Catching bream fish such as bluegills and redear sunfish ("shellcrackers") isn't difficult. These scrappy panfish are not especially wary, and small ones will forgive even the most slipshod angling techniques.
Catching big bream is a different story altogether. When a bluegill or redear reaches the size of a man's hand, it's been around long enough to be considerably more guarded than its smaller counterparts. By the time it's the size of a jumbo tortilla, it's one of the most cautious creatures in freshwater. Only the most skillful anglers are savvy enough to entice one to bite.
To increase your catch of extra-large bream, try the following tips. A combination of these fishing techniques will put jumbo bluegills and redears at the end of your line more often than not.
Fish Quiet:
Small bream tolerate an amazing amount of disturbance — a paddle accidentally banged against the boat, a fallen tackle box, squeaky boat seats. But big sunfish — 9-inch-plus fish — won't abide the slightest bit of commotion. At the first hint of danger, they disappear into the depths.
Be especially attentive to noisy distractions when fishing for big bream. Wear soft-soled shoes when fishing from a boat. Be sure all gear is carefully arranged so there's little chance of creating a disturbance. Fish slowly and "quiet as a mouse."
Fish in Thick, Hard-to-Reach Cover:
Big bream hide where few anglers fish, growing fat in nearly impenetrable sanctuaries of dense brush and vegetation. By using a long pole to fish jigs or live baits in the heart of seldom-fished cover, you often can catch several trophy-class bluegills and redears, even under the toughest fishing conditions.
Head for the thickest, out-of-the-way cover you can find-dense stands of willows, mid-reaches of lily pad beds, hard-to-reach pockets in big brushy treetops and so forth. Then position your boat so you can reach far beyond the outer edge of cover. Fish without a bobber, pulling the bait up tight against the tip of the pole, then releasing it when you've worked the pole to a small opening. A 10-foot pole works OK, but a 12- or 16-footer gives extra reach, eliminating excessive boat movement.
Try a Fishing in a Belly Boat:
Trophy bream not only hide in dense cover, the really big ones often are found in out-of-the-way waters where vehicle access is difficult or non-existent. Belly boats provide an ideal means for sampling such waters, which, because they're lightly fished, often harbor larger than normal populations of jumbo sunfish. Put a belly boat in with a small tacklebox full of hooks, sinkers, bobbers and jigs, grab your ultralight rod and reel, and you're ready to hike in for adventure.
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| A belly boat or float tube provides an excellent way to fish waters off the beaten path where bream grow to trophy size. |
Try Fishing Minnows for Plate-Sized Bluegills:
when a bluegill gets too big for an angler to reach his hand around, it often turns from a diet of invertebrates to a diet of small fish. If you're hoping specifically to catch a trophy, try fishing 2- to 3-inch minnows. Hook the bait through both lips, not behind the dorsal fin, as it's easier for small-mouthed bluegills to swallow this way. Present the minnow below a slip bobber — fishing bream hideouts in deeper, darker water where big wary specimens usually hide. You may have to soak a bait for an hour or more before you coax a bite. Patience is key to success.
Tempt the Fish With Topwater Lures:
One- to 2-inch topwater plugs resembling natural bream forage such as grasshoppers, small crayfish, little frogs and tiny shad are excellent for catching cagey bream lurking beneath lily pads. Cast the bantam plug to an opening in or beside the pads, then let it sit, with only an occasional twitch to ripple the water's surface. A curious sunfish, if one is close by, will soon rush in to hit the lure.
Give 'em a Spin With Small Spinnerbaits
Small spinnerbaits cast and retrieved very s-l-o-w-l-y are great search tools when fishing unfamiliar waters and trying to pinpoint locales harboring oversized bream. My favorite is Blakemore's Natural Science Trout and Panfish spinner. The 1/32-ounce size is small enough for dimple-mouthed bream to inhale and the spinner blade rotates quickly even when the lure is retrieved at a snail's pace. I caught my biggest bluegill — a 2-pound, 4-ounce whopper — on one.
Go Night Fishing:
In some waters in summer, fishing at night produces the largest bluegills and redears because they feed primarily at night, just like catfish. Catch them on lures like small spinnerbaits, or use a hook, weights and bait with no bobber. Use one or two split-shot to carry the bait down, then keep a finger on your line to detect a pickup while tightlining.
Fish in Deeper Water:
If your catch consists primarily of little bait-stealing bream fish, move to deeper water nearby. Small bluegills and redears aren't particularly angler shy, but heavyweight fish prefer deep, dark, cool sanctuaries where they feel secure from surface disturbances.
Fish Lightweight, Sensitive Fishing Equipment:
Though it seems contrary to common sense rules, big bream are more likely than small fish to gently nip a bait rather than smacking it with a hard-hitting strike. That being the case, lightweight, sensitive equipment is a must. Use an ultralight spinning outfit or graphite jigging pole with a soft, sensitive tip. This allows you to lift up slightly and watch for the slightest bend in the tip that indicates a fish has taken your bait. Though few anglers use it, 1- or 2-pound-test line will produce many more big bream than heavier line.
How to Detect Fish That are Light Biters:
Redears, which usually feed on bottom invertebrates, often swim upward after inhaling a bait. Your bobber never moves, leading to missed fish. Catch these light biters by using a European-style "antenna" slip bobber on 2- to 4-pound-test line. Run your line through the bottom hole of the bobber, then add a bobber stop above the float at the depth you want to fish. Tie on a hook, then start adding small split-shot between hook and float. Use just enough so 1/4-inch of the bobber protrudes above the water. If a shellcracker swims upward after grabbing the bait, it removes some weight off the line, and the super-sensitive bobber rises enough to clearly indicate a taker.
Fishing Bream in Ponds:
Many bream anglers shy away from ponds because they believe these diminutive waters aren't big enough to support good numbers of big sunnies. But a look at state-record listings indicates of dozens of state-record bluegills and redears weighing more than 2 pounds were caught in ponds. Some poorly managed ponds are inhabited by tiny, stunted bream, but those with balanced populations of predator and prey fish offer excellent fishing for heavyweight bluegills and redears.
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| Wade fishing may help you get into shallow water harboring the biggest bream. |
Fish on the Bottom, Even in Shallow Water:
Big bream, especially big redears, tend to take a position below the rest of the school, usually on or very near the bottom, even in shallow water. A tightline bait setup is the best choice for taking these bottom dwellers. Thread a small egg sinker on your line, and, below it, tie on a barrel swivel just large enough to keep the sinker from sliding off. To the swivel's lower eye, tie a 2- or 3-foot leader of light line tipped with a cricket hook. Add your favorite live bait, then cast the rig and allow it to settle to the bottom. When a fish takes the bait, the line moves freely through the sinker with no resistance to alert fish to a possible threat.
Coax Redear Fish With a Worm & Fish Attractant:
Here's a trick I've used to catch many big redear sunfish. Bait your hook with a big gob of redworms or a night crawler, then spray the bait with YUM crawfish attractant, cast it near prime cover and fish it right on the bottom. This is a combination monster shellcrackers find irresistible.
Fish in Waders:
Giant bluegills and redears often hide in areas inaccessible from a boat, especially on lakes with lots of shallow, flooded timber. To catch these fish, dispense with the boat and don a pair of fish waders. Walk slowly and quietly in shallow, brushy backwaters, using a long pole to place a bait in front of feeding fish. Watch closely for swirls in the water indicating actively feeding fish.
Know the Right Body of Water to Fish:
The primary key to catching trophy-class bluegills and redears is knowing the right body of water to fish. To pinpoint these waters quickly, phone the freshwater fisheries division of your state wildlife agency and ask to speak to a fisheries biologist familiar with waters where these species occur. A few questions presented to the right individual can help you find several choice locations where there's a good chance of boating a lot of big bream.
Fish New Locations:
If you've followed all the tips outlined above and still aren't catching big fish, keep on the move, trying new locations until you find your quarry. A common mistake is staying in one place too long. If big bluegills and/or redears are present and feeding, they'll usually let you know right away.
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