Bream proof rigs

[mrmud]

Hey everyone what rigs do you all use when you know theres a good head of bream and roach n rudd in the venue.

I usually use a slip d rig, kd rig or standard hair rig but mainly the slip d rig with size 6 mugga(caught me all my PB's 💪🏼). Problem I'm having is the bream are tangling the hair.

Was thinking a swivel directly to the hook shank with a hook bead opposite where the barb should be 🤷🏽‍♂️. Just worry the hook won't sit on the ground as the baits are so big.

I'll be fishing double 24mm. They still try and have a go at the 20mm. 

Please help, they're driving me mad.

Thanks

[jh92]

My approach on waters with big shoals of bream etc is to feed 20mm boilie (no particle) with a blowback snowman rig, size 4 curve shank, 20mm bottom bait and 16mm pop up. I also like about 5 - 10mm between the hook and bait 👍

 

[salokcinnodrog]

  On 07/04/2024 at 00:32, mrmud said:

Hey everyone what rigs do you all use when you know theres a good head of bream and roach n rudd in the venue.

I usually use a slip d rig, kd rig or standard hair rig but mainly the slip d rig with size 6 mugga(caught me all my PB's 💪🏼). Problem I'm having is the bream are tangling the hair.

Was thinking a swivel directly to the hook shank with a hook bead opposite where the barb should be 🤷🏽‍♂️. Just worry the hook won't sit on the ground as the baits are so big.

I'll be fishing double 24mm. They still try and have a go at the 20mm. 

Please help, they're driving me mad.

Thanks

Expand  

I think that there is no such thing as a bream proof rig, but how you feed can be the trigger.

Small silver fish and bream are attracted to heavy baiting, especially with particles, pellets and groundbait. The more you bait the more interested they are.

Bream tend to be vacuum feeders, they get onto food and they clear it up, and that includes the hookbait, no matter how it's fished, bottom baits and low lying pop-ups are especially vulnerable.

To avoid them feed less, or try boilies only.

Don't put any free bait in, and fish just PVA bags or stringers, or fish boilies where although you may put 100 (example) in, they are not so close to invite or become a feeding trigger.

The other thing is bream tend to avoid the margins, preferring to feed out in the main lake. They can have particular patrol routes!

Now saying that, I used to fish Ardleigh reservoir and you could catch bream and then the carp would come before the bream pushed them out again. I caught both bream and carp on baited spots, yet on Alton, I never caught a bream despite using loads of particles.

My rigs on Ardleigh and Alton were simply line aligned knotless knotted  snowman baits on braid rigs, nothing special.

[emmcee]

As Nick rightly says, there is no rig that is bream proof.

That said, I can honestly say that I've never caught a bream on a chod rig, tench yes but not bream. Obviously not saying you won't catch bream on them but for some reason I never did and I used them a lot and on waters that held large shoals of big bream . 

Also as has been said above, what you feed and how will determine if bream become a pain. I know a few angler's that only use 22mm / 24mm baits and hardly if ever get bream problems.  

[mrmud]

  On 07/04/2024 at 06:02, jh92 said:

My approach on waters with big shoals of bream etc is to feed 20mm boilie (no particle) with a blowback snowman rig, size 4 curve shank, 20mm bottom bait and 16mm pop up. I also like about 5 - 10mm between the hook and bait 👍

 

Expand  

 

  On 07/04/2024 at 06:05, salokcinnodrog said:

Bream tend to be vacuum feeders, they get onto food and they clear it up, and that includes the hookbait, no matter how it's fished, bottom baits and low lying pop-ups are especially vulnerable.

To avoid them feed less, or try boilies only.

Don't put any free bait in, and fish just PVA bags or stringers, or fish boilies where although you may put 100 (example) in, they are not so close to invite or become a feeding trigger.

The other thing is bream tend to avoid the margins, preferring to feed out in the main lake.

My rigs on Ardleigh and Alton were simply line aligned knotless knotted  snowman baits on braid rigs, nothing special.

Expand  

Thanks guy, I was fishing with a snowman 20mm bottom and 15mm top(foam inside to help balance the bait) that's why I'm thinking of going double 24mm

I've already stopped with particles, crush and other small freebies. They've found the PVA bags no problem. I've had the things in all over the lake.

[salokcinnodrog]

  On 07/04/2024 at 07:12, mrmud said:

 

Thanks guy, I was fishing with a snowman 20mm bottom and 15mm top(foam inside to help balance the bait) that's why I'm thinking of going double 24mm

I've already stopped with particles, crush and other small freebies. They've found the PVA bags no problem. I've had the things in all over the lake.

Expand  

It sounds like bream are the predominant species!

 

Thinking back to my previous post, I forgot to say on Alton in one particular swim I was fishing double 20mm baits on line aligners. It was the bridge swim where I was tipping Vitalin and boilies off the bridge and fishing on that bait. I never had a bream from there. In fact I never had a bream unless I was fishing for them when I dropped bait size to single 12mm baits or sweetcorn and used groundbait, but that was on bream specific gear.

 

If bream are that big a problem I'd actually not cast in a swim unless I could see carp were present, a preference for margins.

It might be you need to fish pop-ups off the bottom, above the bream and their feeding level.

[mrmud]

  On 07/04/2024 at 08:13, salokcinnodrog said:

If bream are that big a problem I'd actually not cast in a swim unless I could see carp were present, a preference for margins.

It might be you need to fish pop-ups off the bottom, above the bream and their feeding level.

Expand  

The carp don't give them selves up very often. I'd never fished there but heard loads about how people were blanking for years so had to see what the challenge was.

I think your right about the bream being the predominant species. I've been told there's some proper slabs in there. It's about 17 acres surely I can find a spot where they're not happy going.

I'll try n knock up something like a Ronnie claw(floater claw) n some chods(never used but have all the stuff)  in-between 1-2", they should be crude enough and I'll just try some donkey choking gob stoppers for bottom bait with a stringer 

What would you recommend feeding if I'm using a chod. I've not got a large popup with matching large boilies

 

[emmcee]

  On 07/04/2024 at 13:06, mrmud said:

The carp don't give them selves up very often. I'd never fished there but heard loads about how people were blanking for years so had to see what the challenge was.

I think your right about the bream being the predominant species. I've been told there's some proper slabs in there. It's about 17 acres surely I can find a spot where they're not happy going.

I'll try n knock up something like a Ronnie claw(floater claw) n some chods(never used but have all the stuff)  in-between 1-2", they should be crude enough and I'll just try some donkey choking gob stoppers for bottom bait with a stringer 

What would you recommend feeding if I'm using a chod. I've not got a large popup with matching large boilies

 

Expand  

Personally I never used a pop up bigger than 15mm on my chod, in fact usually a very buoyant 12mm but I'd still feed my normal boilie irrelevant of size of them. 

I'd certainly try and find weed that's a foot or more tall which in my experience the bream are less likely to feed on. That said, if the bream are the predominant species it may well be a very hard task to avoid them no matter what you use. 

Just remembered a mate who went over to double 22mm baits to avoid a load of single figured stockies that got put into the lake we fished. He totally avoided them and though his catch rate dropped a lot he only caught  the better fish. 

[mrmud]

  On 07/04/2024 at 13:48, emmcee said:

Personally I never used a pop up bigger than 15mm on my chod, in fact usually a very buoyant 12mm but I'd still feed my normal boilie irrelevant of size of them. 

Expand  

So doesn't really matter about size of popup as even if the bream are hovering up the freebies the popup is generally out of they're way.

Would you say short or long chods. As mentioned above I'm a total newb to using the chod.

  On 07/04/2024 at 13:48, emmcee said:

Just remembered a mate who went over to double 22mm baits to avoid a load of single figured stockies that got put into the lake we fished. He totally avoided them and though his catch rate dropped a lot he only caught  the better fish. 

Expand  

My catch rate 😂. It can't drop too much more at this venue lol. It's better than most people's catch rate but only had 3 carp this year so far 🤞🏼

[ouchthathurt]

I fish a lake that has a large head of bream, I use 12mm pop ups, when on ronnies, I’ve caught a few, but when using hinged stiff rigs, I’ve never been bothered by them 

[mrmud]

  On 07/04/2024 at 16:19, ouchthathurt said:

I fish a lake that has a large head of bream, I use 12mm pop ups, when on ronnies, I’ve caught a few, but when using hinged stiff rigs, I’ve never been bothered by them 

Expand  

What size Ronnie you use with the smaller pop-ups was thinking size 5 claw

[mrmud]

  On 07/04/2024 at 13:06, mrmud said:

I'll try n knock up something like a Ronnie claw(floater claw)

Expand  

That's my attempt at something a bit bream unfriendly, going to tie some chods when I get 5 later. I've not put bait on them yet and set the hook beads and below is my 22mm &24mm gob stopper rigs

 

[mrmud]

[ouchthathurt]

  On 07/04/2024 at 16:39, mrmud said:

What size Ronnie you use with the smaller pop-ups was thinking size 5 claw

Expand  

I use a size 4 curve! 

[mrmud]

  On 08/04/2024 at 10:50, ouchthathurt said:

I use a size 4 curve! 

Expand  

I've used a size 4 fang and a size 6 floater claw. 🤞🏼 Not really the venue to be testing new rigs but nothing ventured nothing gained

[elmoputney]

If you are getting tangled by the bream you want to use a stiffish hooklink that resets I would say. 

Have you thought about using PVA stringers? 😉

[mrmud]

  On 11/04/2024 at 06:56, elmoputney said:

If you are getting tangled by the bream you want to use a stiffish hooklink that resets I would say. 

Have you thought about using PVA stringers? 😉

Expand  

Thanks Elmo. Will have to order some (what do you recommend). I've only got semi stiff braid and fluro.

I've made the spinner type rigs with 20lb fluro. They shouldn't get tangled.

Stringers was the plan with 24mm boilies for when I finally get on the bank. Feel like I not been in months but it's only been around 2 weeks lol

[elmoputney]

  On 11/04/2024 at 10:19, mrmud said:

Thanks Elmo. Will have to order some (what do you recommend). I've only got semi stiff braid and fluro.

I've made the spinner type rigs with 20lb fluro. They shouldn't get tangled.

Stringers was the plan with 24mm boilies for when I finally get on the bank. Feel like I not been in months but it's only been around 2 weeks lol

Expand  

Fluoro or semi stiff should be fine, are you using an anti tangle sleeve? They should kick out  fine tbh. 

[mrmud]

  On 11/04/2024 at 23:06, elmoputney said:

Fluoro or semi stiff should be fine, are you using an anti tangle sleeve? They should kick out  fine tbh. 

Expand  

Cheers. Yeah I use anti tangle sleeves where ever possible.

Made some up at 7" & 10" 

[emmcee]

  On 07/04/2024 at 14:30, mrmud said:

So doesn't really matter about size of popup as even if the bream are hovering up the freebies the popup is generally out of they're way.

Would you say short or long chods. As mentioned above I'm a total newb to using the chod.

My catch rate 😂. It can't drop too much more at this venue lol. It's better than most people's catch rate but only had 3 carp this year so far 🤞🏼

Expand  

Well I'd go no bigger than 15mm for your pop up. I never went shorter than 1.5 inches and no longer than 3 inches for my chods and yes I'd say the bream are to busy with their heads in the silt/,bottom. 

[mrmud]

  On 12/04/2024 at 16:52, emmcee said:

Well I'd go no bigger than 15mm for your pop up. I never went shorter than 1.5 inches and no longer than 3 inches for my chods and yes I'd say the bream are to busy with their heads in the silt/,bottom. 

Expand  

@emmcee Cheers. Made some chods up at around 1.5 - 2 inches the other week. Was trying to tie them off @ around a inch but they always grew as I tried to tie the swivel off. Probs using the wrong knot(3 turn grinner).

[elmoputney]

  On 12/04/2024 at 19:15, mrmud said:

@emmcee Cheers. Made some chods up at around 1.5 - 2 inches the other week. Was trying to tie them off @ around a inch but they always grew as I tried to tie the swivel off. Probs using the wrong knot(3 turn grinner).

Expand  

If you want to make them shorter have a look at the korda chod crimps. 

[mrmud]

  On 13/04/2024 at 11:39, elmoputney said:

If you want to make them shorter have a look at the korda chod crimps.

Expand  

Thanks. I have seen them, but.... apparently I'm paying the postman's wages with how much stuff he brings 🤣. So I've been told so they'll have to wait until a tackle shop is near by lol 🤫