THE GAME CHANGER
DANIEL BOUSKILA – 200LB-PLUS BREAM HAUL
“FISHING accurately over your feed can be key to catching, and on a recent bream session I was reminded why in dramatic fashion.
“I’d arrived at a large stillwater that holds a good head of bream, some large ones included. It was incredibly windy, but I fancied my chances of getting a bite or two.
“Kicking off, I fed 10 Spombs of mixed particles and maggots 10 wraps out and cast two simple feeder rigs over the top, baited with maggot hookbaits. After waiting for an hour with no signs, I began to get line bites but no takes, and I knew something wasn’t right.
“When I’ve introduced a bed of bait, I like to cast to the back of the spot, so I wrap up slightly further out than my feed will go.
“Once you’ve hit the clip and are feeling your feeder or lead down on a tight line, you get a pendulum effect, and the rig swings back towards you slightly. If you deliberately overshoot, the feeder should land bang on the money.
“I’ve done this in the past with great results, but this time I’d clearly gone too far. I’d clipped up at 11 wraps but then reduced it to nearer 10, so I’d hopefully be right among the fish that were giving me line bites.
“From then on, chaos ensued! I landed bream after bream, the biggest at 15lb 1oz in a bag of doubles going well over the 200lb mark. Both rods were regularly going off at once.
“After each fish I put two more Spombs of feed out to keep the shoal occupied, and was constantly playing fish, releasing them, and feeding. By 3pm, I was shattered, and went to the pub for a pint of Guinness!
“Alongside the change in the range at which I was fishing, there were a few elements to my rig which I believe also had an impact. When bream fishing anglers traditionally go for longer hooklinks. However, I use a very short fluorocarbon hooklink on a helicopter rig, generally around 3ins long. It’s something that I do in my roach fishing, and think it’s deadly for bream too. When one picks up the hookbait, it’s nailed! Plus, I’m creating such a frenzy in the swim, I don’t think the fish are bo
