Pearl River bream

Bruhl searches out spawning pockets for hot weather bream action

Many anglers didn’t grow up catching specked trout, redfish, flounder or any of the other species we have in our marshes.

A good portion of them cut their teeth catching bream, and that’s the exact species avid Covington angler Jeff Bruhl likes to target on the Pearl River this time of year.

He fishes them in the canals off the main river.

“If they’re going to spawn, usually they’ll be in some kind of pocket,” he said. “Usually, the pockets don’t have the hard moving water because of the tide.”

Spawning spots

Once Bruhl gets in those areas, he likes to look for where the bream are spawning.

“In August, there are still a few bream bedding, so I’ll go look for some beds if I know where they are,” he said.

Once he finds a bed, Bruhl slows down and methodically works the area.

“If I’m just flipping, I’ll use a small cork with a Gulp cricket underneath it right up next to the trees,” he said. “You want to get out there early and try to fish around shade — like the shade under a cypress tree.”

However, Bruhl does a big portion of his damage with a Beetle Spin.

“I like to throw a Beetle Spin around cypress trees or grass lines or any kind of point in a pocket,” he said.

Gotta try orange

Beetle Spins consist of a wire, a tiny blade and a jighead. Bruhl prefers a 1/16-ounce size jighead, and said an orange-colored grub threaded on that jighead is hard to beat.

“I guess it just mimics a small google-eye or something — or there is something in the water orange that they like,” he said.

The blade color should be chosen based on the water clarity, according to Bruhl.

“If it’s super clear water I’ll throw a gold one, but if it’s regular stained water, I’ll throw a silver one,” he said.

A Beetle Spin is an open-hook bait, but even around the sticks, logs and limbs of the Pearl River, Bruhl doesn’t lose too many of them.

“You can’t really throw it around thick heavy cover, but it’s pretty weedless,” he said. “You can roll it around tree points, laydowns.

“You’re around the cover but not in the cover,” he explained.

Although the early summer months can harbor great bream fishing, August is still a good month to catch quality bream.

“If you have an early part of the month full moon, you’ll still have some good-sized fish.”