South Coast Black Bream Fishing

The Black Bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus) has got to be one of the prettiest seasonal visitors to our shores. With it's stunning cobalt blue, silver and black markings there are few fish to rival it's beauty around our coasts. They can be found in our waters from the spring right through until the end of the summer. They migrate north from Spanish and French waters in the spring to move on to their breeding grounds.

The Black Bream happens to be a fine table fish, one of my favourites, and according to the Marine Conservation Society is on the list of fish that are within sustainable levels. This makes them a worthy quarry and there's no need to feel bad about taking a few for the pot.



The Kingmere Reef which sits a few miles off the coast of Littlehampton is a well known and protected breeding area for the Bream and every year many hundreds of anglers make the trip out there to tangle with these incredibly hard fighting fish. May/June is considered the best time to get out on the reef as the fish are shoaled up. If you catch it right then some brisk sport can be expected.

They can of course be caught from the shore too but these fish tend to be smaller, for the best chance of a real specimen then heading out to the reef is the best bet. It is quite conceivable to catch fish in the 4-5lb bracket and possibly bigger which is a cracking bream in anyones book and will give you a good run-around on the right tackle.



For their size the bream fights very hard indeed, continually crash diving and shaking their heads. Using light balanced gear is the way to get the most out of these lively critters. I would recommend a light boat rod in the 6-12lb class range if you can get away with it and a low profile multiplier spooled with 20lb braid. This will give you splendid sport.

Bream are renound for having small mouths so your choice of hook size is critical to ensuring a good days sport. If your hook is too big then the bream will simply not be able to take your bait. I favour a strong size 4 aberdeen style hook or hooks from the carp fishing market.

As far as rigs go then I favour using 1 x hook on a long flowing trace (5-6feet) on a standard sliding boom. My trace is made from 12lb fluorocarbon which is nice and discreet too. It pays to use just enough lead to be able to bounce your tackle downtide from the boat by gently raising and lowering your rod. This has the effect of allowing the bait to waft up and down which seems irresistable to the hungry bream. It's worth having your drag set sensibly too with regard to the tackle used and the breams scrappy reputation.



As far as bait is concerned then you'd be a fool to leave home without some squid, mackerel and cockles. I have found these 3 baits to be irresistable to the bream, but some days they definitely have a preference for one particular type. It's worth ringing the changes until you find what's working best on the day. Other baits worth a try are ragworm and small chunks of peeler crab.



The bites you get when bream fishing are often a series of hard taps and they can be incredibly fast. It pays to allow the bream a little time to take the bait properly, there is'nt really much point in striking at the taps, it's best to wait until the fish hooks itself and pulls the rod over. Remember, they do only have small mouths!




They may not be the biggest fish in our waters but when you consider their fighting abilities, beauty and desirable qualities for the table then Black Bream fishing is well worth a crack. If you've not tried this then I would highly recommend it. Get in touch with the skippers that work out of Littlehampton and get your name down for a trip to the Kingmere Reef in May/June time. You won't be disappointed - trust me on this one!

Happy fishing!