Biggest bream of the year
The capture of the biggest bream of 2017 so far has topped an incredible week for the species.
James Crameri netted the fish, that weighed 19lb 3oz, when he visited a large pit in the south of the UK.
Either an imitation maggot and caster cocktail or a pineapple Mainline pop-up dumbell was the winning hookbait for James, who hails from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. His 19-pounder was backed up by fish of 14lb 8oz, 14lb 2oz and 13lb 14oz.
“The weather had turned warm after a spell of cold winds. That seemed perfect, as I was definitely in the right place at the right time,” said James, whose bream personal best stands at 20lb 15oz.
“I fed two areas, one at 80 yards on a gravel bar and the other over clay and gravel at 100 yards-plus. The biggest fish came from the long-distance spot.”
All his fish were caught on 12lb mainline, a 15lb braided hooklink and size 8 or 12 hooks.
This 19lb 3oz bream caught by James Crameri is the heaviest of its species so far in 2017. How long will its status last?
Another specialist who was left smiling while targeting big bream was Craig Woolhouse, when he banked bream weighing 16lb 11oz, 14lb, 11lb 2oz and 10lb 9oz.
Craig was fishing a Leicestershire stillwater and baited his swim with 14kg of pellets and corn in readiness for a four-night session. All the fish were taken on corn hookbaits cast to his baited area 96 yards from the bank.
Craig Woolhouse banked bream of 14lb, 11lb 2oz and this deep-bodied giant of 16lb 11oz after prebaiting heavily at a Leics venue.
Adam Riches’ first ‘proper’ bream session of the season saw him smash his personal best with a 16lb 9oz slab backed up with another of 15lb 5oz.
After spending time locating a clear area behind a weed bed at a reservoir in the south of the UK, the Bedfordshire specialist laid down a bed of boilies, pellets and sweetcorn.
He then cast helicopter rigs baited with these popular hookbaits over the top, and it was the smaller of the two fish that was first to fall into his carefully laid trap.
Another 4kg of bait went in and on the second night the biggest bream of his angling career lay within the folds of his landing net.
Angling Times columnist and big fish all-rounder Des Taylor also banked the bream of his life when he slipped the net under a 16lb 4oz specimen.
He used a grain of imitation corn to tip a boilie hookbait that he fished over a bed of pellets during a session at St Ives Lakes Fishery in Cambridgeshire.
“I can’t believe that I’ve never been to this fishery before, as both me and my mate beat our personal bests… a proper result!” said Des.
