Black Bream : Spondyliosoma Cantharus

Fishing for Black Bream

The chart shows some of the venues where Black Bream are caught around Llŷn and your chances of catching them throughout the year. Click on any of the venue names to find out more.

 

Traditionally considered a target species for boat fishermen, there are a small, but increasing number of places around the British Isles where Black Bream can be caught from the shore. But Pwllheli has long been well known for its Black Bream fishing, which is second to none. Specemines of over 4lbs have been landed from Pwllheli Marina, while Bream can also be caught at close range from Pwllheli Beach even when you are surrounded by bathers and there is constant jet-ski and power boat traffic!

The Black Bream can be caught at any time during daylight hours and at any state of tide between early May and late August. But they move inshore in numbers on the rising tide to feed on the sea bed as the water covers the ground that was exposed at low tide. So they are best targeted during the top half of a rising tide and for an hour or so of the ebb.

As the Bream feed by site, they prefer clear water conditions. While they can be caught in a decidedly choppy sea, if the water is too coloured, they will stay further out where the sea is cleaner.

Tackle

Black Bream are powerful, hard fighting fish and are great fun to catch on light tackle. You don't need a long cast to catch Bream here at Pwllheli, so a Carp Rod is ideal, but any light beach fishing gear will suffice.

Bream have small mouths and strong sharp teeth. They can strip a large bait from a large hook without ever getting caught. So small hooks and small baits are the order of the day. A simple two or three hook flapper rig, with size 4 or 6 hooks is ideal. The snoods should be 8 to 16 inches, long enough to keep the bait hard on the bottom, though the Bream will move a foot or two off the sea bed as the tide slackens and the current drops.

Bait

Good baits to use are squid, mussels, mackerel, sandeel, lugworm, ragworm and peeler crab. But keep the baits small, enough to cover the hook shank only. Don't leave bait dangling below the hook bend and use bait elastic to hold the bait on. This should help you to hook the fish without it stripping your bait.

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