Best fishing tactics for deepwater bream

Some anglers prefer the challenge of fooling bream with artificial baits. Reynolds vertically jigs tiny spoons to search for fish on breezy days.

And, when really looking for a challenge, the avid fly fisherman drops a weighted fly on sinking line. He works the lead-wrapped fly by stripping it back to the boat really slowly just over the bottom.

“If the wind is not blowing too hard, I’ll just drift across the lake and let the bait bounce up and down off the bottom,” Reynolds said. “With a silver spoon, I’ll take the treble hook off and put on a single hook when I’m fishing around cover. The single hook doesn’t hang up as much.”

In lakes with abundant brush piles to attract crappie, which means practically every public reservoir in Mississippi, serious bream fishermen can take another tip from professional crappie anglers and find fish by trolling.

They hang several rods in holders off the boat stern and drag tiny crankbaits, jerkbaits, grubs, spinners or hair jigs about 40 feet behind them. They move slowly down creek channels until they discover a fish concentration.

Once they locate a school, bream anglers can load a boat with vertical presentations.

“Crappie brush piles can produce a lot of big bream,” Reynolds explained. “In a lake with a lot of brush piles, I like to troll over the tops of them with a small diving plug trailing a tiny jig behind it. I take the treble hook off the back of the plug and tie about 12 to 14 inches of line where the rear treble hook was. I’ll tie a small jig to that line. Sometimes, I’ll add a piece of worm to the jig to make a scent trail.

“Most of the time, bream hit the trailer before they hit the plug.”

For anglers who prefer to cast and work baits more vigorously, try tossing tiny sinking or suspending Rapala jerkbaits or beetle spins. Let these sink down to the desired depths and work them back toward the boat in a downsized version of bass fishing.

When the bite turns really tough, bream busters can take another tip from bass anglers and probe the lake bottoms with Texas-rigged worms. Just like when targeting largemouths, only smaller, run a tiny slip sinker through the line, and attach a long-shanked bream hook.

Sweeten the hook with a very slender 3- to 4-inch-long plastic worm, about the size of a live red wiggler. With an ultralight spinning rod, fish it just like a bass rig. Throw it toward the shore or other structure and drag it slowly over the bottom. Let it fall over drop-off edges.

Anglers can find as many ways to catch bream as they can find bream. After spending hours probing the depths of Mississippi lakes and rivers, a heaping pile of tender panfish fillets makes an excellent reward for a day well spent.