Strange game this fishing lark and angler’s fishy targets that vary considerably. Bream are a species that are loved by some and loathed by others. My own feelings on bream go back a long way and they are a fish I have mixed feelings for rather like eels. Small skimmers are slimy creatures only worth catching during match’s and a complete nuisance when targeting bigger fish. Eels are much the same with slimy bootlaces tangling the tackle whilst snatching bait offered to a more worthy specimen.

Big eels and big bream are both worthy targets that hold a spell over a dedicated hard core of specimen anglers. The dedicated tunnel visioned  carp angler view both species as vermin cursing at the hooking of either species regardless of its specimen proportions. A bream or eel that would be a fish of a lifetime to some anglers is tossed back without weighing by many carp fanatics.

Big bream have eluded me over the years and they are not a species I have targeted to any great extent. I have caught bream to over 8lb from Hatchett Pond in Hampshire under the guidance of a good friend twenty five years or so ago and I once tempted a 7lb bream from the tidal Exe whilst fishing for carp.

Recent seasons I have heard many reports of the big bream that reside in Lower Tamar Lake. At first I tended to treat these reports from carp anglers with a degree of scepticism when they told me of bream well over ten pounds that they had caught but not bothered to weigh.

My sceptical nature on this occasion proved to be wrong as more  pictures started to appear of big bream that had been weighed several of them well over ten pounds.

These specimen bream were on my list of target species yet time as always seems an issue as I spend my time pursuing many fish and balancing this with family, home life and a little work.

My first trip after bream was back in May 2021 when I enjoyed a session banking one nuisance carp of 19lb 4oz! I jest for in truth I am pleased to catch anything that bends the rod and a 19lb carp is far better than a blank.

The bream remained on my bucket list but for one reason or another I didn’t get back to them until earlier this year when I persuaded my good friend Bruce Elson to join me at the venue. Bruce had already achieved his target of a double figure bream after just two trips.

The night before the trip I picked up a couple of books from my bookshelf and flicked through the pages looking for a few nuggets of info regarding specimen bream fishing. Renowned specimen anglers talked of long sessions and many blanks chasing specimen bream. Judging by the efforts of these anglers and the results I was hearing about it was obvious that Lower Tamar is an exceptional venue for specimen bream.

In late April Bruce and I lugged our barrows full of gear to what had proved productive swims on the lake. We talked tactics and I noted Bruce’s approach. We had pulled straws to select swims and Bruce assured me that my swim was a cracker as was his.

Last year I had fished Roadford Reservoir during the carp removal project and purchased a sack of pigeon conditioner a renowned particle bait for carp. I had cooked this up and added a tin of sweetcorn and a few pellets. I spodded the best part of a bucketful out the suggested number of wraps. Strange how carp anglers have now created a language of their own. Twenty years ago I would have looked puzzled if someone told me they were fishing at 15 wraps.

In old terms this was about 60 metres.

         This spodding out of bait is a bit tedious and took close to an hour. We had arrived shortly after midday and it was late afternoon before the baits were in place and the bivvy assembled. Time to make a cup of coffee and sit back.

         We didn’t expect much action until after dark so when Bruce called me over to his swim well before darkness I was surprised. I stood waiting at his side as he reeled in a fish that was undoubtedly a big bream. The sight of the bronze flanks as it appeared were certainly impressive. At 9lb 5oz it was an encouraging start.

Shortly after dark Bruce’s call came again and this time it was a truly special fish. I slipped the net under a real slab weighing an impressive 13lb!

          This set the pattern for the night as Bruce woke me periodically to show me bronze flanked bream weighing 9lb 13oz, 9lb 1oz, 12lb 1oz and 11lb 4oz. And a small eel…. A breamers dream session!

         I must have had some sleep for I awoke just before 6.00am and recast my rods. Not a bleep all-night.

I chatted with Bruce in an analysis of my failure. Bruce expressed that he was concerned when I had told him I was using pigeon conditioner. An excellent bait for carp but he and his brother had used it in France to deter the bream!

Return trip

And so a few weeks later with plenty of big bream being reported I headed to Lower Tamar once again. This time I was on my own and it was late Sunday afternoon by the time I arrived. The prime swims were occupied so I had to fit in where I could and a swim named Fishless Corner failed to inspire. I knew it had produced the target fish in recent weeks and reasoned that my chances were still good. I spodded out a mix of pellets, sweetcorn and crushed boilies.

It was early evening by the time I was settled in waiting. I watched the water, the grebes and that ever pleasing sight of mother duck and her ducklings patrolling the margins. I cooked up a burger, made a fresh coffee and became emersed in the scene.

         The light slowly drained from the day and a stillness enveloped the lake. The birdsong became subdued and hundreds of bats appeared as the stars began to twinkle in the night sky.

I climbed into the sleeping bag expectant and alert. Slowly I drifted into a shallow sleep waking from time to time. My expectation was fading as the sky slowly lightened as the sun returned for another day. A movement caught my eye in the half light as a rat scampered onto the boards at the front of the swim, its form clearly silhouetted against the dim light. The dawn chorus slowly increased in volume familiar sounds of birdsong resonating in the still light of dawn. I am always amazed at the volume and clarity delivered by the tiny wren. I have an app on my phone called Merlin that identifies birdsong. Wren, chiffchaff, goldcrest, wood pigeon, carrion crow and blackbird all recorded in 60 seconds.

Reflections of lush green and blue sky upon mirror calm waters. Mist drifted across the far side of the lake it was a perfect late spring morning. I sat back and breathed in the pure cool air savouring the sharp taste of hot freshly brewed coffee. I contemplated upon my lack of success and philosophically accepted that in the grand scheme of life not catching was of little consequence. To be here was surely worth the chase.

As a gentle breeze riffled the water all hope of catching evaporated and I packed slowly away. As I pushed my barrow full of gear back to the car I had to concede clearly that I had all the gear and no idea.

         Back at the car I met a fellow angler. “ How did you get on ?” I asked.  He replied that he was, “ delighted to have caught a 29lb common carp but had been plagued by nuisance bream that were this big!” He stretched his arm wide to indicate  the size of bream within my dreams.

         I will be back third time lucky. In a different swim with modified rigs and hopefully no requirement to find a reason that I failed to connect.