Page 93 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2026

The small insect imitation plopped into a pocket along a wooded shoreline as if it fell from a nearby tree. It sat motionless in the water until the ripples dissipated. Then,
it popped once, moving about a foot and making a surface commotion.
Suddenly, the “bug” disappeared into froth as something coming from beneath exploded on the offffering. Despite its diminutive size, the beast more than made up for it in sheer determination and pugnacious attitude.
Redear sunfifish (also called shellcrackers), bluegills, and other panfifish species all lumped together as bream thrive in all Mississippi freshwater systems. The Mississippi state record bluegill weighed 3.45 pounds. The top redear weighed 3.33 pounds.
Bluegills and other bream begin spawning when water temperatures reach about 80 degrees, typically in late March or April. Redears spawn a little earlier. Bluegills spawn once a month into fall. Redears spawn in the spring and again in the fall.
Bream create holes for beds and frequently return to the same beds every year. Several hundred fifish might crowd a constricted bedding area and stay there for months. Anglers who fifind good beds can
usually keep catching bream there until the weather turns too cold.
Bluegills fifiercely defend their nests. They eat almost anything they can fifit into their tiny mouths, including minnows, crawfifish, worms, grass shrimp, and other tiny morsels, but especially love insects. When feeding at the surface, their mouths make distinctive snapping noises. Astute bream busters can zero in on these “snaps” to locate bedding or feeding areas.
On light or ultralight flfly tackle, bull bream deliver incredible action. Few weigh more than a pound, but they can outfifight anything ounce for ounce. Floating cork popping bugs make excellent bluegill temptations. Foam baits that resemble natural prey such as crickets or spiders also work great.
Move quietly along a shoreline casting flfloating poppers close to any cover. Let the bug rest on the surface a few moments. Then, give it a small twitch or pop. Let it rest again and keep repeating that action. Anglers can also make slow, steady pulls across the surface or short hops to tempt hungry fifish. Always toss a bug as close to the cover or shoreline as possible and work it out toward deeper water.
At times, bream rush in like Jaws to
obliterate a surface popper. At other
times, bream act almost timid. One might rise to gently taste an enticement before committing itself to strike. Often, bream simply suck down bugs. Suddenly, the popper vanishes without the slightest ripple breaking the surface.
Anglers fifishing along shorelines might locate new bream beds or pick offff stragglers cruising the shorelines. Bluegills don’t frighten easily, so anyone who
fifinds a good bed might boat several fifish quickly. When fifish stop biting, change
bug colors. After exhausting all available color combinations leave the area for a few hours and return later for more explosive action.
As the water warms, the biggest bream regularly stay in slightly deeper water or hover over drop-offff edges. To catch these, cast feathery sinking flflies. Let them sink
a few feet and then work them in short sports, pausing periodically.
South Mississippi anglers can fifind bream in all fresh water systems. As temperatures warm this spring, anglers should enjoy excellent bream action from these pugnacious powerhouses.
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net March 2026 | 93