Beaverdam Swamp Reservoir is Herrmann’s second choice for bream angling. Most fishermen know Beaverdam Swamp for its good crappie angling and consistent bass-fishing opportunities. These two predators keep the bream population in check -- but that can be good for a bream fishery, because a check on the bream population allows the remaining fish to grow to reasonable size.

A trap net survey last April revealed that redear numbers were in good shape. Herrmann netted 406 redear sunfish over two nights of netting fish with a trap net. This was done while targeting black crappie. Most of the redears were caught on the western shoreline near shallow mitigation areas under construction. Herrmann reported that the fish were preparing for spawning in the shallows when they were caught. Most of the redears were in the 6.5- to 8.5-inch range and in great shape. One of the fish was a whopping 13 inches in length, making it a citation redear.

Redears are definitely the trophy fish of the bream family and they have different needs than their cousins.

“I would recommend that anglers try to find shallow areas with a decent amount of sand or hard-packed clay. Redear sunfish will try to find spawning areas that are not completely choked with silt or detritus.”

Herrmann also advised anglers to look for bream to become most active near the end of April and into May in his district. Of course, this depends on the weather. Keep in mind that shallow areas warm up more quickly than deeper areas.

SOUTHERN PIEDMONT REGION
The Southern Piedmont is home to large impoundments, notably Buggs Island, Kerr and Smith Mountain Lake. Largemouth bass, crappie and even striped bass garner much of the attention in the region. However, bream fishing at some of the smaller impoundments is pretty darn good.

At the western end of the region, Dan Wilson keeps an eye on the waters. Wilson looked over his data and recalled that the Amherst County lakes are the best destinations for bream fishing. The three lakes, Mill Creek (189 acres), Stonehouse (41 acres) and Thrasher (36 acres), are all relatively small as compared with the big three mentioned previously. However, these small, out-of-the-way places offer the best bream angling in the district.

All three have a healthy population of bluegills measuring up to 9 inches. Thrasher is the best, followed by Mill Creek and then Stonehouse. Thrasher is also the best lake for redear fishing. Wilson noted that the best fishing occurs in late May when the fish finally get around to spawning. The water temperatures have to be in the 70s to get the fish actively dusting out nests. Nests and beds are found very close to shore and are most easily seen with a pair of polarized glasses.

At the other end of the region, Vic DiCenzo was the expert we called for the scoop on bream fishing. DiCenzo fingered Sandy River Reservoir and Lake Brunswick as the top bream waters in his district.

When asked why the two lakes made the cut for this article, he summed it up as three good reasons that combined to create an ideal bream fishery.

“Both impoundments are fertile, have a good amount of aquatic vegetation and a strong largemouth bass population to keep their numbers in check. This makes good bream country,” our expert said.