How did you get on?

[flightliner]

Nice Jon, those fish have nice deep coulering, the Bream particularly.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Fished my small pool today got cold got snowed on could not find the curtain and guys for the brolly (and still cant) so not a good start to a poor day 2 fish in total 1 micro perch 1 skimmer of a few ounces plenty of snow and wind so come 14:00 that was it came home to locate the missing brolly bits dunno where they gone must have grown legs and faffed orft ...

Wednesday is looking somewhat better so we will see ..



PG ...

 

[jon atkinson]

Nice Jon, those fish have nice deep coulering, the Bream particularly.

Cheers Flighty, I thought so too - pretty clear water which seems to bring the best out appearance-wise, although you're taking your life in your hands admiring Skimmer / Bream on these boards mg:. Speaking of which I was admiring Steve's 'Skimmer' from his last post & it got me wondering; at what point does a Skimmer get promoted to a fully fledged Bream? For me it's when they change from silver to more of a bronzed appearance rather than a size thing, but I'd be interested to know what others think [at least those that aren't of the 'only good Bream is a dead Bream' pov :wh]!

 

[sam vimes]

at what point does a Skimmer get promoted to a fully fledged Bream?

Once it's big enough to put up enough fight that renders skimming it across the surface of the water impossible. Around the half to three quarters of a pound mark.

 

[binka]

I agree entirely with what's already been said about what qualifies a skimmer a skimmer and where the transition to a bream occurs.

Yet...

For some reason I always class skimmers as anything up to around two and a half pounds and bream anywhere upwards of that.

I have no idea of how that came to be

I do knock 'em out of jest but they can be quite a pretty fish...



Whichever way you look at it they're certainly not to be sniffed at during the kind of weather we've had this weekend, at least not by those of us who actually braved it

 

[thecrow]

Whichever way you look at it they're certainly not to be sniffed at during the kind of weather we've had this weekend,

Certainly not, big bream can be difficult to catch, I tried for 2 seasons on and off to catch some but no good, very frustrating.

 

[swizzle]

My first day out in months today, I wanted to pop the cherry on my new trotting rod and the bargain new reel which arrived on Friday. I set off for Throop with my shiny new gear in less than ideal conditions, which didn't diminish my excitement. Set the new toys up with an Avon float attached, size 20 to a 0.10 bottom baited with double red maggot, which was just tripping bottom. Needless to say, I didn't have a touch for 4 hours. That went away and out came my feeder rod with a two ounce tip, and a two SSG link leger and size 8 hook on 4.4 fluorocarbon, baited up with a bit of crust and cast into the flow opposite the Wendy House swim which took my bait nicely under a tree on my left, I didn't have to wait long for the tip to wrap around and I had a nice chub of three and a half pounds in the net, and that was it. Blank averted on a tough day. A shame to not get a bend in the new rod though.

 

[sam vimes]

The car was in the garage today for a bit of work. The garage is a few hundred yards from a bit of river on the club book that I rarely fish. Rather than walking a couple of miles home, or bothering someone for a lift, a spot of maggot drowning seemed like a plan.

Unfortunately, on looking at the river levels, it became apparent that, despite no rain for a couple of days, the river was on the rise for the second time. That usually means snow melting up the dale. Not a good omen.

The reason I don't fish the spot I was going to is that it rarely produces on the float. Drop a feeder in and you'll catch. Use a float and you probably won't. Feeder fishing for grayling really isn't for me.

Needless to say, it was a struggle. It was a relief when the garage called to say my car was ready. Nearly four hours without a sniff of a bite.

Unfortunately, I'm a glutton for punishment. I had the bright idea to go to another stretch that's usually more reliable for the float with a bit of water on. Another couple of biteless hours later saw me throw in the towel for a relatively unusual blank.

 

[103841]

What a pleasure to venture out without the need for base layers and enough clothing to feel like Michelin Man. My heart sank a little when sighting a first glimpse of a river returning to very low levels and without colour, still the sun was shining and a balmy 12 degrees put a spring in my step.

But worse was soon to follow as I approached my favourite swim, a nice quiet hollow between two trees offering shade and shelter to Mr.Chub, the men with chainsaws had paid a visit and given both trees a short back and sides and left a ton of debris as reminder of their ruthless quest. Can't quite work out why there was a need to do this, neither tree looked like it was in need of such an action, going to be a while before that little canopy returns to its former glory.

After two hours and not a bite trundled back to the car disconsolate. Another day tomorrow, fresh hopes.

 

[tigger]

It looks like a willow, it'll grow like bu&&ery this summer!...probably be a better spot to fish sooner than you think .

 

[thames mudlarker]

What a pleasure to venture out without the need for base layers and enough clothing to feel like Michelin Man. My heart sank a little when sighting a first glimpse of a river returning to very low levels and without colour, still the sun was shining and a balmy 12 degrees put a spring in my step.

But worse was soon to follow as I approached my favourite swim, a nice quiet hollow between two trees offering shade and shelter to Mr.Chub, the men with chainsaws had paid a visit and given both trees a short back and sides and left a ton of debris as reminder of their ruthless quest. Can't quite work out why there was a need to do this, neither tree looked like it was in need of such an action, going to be a while before that little canopy returns to its former glory.

After two hours and not a bite trundled back to the car disconsolate. Another day tomorrow, fresh hopes.

Hi mate,

Your pic looks very familiar, I may be wrong but looks very much like the Kentish stour just out of Canterbury

I'm a semi retired tree surgeon and why on erf they cut this tree back is beyond me, there's no signs of any large specific lower bows ( branches ) that appear to seriously obstruct the river course hno:

You'd be surprised though that within a couple of seasons this should start to take shape again, but I suppose this is obviously no help for now though

Be lucky

 

[flightliner]

Certainly not, big bream can be difficult to catch, I tried for 2 seasons on and off to catch some but no good, very frustrating.

True Graham they do have a tendency to sort the men from the boys lol!- top marks for trying mate !!!!!!.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I always think a bream goes from skimmer at the 12" mark, but this probably a load of tosh bound up in days of yore when the size limit for weighing in a bream at matches was 12" and fondly known as a 'goer' - I think the Thames size limit and LAA ticket gave this figure but memory may be letting me down on this!
Yes, none of this 'weigh everything' malarkey; Roach 8" Dace 7" Tench/Perch 10" if I remember rightly....

 

[flightliner]

When I was match fishing on the Witham,welland, Nene and fen drains back in the sixties they were all called bream, never heard anyone call them anything else ??.

 

[thecrow]

I have called them different when one of a pound has taken my bait intended for carp at 2 in the morning

 

[robertroach]

I was wondering if a silver bream is a skimmer and a bronze bream is a bream?

 

[Keith M]

I was wondering if a silver bream is a skimmer and a bronze bream is a bream?

The 'Silver Bream' is a separate species altogether to the Bronze Bream although the Bronze Bream is a silver colour to start off changing to the Bronze colour as it gets bigger.

I have always thought of a skimmer as being a Bream small enough to allow it to be skimmed across the surface on the retrieve which is normally up to when it starts to change colour at around a foot and a half in length.

I tend to call all Bream Snotties although as they get really big they seem not to be quite so slimy and so snotty may not be as descriptive a name for the really big ones Lol.

Keith

 

[theartist]

Yeah Silver Bream are pretty little fish usually got a tint of orange in the fins and have big starey eyes compared to small bream.

I always thought skimmer was a reference to their shape and size being that of a good flat 'skimming' stone. My dad used to call the even smaller ones Tin foil bream

 

[thames mudlarker]

The 'Silver Bream' is a separate species altogether to the Bronze Bream although the Bronze Bream is a silver colour to start off changing to the Bronze colour as it gets bigger.

I have always thought of a skimmer as being a Bream small enough to allow it to be skimmed across the surface on the retrieve which is normally up to when it starts to change colour at around a foot and a half in length.

I tend to call all Bream Snotties although as they get really big they seem not to be quite so slimy and so snotty may not be as descriptive a name for the really big ones Lol.

Keith

Yep absolutely agree, well said Keith :thumbs:

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Well I have only about three targets fish wise before I clog it. Most realistic.

One of those is a 3lb Grayling. On the Frome today and it was fairly quiet although conditions looked good.

After an hour I had managed a couple of fish to about one and a half. Then the strike met some solid resistance on the strike and I knew it was a good fish.
Slowly slowly up the inside it ran. Then out into the main flow giving me the shakes until I edged it into net.
I didn't think it was and I was right, but a beautiful fish at 2.13 equaling my pb.

Quiet for a time and lots of swims tried for a couple of 1lb+ fish. Then...... A really big fish twisting and turning in the vortex downstream, edged inside, a jump....and it was gone. Fishcakes or similar screamed one demented angler!!!!

Back towards the start of the beat....another half mile snd immediatly into another cracker. Into the net! Yes yes.

Exactly 3lb ...but the plastic bag weighed an ounce...so really 2.15. Still happy, no estatic. What a fish!

A couple more fish lost both around 2lb I reckoned.
Now in the pub in Wareham celebrating.

I cant use photobucket just virus warnings, but if anyone is prepared to add the pics I would like to share my fortune.