It was in prime pre-spawning condition and even put up a fight.”

This time it was a bunch of maggots fished on a size 12 maggot clip and a small mesh PVA bag filled with maggots and a few pellets did the business for Adrian.

“Amazingly, on the third and final morning I had the same tench again! This time I just unhooked it in the margins, before ending the trip with a 22lb common. It could hardly have been a better session and after some of the gruelling visits I’ve had over the last four years it was great to be rewarded with two species at very big weights.”

Bream brace just shy of 30lb

Perseverance certainly paid off for Paul Douglas when he slipped his net under a brace of huge bream weighing just short of 30lb.

Following a succession of bite-less visits to a local stillwater, the tackle shop manager from Northampton didn’t let his spirits dropped, and on his next visit was rewarded with two fish weighing 14lb 10oz apiece, both of which smashed his personal best out of sight.

Paul, who is also a member of the Northampton Specimen Group, concentrated his efforts on an area of silt just beyond a weedbed at 60 yards range. He set up two rods with Method feeders and cast those two his chosen spot, but it was Paul’s third rig, baited with a single grain of hair rigged imitation maize on a simple lead clip system, that accounted for his huge brace.

“I arrived at the lake at about 7pm and I put out 10 spodfulls of mixed pellets, before threading a pva bag of small pellets onto my hooklink and casting out. My personal best was on its way to the net just a couple of hours later!” said Paul.

“It was bigger and blacker than any bream I’ve ever seen and it really was in a league of its own. The sight of it coming over the net cord is something I won’t forget in a hurry. Then, the next morning, it was like an action replay, as I banked another fish that was exactly the same weight and looked identical.”

Paul finished his session with a third fish that topped the scales at 10lb 7oz, and that was also brought to the net with the help of a rig made from 12lb Drennan mainline, a size 10 ESP hook and a braided 15lb hooklink. 
 

Biggest bream of the year landed

THE biggest bream of the year has been caught by Darryn Stolworthy at a new personal best weight of 17lb 7oz.

The Norfolk-based specimen hunter has been focusing his attentions on an ultra-tough local gravel pit that is home to only a handful of large slabs and up until this point hadn’t even seen a sign of his target species.

This all changed on his eighth overnight session of the year, though, after he spodded out a large bed of casters, corn and pellets at 100yds and cast simple rigs with short hooklinks, inline leads and imitation corn hookbaits over the top.

At first light the Angling Direct-backed specialist was woken by his alarms which at first he thought were being set off by the swirling winds - but he soon discovered that the disturbance wasn’t being caused by the elements.

“The weather was terrible and I was dozing in my sleeping bag when my alarm beeped three times then stopped. A couple of minutes later the same happened, but the bobbin still hadn’t moved,” Darryn told Angling Times.

“My mate was stood next to the rods and said ‘It’s just the wind mate’ but no sooner as he said that the bobbin danced up and I was in.

“The fish looked absolutely huge in water and I must admit that I did utter a few swear words when I saw it in the net!

“Usually at this time of the year you’d see the odd bream rolling on the surface, but it’s funny that the first one I’ve clapped eyes on in months weighed 17lb 7oz and was lying on my unhooking mat.”

Darryn had positioned two of his rigs right in the middle of his bed of particles, but it was three hair-rigged grains of imitation corn cast to the edge of his feed that did the trick.

His rig was constructed with a 10lb Preston Powerline hooklink that was tied to a size 10 Gamkatsu hook.