Bluegill and other related panfish nest in large colonies in shallow water, where the sun can warm their eggs. And when they are "on the beds," they offer anglers one of the premier opportunities of the year for a big catch and an enjoyable fishing experience.



To find bream beds, look in the shallows either by walking the bank or easing along in a boat. Bream beds will appear as a cluster of bright round spots the size of a dinner plate on a dark bottom. They will generally be located in water no deeper than 4 feet. (Wearing polarized sunglasses will help anglers spot these beds beneath the water's surface.) Sometimes hundreds of beds will be in the same colony.

Anglers may fish bream beds with a number of simple methods: using a float rig with live crickets or worms; casting a small tube jig, or casting a small spinner (Beetle Spin). When they're bedding, bream are very aggressive, and they bite willingly!

Here's a tip to get more to bite willingly. Fish a bream bed from the outer edges and work in. By starting out working the middle of a bed, hooked fish can spook other bedders. But by picking off the outer bream, the majority of fish aren't alerted to danger, and they will continue to bite.

It doesn't take many bream to make for a good fish fry. This is why anglers should keep only as many as they need, then release others they catch to continue spawning.