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Tempting Winter Lockjaw Bream

By Tomas McIntosh

Winter can be one of the trickiest times of year to target bream. The dropping water temperatures and higher rainfall cause the water to be fresher and dirtier, meaning at times it feels like they have lockjaw. In winter the bream are transitioning from their haunts in the shallow, warm water into the deeper, cooler water, where they school up leading into the spawn. In this article I will be outlining a few tricks that you can use to change a slow day into a productive day. When you get these elements correct, the potential for cricket scores of fish hitting the deck is very possible.

Use Technology

In winter, as the water temperature drops, the large majority of fish will transition into deeper water. In large waterways finding productive areas can be daunting. There are a few factors to keep in mind when it comes to finding schools of bream. One of the best ways to increase your chances is to use your electronics to search, exploring water over two metres in depth, to find schools of fish.

Generally speaking, in the cooler months the fish will be schooled up in groups of three or four fish, right through to massive schools with hundreds of fish in them. As you are driving around you will find that certain depths will be more productive than others. Keep a close eye on the depth, when you start seeing fish, as this will help you refine your search further. When searching for bream, using your side imaging can be the best way to search large areas.

Bait Is King

During winter, you will find an influx of baitfish in the system and it fast becomes the predominant food source for bream. In the warmer months, you will find bream actively hunting crabs and shrimps around shallow rocks and weed. As the weather cools, these baits seem to be less plentiful, while baitfish appear in large shoals.

Selecting the correct plastics can help increase the number of bites that you get. The ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ is my go-to small baitfish profile and they have a tight shimmy while swimming and mimic a small baitfish perfectly. Other brilliant options in the ZMan range include the 3" Slim SwimZ, 3.5" Trick ShotZ and 3.75" StreakZ.

Bottom Contact

In winter, the water temperature is down. As a result, the fish's metabolism drops, causing them to want to conserve energy and limit the amount of food that they need to consume. The best approach to adjust to this is to fish soft plastics and vibes as slow as possible along the bottom. Maintaining bottom contact is key. Once you are able to achieve this, slowing down your retrieve with minimal 2-3" hops will entice more bites.

Go Light

When it comes to finicky bream, you can tempt more fish to bite by going lighter with your jighead and leader selection. It is important to select the lightest weight possible, while still maintaining bottom contact. Being able to waft your bait slowly past their noses can trigger even the fussiest bream to bite. Lure presentation is key and using the lightest leader possible ensures that your lure will fall unimpeded through the water column. The thicker the diameter of your leader, the more the drag increases through the water. In winter, I will always have at least one rod rigged with an ultralight 2lb leader.

Downsize Your Bait

Downsizing your soft plastic can make all the difference when it comes to tempting some winter bream. One of my favourite tricks is to drop down from a ZMan 2.5" GrubZ to a 2" GrubZ. You can also trim down a 2.5" Slim SwimZ from the head, making it close to 2" in length.

Scent Up

Scent plays a vital roll in finesse fishing. Smothering your plastics in Pro-Cure scent can help trigger the old factory settings of the fish. Scent allows you to convert those tentative bites into fish committing and scoffing the bait on the second go. I have also found that, during a tough bite, a plastic smothered in scent will catch a considerable number of fish on the outside of the face. This happens due to fish trying to get a taste and touch of the bait, before committing to it fully.

Winter can be a tricky time to target bream, as the cooler temperature triggers their metabolism to drop, leaving you feeling like they have lockjaw. By using the tips in this article, hopefully you too can maximise your time on the water and catch a boatload of big winter bream.

Cheers,
Tomas

Gearing Up:
ZMan 2" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ
ZMan 3.5" Trick ShotZ
ZMan 3.75" StreakZ
TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse Jigheads
Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent