Photo by Tom Evans

Bream anglers make up a quiet but large segment of Virginia’s anglers. Not surprisingly, many of those who pursue bream are not just kids with cane poles. Adults seem to be easily hooked on enticing a cove full of scrappy redears or bluegills, too. Bream fishing can be as simple or as serious as you want it to be. Regardless of your approach, the opportunities for good bream fishing in Virginia are numerous.

TIDEWATER REGION
As a resident of the Tidewater, I get plenty of use out of my small duck boat and canoe, exploring the impoundments and tricky backwaters of tidal tributaries. One of my favorite fish to pursue is the bream. Just to be sure I was not being biased in my writing about the bream fishing in the region, I posed the following question to VDGIF fisheries biologist Scott Herrmann.

“If you had to choose two impoundments to go bream fishing in, what would they be?”

His answer was Gardy’s Mill and Beaverdam Swamp Reservoir.

I have fished Gardy’s quite a bit and know that the fishing is quite good in this small, out-of-the-way impoundment. While it is relatively shallow, it offers the gamut of opportunities for a variety of species. It has been my experience that when all other fish are slow to hit, the redears and bluegills at Gardy’s seem to be a consistent bite I can count on.

Herrmann said that the pond was drawn down during the fall of 2005 for repairs to the dam, but the bluegill and redear populations did fine over the five months of low water.

His first electrofishing of 2006 at the pond was on April 18 when he collected 182 bluegills, which equates to a catch rate of 156 bluegills an hour. Most exceeded 5 inches in length and fish up to 8 inches were not uncommon. Keep in mind that mid-April is not exactly the time you will find a number of bream close to the bank and readily accessible for sampling. The sampling turned up 64 redear sunfish, which totals out to 55 redears an hour. Most of these fish measured in the 5- to 9-inch range. Some were nearly 10 inches in length.

During two later trips to the pond on April 28 and May 4, when the biologist was surveying largemouth bass, he found the bream tight to the bank. The fish were guarding nests.

Herrmann suggests using live bait. Night crawlers and red wigglers are local favorites but crickets and hoppers should definitely be considered. Small spinnerbaits and grubs are also hot for redears and larger bluegills.

It is the opinion of Herrmann that the best spawning habitat at Gardy’s is the northern arm of the water. I would have to concur, which is why my boat always can be found in this section of the pond. Try fishing around structure in coves or near the beds. Later in May, once the spawn is finished, the fish have a tendency to bite best in the early morning, late afternoon and evening or on overcast days. Small poppers, spinnerbaits and small floating worms will trigger startling hits near lily pads and other vegetation.