NORTHERN MOUNTAIN REGION
The mountainous regions are not great bream destinations, but they certainly have waters that offer local anglers a decent fishing opportunity. After speaking with Steve Reeser, we determined that there were three waters that bear mentioning.

First on the list is Lake Shenandoah at 36 acres in size. Although small, the lake has fair numbers of sunfish in its shallow waters. Many of the sunfish are 8 to 9 inches in length. A small boat or canoe, polarized glasses and a full cricket tube will put bream anglers in the action fast.

Second is Lake Frederick. At 117 acres, the impoundment offers more variety of habitats for anglers to pursue their next meal of panfish. Reeser saw a number of citation fish while sampling the lake. Higher fishing pressure has not hurt the fishing as one would think. The predator/prey balance is good and that bodes well for sunfish in this beautiful lake. There are both redears and bluegills in Lake Frederick. Call the Minnow Bucket at (540) 869-1104 for the latest fishing report. Most bream spawn in mid- to late May.

Finally, the last destination that anglers might consider is Lake Arrowhead. The 39-acre lake near Luray requires a permit to fish it. Call (540) 743-5511 for information on the permit. Arrowhead is a bowl-shaped lake that is steep and has little structure. This makes the small lake very tough to fish. However, Reeser suggested that bream fishermen look for a shelf near the shoreline in 3 to 5 feet of water. The number of bream in the lake is decent. Anglers are advised to do their homework and use a fish finder to find subtle changes in the bottom, shelves and any structure that may be present. Lake Arrowhead is an electric-motor-only lake. No outboards are permitted.

Any questions on fishing in this region should be directed to VDGIF at (540) 248-9360.

NORTHERN PIEDMONT REGION
The Northern Piedmont Region is home to excellent bream destinations. Steve Owens, VDGIF fisheries biologist, had this to say about the top choice: “Lake Curtis in Stafford County is a DGIF-owned impoundment offering exceptional bream fishing (redear sunfish and bluegills). Redears congregate heavily in the shallow flats along the entrance road to the lake when they bed in the spring. This is the best area to start fishing.”

The other notable bream water is Germantown Reservoir in Fauquier County. So, what makes these two waters exceptional bream impoundments? According to Owens, both waters are bass crowded, which helps to promote bream growth by removing surplus numbers of bream, freeing up energy within the system for the remaining fish. Basically, intraspecific competition between bream can stunt some populations, but that’s not the case at Curtis or Germantown.

The bream at both lakes feed on insects, plankton, other small fish or minnows, and in the case of redears, crustaceans. Anglers will find bream most active during the month of May when they are staging in shallows to spawn. Large shallow flats are prime areas to begin fishing.

A variety of fish in the 6- to 9-inch range will fill out the stringers of anglers dunking red wigglers or crickets on a small hook. Hooks sized 8 to 10 are preferred.