FWC CITES BEST BETS TO BAG BREAM

January 14, 2005
Contact:  Steve Crawford (352) 742-6438

Panfish…sunfish…. Here in the Deep South, we call them bream.  They are those deep-bodied fish that occupy pretty much every body of water in Florida, according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).  Bream can be scrappy enough to put up a decent fight for anglers who use light tackle, or a small child can land them with a cane pole.

Bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcrackers), redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish (stumpknockers) and warmouth, deep-fried with hush puppies and cheese grits on the side make up a traditional southern feast that’s hard to match anywhere else in the world.

The most popular bream in these parts is the bluegill, basically because it is the most abundant and one of the tastiest.  People catch them on earthworms, crickets and grass shrimp.  They’ll also hit little spinner baits, popping bugs and sinking flies.  The state record for bluegill is 2.95 pounds.

Shellcrackers taste just as good as their bluegill cousins, but they’re bigger.  In fact, the state-record shellcracker is a 4.86-pound monster.  Shellcrackers go for worms, grass shrimp, crickets, snails and clams.  Fly-fishermen bag a few here and there, but shellcrackers don’t seem to care much for artificial baits.

For other types of bream, earthworms are the bait to use.  Fish around woody structures or vegetation.

FWC fisheries biologists, who spend their time sizing up fishing opportunities here in the Fishing Capital of the World, have announced their picks for Florida’s best bream-fishing holes for 2005.  They are (in no particular order):

·                    Lake Monroe, near Sanford.  This lake is a good one for bluegill anglers, particularly if water levels remain high.  Also, anglers who work bulrush areas might bag some nice shellcrackers.

·                    Lake Kissimmee, in Osceola County.  For bluegill and shellcracker anglers, this lake is a baby doll for boaters and waders.  Use weighted crickets to lure bluegill off their beds, and get ready for a big fish fry.  June through August is prime time.

·                    West Lake Tohopekaliga (Lake Toho, for short), near Kissimmee.  Besides being a legend among bass anglers all over the world, Lake Toho’s bluegill and shellcrackers this year are big and hungry and looking for a fight.  Anglers who want to accommodate them should rendezvous along the grass-line or open-water areas at Brown’s Point, the mouth of Goblit’s Cove and South Steer Beach.  Fish with earthworms, crickets, beetle spins, minnows or dough balls.

·                    Lake Okeechobee.  The Big O is always on list of best fishing holes for just about any kind anglers.  The bluegill are in the rim canal.  They are also hanging out with the shellcrackers at Indian Prairie, Fisheating Bay, West Wall, Bay Bottom and Pelican Bay.  Bream here like sandy-bottom areas 2-5 feet deep.  The best bait for them is grass shrimp, but shellcrackers will also take earthworms, and bluegill will go for crickets.  Fly-fishers can do well with popping bugs and sinking flies.  Jigs and spinners on ultralight tackle can make fishing in Lake Okeechobee a memorable experience.

·                    Lake Panasoffkee, in Sumter County.  FWC biologists have been nurturing this lake with tender loving care in recent years, and they’ve got it to where shellcrackers, bluegill and warmouth are practically jumping into boats.  Bream fishing is best during full-moon periods at Shell Point, Grassy Point and Tracy’s Point.  Bream also await anglers at the shell beds at the mouth of the Outlet River and in the middle of the lake.  Little Jones Creek is the place for warmouth action if the water stays high.

·                    Lake Talquin, near Tallahassee.  Starting in May and lasting throughout the summer, shellcrackers and bluegill will lurk around the upper end of the reservoir and in the backs of various creeks.  They’ll be waiting in 3-7 feet of water to pounce on artificial flies, earthworms, crickets or whatever else anglers offer them on fly rods, bream busters or light spinning tackle.  When you fish for bream in this lake, it’s a good idea to invite some neighbors over for supper beforehand, because you’ll probably need some help eating all the fish you’ll catch.

·                    Tenoroc, on the outskirts of Lakeland.  This 13-lake complex is paradise for bream anglers, not to mention bass fishermen.  Tenoroc consistently has the highest catch ratio of all the water bodies in Florida.  FWC fisheries biologists get to try pretty much anything they want to do on Tenoroc, and the result is a fishing opportunity, unmatched anywhere.  Call the Tenoroc office at (863) 499-2421 to make reservations.  Tenoroc is open four days a week.

·                    Lake Harris Chain, near Leesburg.  This is where bream anglers get to square off with the real shellcracker and bluegill heavyweights.  Bream grow big in these waters and demonstrate some real fighting spirit on their end of a fishing line.  Anglers find them in 4-6 feet of water near Astatula and the Howey Bridge spanning Little Lake Harris, plus the lily pads and spatterdock patches near the Ninth Street Canal out from Leesburg.  Bluegill also take to the shallows, tight to the saw grass shorelines.  Just downstream from Lake Harris, Lake Eustis offers its own opportunities, complete with gravel fish attractors along the Eustis Lake Walk pier and shell beds near the sailboat marina and along the east shore.  The lily pads in Dead River offer good fishing.  Lake Griffin offers good shellcracker fishing in the mouth of Haines Creek, Yale Canal and along the wooded banks of the northern end of Pine Island.  Live worms and grass shrimp are the baits to use throughout the whole chain.

·                    Lake Marian, in Osceola County.  This little sweetheart is a well-kept secret among bream anglers.  Shellcracker fishing heats up in March or April, bluegill fishing kicks in a little later, and bream fishermen wear themselves out all the way through the summer months.  Fish in this lake bite best during full moon and new moon periods.  Use worms, crickets or grass shrimp for bait or try casting tiny spinner baits on ultralight tackle.

·                    Lake Istokpoga, near Sebring.  This large, but relatively shallow, lake is a bluegill honeyhole, and it’s a fun lake to fish because of the way anglers do best when they study and follow fish’s movements and habits.  From April through June, panfish hang around cattails and bulrush.  Other times of year, the best spots are around Big Island, Grassy Island, Bumble Bee Island, around sand sandbars and along the edges of eelgrass.  Use crickets for bluegill and live worms for shellcrackers.  Popping bugs work well for fly-fishermen.

·                    Choctawhatchee River, in the Panhandle.  This is the place to go for shellcrackers.  They like to bed in its quiet waters during April, and they stay hungry until early fall.  Also, in late spring and early summer, redbreast sunfish, stumpknockers and warmouth wait for worms, crickets and grass shrimp in the smaller creeks off the main channel.  Panfish from the river are at their best swimming in a deep fryer amid some hush puppies.

·                    Suwannee River, from the gulf to the Georgia line.  If you think all the world is sad and dreary everywhere you roam, maybe a mess of stumpknockers and redbreast sunfish from the Suwannee River is your ticket to bliss.  Anglers find plenty of action in the middle stretch of the river, but as they move closer to the mouth, fishing goes from good to magnificent. This river has plenty of bluegill and shellcrackers too.  Try near tree banks on deep shores, the creek mouths and along water lilies.  Use crickets, mealworms, beetle spins or fly-fishing tackle with small popping bugs.  If you can find some catalpa worms, get some of them for bait too, and tell the old folks at home you’ll be bringing back enough bream to feed everybody.

HPC/CR

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