Moon Phases for bedding

I recently caught some of the biggest bream in my life. This was on 6-9-07 (last qtr). I went back this weekend and only caught 2 (new moon). I usually just crappie fish but boy those things were fun. I was fishing Tunica Cutoff. My question is will they bed back up on 6-30 (full moon)? I've always heard bream bed the full moon of May and June, but with the full moons of these 2 months coming at the end of the month would I have been better off fishing the full moons of April and May? How do I target big bream at other times. Tunica Cutoff is a Mississippi River oxbow in Mississippi.

They should be there. I'll definitely be checking out some bream beds at the end of the month.

But I catch most of my bream when they're NOT spawning (cause nobody else is fishing for them!) My best bream fishing during the last year was this past January. Just look for deeper water near the beds.

Hey tcounty,

I'm mainly crappie fishing now but have bream fished alot in past years. In fact, I only bream fished before getting hooked on crappie the past five years.

I would say the bream will bed at Tunica on the 6/30 full moon. With it being river fed and later to warm in the spring, I would guess the best spawns would be the 6/1 and 6/30 full moons this year. I normally fish Pickwick for bream and target the full moon around 1st of May as the best of the year with the full moon around 1st of June being secondary to the earlier spawn. Pickwick warms up to spawning temp about a month earlier than Tunica, hence my guess that Tunica 6/30 spawn will be good but probably not as good as the 6/1 spawn. My only worry if I was planning to fish Tunica at that time would be the low water level there.

I normally target four days before the full moon to two days after for the best bream fishing.

Hope this helps,
Dan

I know that my gills have spawned once or so already here too. I found them on beds earlier in the season back in May and yesterday out on the same waters, saw them up shallow over beds again.

So this Full Moon thing is for real and I do believe that some of the gills will be back up on beds again soon.

They are a blast, the most fightingist little 8"-9" fish around. They were even pulling drag from time to time as I was horsing them in from the tree limps with my 8# mono.

I've been finding them in mass schools on timber where the ended of the trees where out over the 1st drop in the 5-8 foot of water range.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the info.

So if it's not a bedding time just fish alittle deeper in the same area?
Say bedding area is 2-4' deep, I should fish 5-10' deep water just off the beds?

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Originally Posted by tcounty

So if it's not a bedding time just fish alittle deeper in the same area? Say bedding area is 2-4' deep, I should fish 5-10' deep water just off the beds?

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Yes, that's what I do. If they're not on the bottom, they might be suspended somewhere in the water column, so try different depths.

I found them on beds in the backwaters (shallow) of the river and on timber that covers the bank shallow all the way out to the 5-8 FOW and they are spawning up in side the trees and hanging out over the end and sides. The better fishing side has always been the down stream side. :D

In the backwaters, there is very little if none current. The earlier beds from the spring that were in 3-5 FOW are now in the 1-3 FOW and are being used again. These beds get used by so many different gills and bass thru the season. They have weed cover, trees, logs and nice sand, even shad with the trees from the bank from the hot summer sun. :D

Fish On!

Hope this helps.
Plus, if you can, fish the shady side, the fishies what to get out of the sun too, that is way they like logs and trees tooo. For hiding.

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Originally Posted by tcounty

Thanks for the info.

So if it's not a bedding time just fish alittle deeper in the same area?
Say bedding area is 2-4' deep, I should fish 5-10' deep water just off the beds?

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It's been my experience that you also need to find some cover in deeper water close to the bedding area. For instance, I have one spot like this at Pickwick where the bream school in 10' to 15' of water about 600 feet away from their bedding spot between spawning cycles. I have another spot like this at Pickwick where the bream school in 12' to 15' of water about 150 feet away from their bedding spot. The only thing that distinguishes these two areas from closer deep water is the submerged tops in these two spots. One nice thing about this is that I can find them in these same deep areas year after year.

Dan

They wont be in the same areas as last month. Unless we get 10 feet of water soon.

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Originally Posted by Tunica

They wont be in the same areas as last month. Unless we get 10 feet of water soon.

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Yes,but if I find cover in the 2-4' range I should find fish. Right? They will bed again down there won't they ,regardless of water depth?

of course but it will be hard to find. Most of the submerged cover will be condos etc. You wont find and deep water natural cover what was there has long gone.

I see what you are saying now. Have chainsaw will travel :D