Rising to the occasion

It’s still hard to put into words just how visually exciting it is to see a 44cm bream crunch a lure, slowly twitched across the top of the water. When this happens a dozen or more times in a short fishing session, you know you’ve found angling heaven!

One of my very first experiences with rising bream was at Bemm River. I was on the lake at first light, on a very still morning. Within casting distance of my boat, a small baitfish was jumping out of the water every few seconds, obviously with a larger hungry predator hot on its tail. I sent my plastic lure out just in front of where I reckoned the panicked fish looked like jumping again.

After my lure hit the water, the little baitfish stopped jumping. At first I thought I’d spooked both fish and I cursed myself for casting in too close to the action. That little fish had a very good reason to stop jumping though, because he was no longer being gunned down by his attacker, who was now peeling line off my reel!