John Flores: Everything lines up for bream fishing

The first full moon of spring occurs Saturday, which coincidently occurs during Easter weekend. For most people that usually means a long weekend at the end of what’s considered Holy Week by most Christians.
The weather is predicted to reach highs in the low 80s, with overnight lows in the high 60s. If I were to do a little prognosticating, it’s my guess that if you like to fish bream (i.e.: bluegill, red-ear sunfish, long-ear sunfish) this weekend all the stars, the moon and weather should line up perfectly for you.
When the water temperature reaches 70 degrees, spawning season begins for these species of fish. If this past weekend was any indication of that science, rest assured it is spot on. My spouse and I mopped up on bluegills in the Union oilfield canals near Grassy Lake and over half of the ones we kept to eat were full of eggs when I cleaned them.
The thing about bream fishing is it’s not hard. The work is pretty much finding where they are and even that’s not too hard if you know what you’re looking for.
I look for shallow water 2 to 5 feet in depth, clear to stained in color, and something that has cover for protection around or near it. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and bream are near the bottom of the food web. Close cover is an absolute must for them to survive.
Cover can be in the form of logs and storm blowdowns that provide structure for them to escape predators. In many places, subaquatic vegetation (various grasses) is the predominant cover.
Sometimes grass grows so thick there is no navigating it with a standard outboard, plus it’s difficult to fish. When this is the case, anglers will usually fish the outer edges of grassy cover or look for holes in it.
Christine and I fished in the back of a dead-end canal where a tree had fallen out into the water about 40 feet. Its branches provided perfect cover in the shallow water and yes, we got hung up a time or two, but it was worth it.
I have a 7 inch rule for my boat. No matter what we’re fishing, they must be at least 7 inches long. A few 6-inch fish wound up in the box at Christine’s insistence, noting that they were chunky enough.
It’s more or less a cleaning thing for me. I know I can get a reasonable size fillet to fry out of a 6-inch to 8-inch fish.
Bream fishing is also pretty much a small hook, small bobber, and small weight thing. I like to use a Thill balsa float and No. 6 perch hook, with a single split shot fixed 6 to 8 inches above the hook.
As far as weight, I use just enough to keep the float perfectly vertical. When it’s right you can see the slightest touch by a bluegill.
When young kids are involved, I attach the round plastic bobbers as they will get hung up and more than likely you’re going to lose tackle in the tree limbs when it’s all said and done.
When it comes to eating, fresh bream is hard to beat. Some people like to gut, behead, scale, and score their fish and fry them on the bone. I prefer filleting all my fish. And, typically what happens at the Flores house is when I’m picking up gear and washing down the boat, Christine is usually frying our fish for supper. She usually uses Louisiana Fish Fry products, which come seasoned, but you can use regular cornmeal too and season it to your taste.
On a different note, as we get further into spring towards summer with the kids out of school, people will be on the water more. We’ve already had several deaths this year from boating incidents. In an effort to provide more education to the public, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is hosting its 11th Annual “Boating Education Lagniappe Day” on April 23 at eight different locations across the state.
Anyone born after Jan. 1, 1984, must complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators boater education course. Closest locations for St. Mary Parish residents are the LDWF Lafayette Office or the Terrebonne Parish Rifle Range. For more information concerning these courses, those interested can go to the LDWF website at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/boater-education and click on the link for “Find A Course Near You.”
Bream fishing is a spring thing, and this weekend is going to be a good weekend to get out on the water to fish them. You can make it a perfect weekend by coming home safe. Happy Easter!
John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththeflo@cox.net.