Bream fishing tips

I’ve found crickets to be the best bream bait but I don’t fish them much anymore. They are spawning in my neighborhood (Madisonville) right now so it might be a good time to get back into it. The larger fish are right in the bank.

Beetle spins work great also in the swamps

I see you're in South Georgia. The best bream fishing is on the Satilla River. Crickets and the swamp spider made by Ga Boy lures.

Reminds me i need a new cricket tube. Lent it out. Came back smashed

Crickets and a cork.

I’m a worm man and cork. They will tear them up. Smallest pole works the best I find.

I love chasing stripers and trophy size blues, but when I'm by myself I enjoy a little smoke and a few cold beverages and catching bluegills and sunfish.

It's easy. Crickets, worms, a rooster tail, a beetle spin or whatever on ultralight tackle is a good time.

Cricket on a #8 eagle claw light wire or aberdeen j-hook under a 2 inch (or smaller) slotted/pegged styrofoam bobber, 4 or 6 pound test, ultralight spinning reel on ultralight rod. I stick with 4# in water where I'm not likely to accidentally hook into something bigger, 6# in water where there's a decent chance I might hook something bigger. I generally pinch down the barb for faster unhooking. Almost never lose a fish.

Also, it's not always easy as people pass if off to be. Some days they won't bite anything. You can put a cricket or a worm right on their nose and they won't bite.

Bluegill typically bed around the full moon when water temps are above 70. In some places in Florida than means they bed year round, in some places up north they may only spawn once or twice a year. When they are bedding, and you know where the beds are, that can be the quickest way to load up. Outside of the spawn, just fish any kind of structure, docks, trees, rocks.

For shellcracker, aka redeared sunfish, aka whatever Louisiana calls them, they frequent the same areas as bluegill but stay lower in the water column. Target these by fishing the worm, catalpa worm, or cricket on the bottom, and you'll lose some hooks this way.

All of the above is for pond/lake fishing.

For river and creek fishing, I use panther martin inline spinners in the 1/32 size, experiment with color combos. Redbreasts really like them "dressed" which has the hair on the treble hook. Again, I'll pinch the barbs down on these for easier unhooking. I generally find great numbers of small bream species when river and creek fishing but lakes and ponds tend to have more size. That said, I haven't fished the Satilla but I've read enough GON articles about it, it's on the bucket list.

Fish deep. The bigger ones are deeper.

Use a slip cork so you can cast with your hook set deep.

doesn't catch as much as crickets, etc. but I love fishing with the Betts flys like the Bream Getter on an ultra light spinning rod.