Bream record shook!

The bream record has been rocked this week with the capture of this 21lb 12oz monster. 

It was taken by Suffolk angler James Crameri, who targeted a low-stock southern gravel pit during a two-night session. 

Speaking to Angling Times, James explained how his trip began with disaster but turned into one of the best of his life.

He said: “I arrived at the lake on Tuesday afternoon and baited a silty gulley at 80 yards with four kilos of mixed particles – including sweetcorn, casters, pellets and maggots. 

“Nothing happened on the first night but at 10am the next morning I had a bite and struck. I connected with the fish but as I was playing it in the hook fell out. 

“Seeing as the lake is rock-hard to get bites from and the stocks of bream are incredibly low in this vast water, I was pretty disappointed to lose the first fish of the session.”

Undeterred by his earlier misfortune, James stuck to his guns and fished through the remainder of the day – finally being rewarded with another bite as darkness approached.

“I recast the rod, having tied a new rig baited with fake grubs,” James added.

“At about 7.45pm a friend popped into the swim for a chat and about 15 minutes later the bobbin rose on the right-hand rod and then slowly began to drop back again. 

“I struck immediately and connected with a heavy fish. 

“Praying that the hook wasn’t going to fall out this time, I coaxed the bream back towards me. 

“As it came into the margins it started to kite into some reeds. Giving it plenty of side strain I once again manoeuvred it straight in front of me, where I managed to net it first time.

“On seeing the sheer size of the bream in the net I knew I’d got something truly special. 

“While I was lifting it into the unhooking cradle I realised I’d probably caught another bream over 20lb, as my previous-best was 20lb 15oz.

“To have caught two different bream over 20lb is mind-blowing, and unless you know different I’m probably the first bream angler to have done so. Talk about being ecstatic – that’s an understatement!”

James took his new personal best for the species using a 4ins 15lb E-S-P Sinkbraid hooklength to a size 12 Korda Mixer hook presenting a fake maggot and caster hookbait on the hair. 

Another notable bream was a 16lb 10oz tone-tone specimen (below) taken by Lee McManus during a recent trip. 

The Leicester angler made contact on a Midlands gravel pit using a 12mm boilie hookbait tipped with buoyant rubber corn.

He fished his rig over Spombed particles to a spot 100 yards out from the bank. This tactic also yielded bream of 11lb and 12lb 2oz, as well as a string of mirror carp to 31lb 8oz for the specimen hunter.

The current British bream record stands at 22lb 11oz.