Thread: Bream bedding behavior

Sorry, will be kind of long, lots of questions.

The full moon is May 26. I've been catching huge coppernose bluegill (stocked lake) and an occasional redear since May 15, about two weeks prior to the full moon. After I found the first bed the old-fashioned way, casting, and nailing it to down to catch fish after fish in a certain spot, I suspected a bed. Continuing to catch, it had to be! Upon leaving, I could see the magnificent sonar images of fresh beds. I then found several beds around the lake scouting with sonar. About 3-4 ft deep. Some questions...

1. Is it normal to catch bream on beds two weeks prior to full moon?
2. What will happen now, will it gather more bream?
3. How long after full moon will they stay on beds?
4. Will they continue to bite?
5. Do fronts affect bream bed bite?
6. I find what appears to me to def be old beds around the lake. The new ones' images are *dramatically* different, the image just jumps at you they are so round and deep and such a clean image. The old one looks less defined but they also look smaller. However, that might be silt infill? I dunno, just curious. I am wondering if big coppernose bream might actually build larger beds; I mean the individual beds, not the collection areal extent. The old beds, I wonder if bream come back and use them from time to time and rework them?
7. I have been catching a few and then leaving them alone and go to another one. Do you think that is good practice or does it matter for the fishery health?
8. I have enough fish to eat, what about catch n release for bedding bream, any 'harm' in that? I suppose we need to harvest x-amount, else, the bream will be stunted. I know lakes that all they have is small bream.
9. The old beds I see on sonar, could that be some other fish? They look like bream beds, just much smaller than the fresh beds of coppernose bluegill. Lake level could fluctuate, maybe that is why certain beds are not reworked in any given year?
10. Is there any wisdom/validity in releasing any huge bream with a big belly, assuming it is a female loaded with eggs? Does it matter?
11. I got worried yesterday when an elderly man asked me if I was going to keep any to eat. I said yes and he asked if I caught them around a feeder? I did not and he said I might be ok but if you catch them around a feeder, they will taste bad, taking on the taste of the feed. Said you could even smell it when you clean them. The good news is my bream tasted fine. Have you ever heard this?

I have read that the coppernose bluegill is kinda like a Florida bass, it's a species native to Florida which grows bigger than regular bluegill. So, that is why they are stocked.

I have been catching my limit each day I go. They are the biggest bream I have ever caught. Big ones are near a pound and they are super round and thick. And they pull like crazy on the rod. I just have to hang on sometimes! I have been using trout magnet lure; color does not seem to matter so far. Also caught a few on a fly rod with underwater bugs. Artificials sure are nice versus live bait, crickets or worms or crawfish.

The 2nd image is of a lighter color one. Most of them are darker and the 1st pic shows that. I just read up and saw a pic saying that lighter ones are females and darker ones are male. Yesterday, I think all of them (25) were dark, so, all males? I guess they are preparing the bedroom for the females?

I hope some of you will share your knowledge on this interesting part of panfishing and any of those questions; bedding bream are certainly interesting! I don't want to do anything to hurt the fishery but all my life, around here, it's almost like you are encouraged to catch bedding bream to harvest a bunch of them, else, there will be too many! But I've always been keen on not overfishing a bed but I know lots of people who catch until they can't catch anymore. Once I have enough to eat, I'd rather just release if it's 'good' to do that.