Bream Cyprinidae Abramis brama.
Distribution : Common in England, Ireland, parts of Scotland and Wales. 
Notes : Slimy and deep bodied. 51-60 scales along the lateral line, long anal fin with 24-30 branched rays.

Very slow moving rivers, lakes and canals are the haunts of the bream, which is never happier than when rooting around in the mud. it's protractible mouth enables it to suck in small organisms from the soft bottom.

Tackle, Bait, Techniques

Rod
9ft to 13ft

Reel
Fixed spool

Line b.s.
3lb, to 61b

Hooks
No.10 - 16 maggots and worm 
N0. 6 -10 bread, large lobs

Lifespan
15-20 years

British record
16lb 9oz, Buckinghamshire pit, 1991

Specimen
7lb

Bait
Bread, maggot, sweetcorn, 
brandlings and worms

Groundbait
Mixed white and brown bread, particle baits maggots and worms

Techniques
Fixed-link ledgering and lift bite

Landing and playing a fish

THE BREAM may not be the hardest-fighting fish in freshwater, but with its gleaming bronze flanks and humped back, a specimen bream certainly creates an impressive sight.

Small bream or ‘skimmers’ are silver in colour but can still be easily distinguished from other silver fish, such as roach, by their slimy sides and downturned mouths.
Once they reach about 1lb (0.45kg), bream tend to take on a darker appearance and as they grow older, the humped back becomes ever more prominent.

The great thing about the species as far as the angler is concerned is that the bream is a shoal fish, so if you catch one, there are almost always more in the vicinity. If you get things right, you could be in for a bumper weight of fish.

Tactics
Bream are bottom feeders. You only have to look at their downturned mouths to realize that they love nothing more than rooting around in the bottom silt looking for food.

Bream are also lazy creatures, unwilling to chase a bait in the same way as a nimble dace would.

For these two reasons you must present a static bait and the number one method is undoubtedly the groundbait swimfeeder.

With this method, each time you cast in, you can deposit more food in the swim. The key is to cast accurately, concentrating the shoal in a small area and picking off one fish after another.

As bream are not great fighters and will not tear off and break your line when hooked, you can use the line clip on the reel’s spool to ensure that you cast the same distance every time. The more accurate you are, the more bream you will catch.

The fixed paternoster rig is ideal for bream fishing on rivers and stillwaters.

If you think fish are shying away from the feeder, which can happen on hard-fished venues, lengthen the hooklength to up to five feet (152cm). If the fish are coming to the feeder itself, shorten it to as little as 12 inches (30cm).

The most effective hookbait of all is a medium-sized redworm tipped with a red maggot or a caster. Cut the redworm in half and hook both of the blunt ends. The bream tend to home in on this end, resulting in more hooked fish.

TACKLING UP
Unless you are expecting 61b (2.72kg) plus fish, a good choice is 4lb (1.81 kg) mainline to a 3lb (1.36kg) hooklength (I like Maxima). You can use pre-slretched hooklength with bream if you like as long as they are 0.12mm or bigger. Use the lightest quivertip you can get away with in the conditions, and strike at everything!

The groundbait should always be at least 50 per cent plain brown breadcrumb and should always contain some chopped-up worms and some casters. Remember to riddle the groundbait before adding the bait so it breaks up nicely without forming lumps.

When you do hook a fish, steer it away from the rest of the shoal quickly so as not to spook the others. If you lose one, pray, because all too often one lost fish will scare off all the other fish with it.