Armed with a seatbox and quiver tip gear Martin Bowler headed off to Farlows Lakes near Iver in search of the resident bream shoals.
With carp the main quarry of anglers visiting Farlows Lakes, Martin was keen to prove that there is much more on offer than just carp. Due to high protein bait going in on a regular basis other species like bream, tench and roach are very quick to take advantage of this regularly available food source and thrive. As a result, the lakes are home to shoals of roach and bream, a carp anglers worse nightmare, but for a match or pleasure angler, heaven.
Arriving at the venue mid-afternoon Martin was greeted with the sight of spawning carp, and as a result, one end of the lake had been closed. After speaking to the bailiff and numerous carp anglers around the lake, one or two had reported catches of bream during the night. With that in mind, Martin returned to his vehicle and set up in the adjacent swim. Peg 40 on lake 1 gave, a swim with control of an open water swim with an area of clean silt at around 40 yards, the perfect area to lay a trap.
Martin laid an initial bed of mixed pellets and small boilies via a Spomb, spread around his marker float to create a reasonably sized feeding area. This feeding area would then be left for a few hours to settle and allow any fish to feed freely and build up confidence in the swim.
Martin’s Bream Set Ups
Martin set up two Series 7 Method Feeder rods, two contrasting setups, but both very effective at catching bream.
The first one with a Feederbomb presented on a feeder link, paternoster style with a long hooklink of 6.4lb Fluorocarbon and a size 12 Specimen Plus hook. This rig would be fished with purely natural baits such as maggots and corn.
On the other rod, an In-Line Method Feeder loaded with a krill groundbait laced with small pellets and a short ESP Mega Method Rig in size 10 baited with a trimmed down krill boilie.
Due to the large head of carp in the venue, Martin opted to fish with ESP Syncro XT, a much heavier and thicker mainline than he would normally use for bream, but vital to landing any large carp that may be hooked. For situations where there are very few or no carp present, Martin uses 6lb Method & Feeder Mono, a line designed specifically for this style of fishing.
By the time Martin had set up, there was already signs of life over his baited area. A few casts later and it was apparent that a large shoal of roach had moved into the swim. A switch to the method feeder would be vital to target any bream currently in the swim, as every cast on maggots produced roach after roach, many taking the hookbait before the feeder had even reached the bottom. Great sport, but not the intended quarry. Martin was confident that the bream shoals would move onto the bait overnight and that dawn would be the best chance for bream.
As the sun began to rise Martin was greeted by the sight of bream rolling over his baited area, his plan had worked, they had moved in under the cover of darkness. It didn’t take long before the tip started to twitch, as the bream worked the swim and began to feed on his method feeder. Minutes later the tip pulled around and the first bream of the session was on its way into the landing net. Around 4lb and almost golden in colour, a sigh of relief for Martin as his plan had worked.
As the morning unfolded Martin landed nearly a dozen bream alternating between the method and maggot feeder, switching when bites slowed up. A great morning fishing by anyone’s account and it just goes to show that there is more than excellent carp fishing to be had at Farlows Lakes.
There is also 2,500 square foot on-site tackle shop run by Erics Angling Centre and is based in the centre of the complex. They have a huge array of tackle and bait, with incredibly friendly and knowledgeable staff. So if you are unsure of what tactics or bait to use pop into the shop and they will be more than happy to help.
Erics Angling Centre: www.ericsangling.co.uk
Farlows Lake: www.farlowslake.co.uk