Buggin' Bream

Now is the time to beat it to your favorite farm pond or lake for some blazing hot panfish action. Early morning and late evenings are prime time for outstanding top water action, while midday is the time to go deep and pry those big bull bream from their hiding places. Your standard trout flyrod is perfectly adequate for almost any situation you might encounter out on the lake. Flies used for trout such as a Turks Tarantula, Foam Hopper, or Wooly Buggers will take big Bluegill and their cousins as well as the standard chartreuse popper and sometimes even better. Any wiggly fly that comes to life with a twitch or strip of the fly line will work. A regular weight forward line with a 9'4x leader should suffice. Areas such as the backs of coves with some type of cover such as logs, stumps or grass will hold fish daily through the summer. When the sun gets high resist the temptation to head for the AC . Tie on a wooly bugger and probe the creek channels in the coves. Some of the largest panfish I've ever caught came from 10 feet of water. Although not as glamourous as watching a monster gill suck in a top water bug, slowly stripping a streamer and feeling the sudden thud of a heavy fish is exciting in itself. You never know what just ate your fly a five pound largemouth or a 1 pound bluegill. So, grab your trout stuff and go bream fishing I bet you've already got a place in mind.