Catching Redbreast

Hey folks, I've moved close to a river that's supposed to be really good bream fishing, especially redbreast. I've fished all my life and have caught plenty of bream, but I haven't ever really tried to break down one species and figure out how to catch them.
I've been reading and it says they relate to sandy and rocky bottoms, specifically around structure like logs, vegetation, ect. They'll eat everything, but mostly feed on the bottom.
I plan on taking some of my jigs, maybe some worms or corn, and a few beetlespins tomorrow and trying to catch a few.

What are your most productive colors and methods? I was thinking fishing some worms and corn on the bottom, maybe under a float, casting some hand tied 1/32nd oz. or smaller jigs, or maybe throwing the jigs out and letting them sink pretty deep or to the bottom them retrieving them slowly.

What colors would you try and what else would you try?

Edit - It's going to be in the 40s at night and mid 50s during the day when I go tomorrow.

black beetle spin with yellow stripe..1/32, 1/16 size will wear the redbreast out in a river. It is also one of the deadliest lures for bream period. I fish U/L rod and reel with 6 lb.

Nice, thanks. They're a really pretty fish. How big of a hook on the jighead would you use? I only have 1/32nd oz. #4s and 1/16th oz #2s... I'm thinking the #4s are getting kinda big and the #2s are a little large for bream...

They have a #6 hook, I buy the 4 pack for .99 (1 head/blade with 4 bodies) around here, 10-15 packs will last me a whole year of hard fishing.

I thought so. I'll try to get a pack of them and get my guy who pours my jigheads to make some #6 jigs.
Thanks again.

What river are you going to be fishing? I just bought some property myself along the South Fork of the Edisto river in Bamberg county and I'd be interested to hear some fishing reports, whether it's redbreast, catfish, etc. Let us know how you do.

It's the Little Pee Dee River in Horry County, SC. Right on the way to Myrtle Beach. The catfishing is supposed to be great in it, too. Huge flatheads and nice channels. I haven't heard how good the crappie fishing is, but I think there's some in there.
I'm getting ready to go, if even for a hour or two. I'll let y'all know how I do.

Well I didn't get to fish, so I don't have a fishing report. I don't think it would have been too good today, it was chilly and overcast.
I hope to get out in a few days, if not then probably next weekend. It needs to warm up a little bit though.

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Originally Posted by smoothlures

It's the Little Pee Dee River in Horry County, SC. Right on the way to Myrtle Beach. The catfishing is supposed to be great in it, too. Huge flatheads and nice channels. I haven't heard how good the crappie fishing is, but I think there's some in there.
I'm getting ready to go, if even for a hour or two. I'll let y'all know how I do.

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W. Horace Carter wrote a book in 1991 called "Crappie Secrets and techniques for catching other panfish", don't know if it is still in print or not, in which he talks about the Little Pee Dee as well as a lot of Fla. freshwaters. Not a lot of new type techniques in the book but lots of good stories. First place I ever read about plastics and minnows together, he used pieces of plastic worms, spider rigged with corks. I was a basser back in those days.

Sounds good, thanks. I'll try to find a copy.

I fish for redbreast on the famous Ogeechee river. One of the best baits you can buy for redbreast is a Spin Dandy!! You will need to find the ones with the gold head and spinner. My best 2 colors are black/yellow, and brown/yellow/orange- also called crawfish. hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by smoothlures

Sounds good, thanks. I'll try to find a copy.

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I don't think you will get much good info from the book just fun reading.

We call them redears or shellcrackers in Ohio. I catch them mainly in the springtime with a waxworm or redworm on a small fly under an adjust-a-bubble bobber.

Ah, well I don't mind a good fishing book.

Slab_Slayer - Where do you find them at? I searched online at a lot of different sites and only found them on the makers website.

I buy mine at a local tackle shop

Oh ok. I'll check around. Would a hand tied jig on a normal beetle spin be about the same thing?

Opie, the redear/shellcracker is actually a different species than the redbreast.
Shellcracker - http://www.angelfire.com/ia3/fishing/redearsunfish.htm
Redbreast - http://www.angelfire.com/ia3/fishing...astsunfish.htm

just wanted to throw in my two cents.grew up fishing in two totally types of fishing environments.one klake fishing with one grandpa and the other was river fishing with the other papa but the rivers werent quite as wide in south georgia.but the way he fished for red bellies was with a bream buster and as close to the bottom as possible with a cricket and occasionally a beatle spin as the one shown earlier.hard headed me fished more in the lake with the other around the banks and edges stumps and so forth.but in the river he always cuught the biggest and the most fishing the middle of the river and on the bottom.didnt care anything about catching bluegills or red eye bream.red bellies was the only thing worth going in the livewell.silly me i could catch the three fingers all day but the middle bottom with a cricket was the ticket.hope this helps

Have worn out River RedBreast on a 2 inch Cabelas Black Double Tail Grub with Red Legs fished on 4lbs line on a 1/32oz black ballhead jig by itself or on the tiniest single gold spinner blade you can find!!! Try to throw toward the banks which have an abrupt depth change from shallow to deep water and any type of standing vegetation along those banks. Hope this helps!!!! :)

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Originally Posted by smoothlures

Oh ok. I'll check around. Would a hand tied jig on a normal beetle spin be about the same thing?

Opie, the redear/shellcracker is actually a different species than the redbreast.
Shellcracker - http://www.angelfire.com/ia3/fishing/redearsunfish.htm
Redbreast - http://www.angelfire.com/ia3/fishing...astsunfish.htm

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Should work, mine does!!

Smooth, I fished the little pee dee about five times when I was stationed at Shaw AFB in Sumter. Always caught a mess of redbreast, except for one time. The water got way up in the trees and the fish were very difficult to find. I fish with this lure 90% of the time in any river.
http://www.ispikeit.com/shop/images/...ERRY%20(2).jpg

You can find it here.

http://www.ispikeit.com/shop/ENLARGE.ASP?id=1261

I get mine at Wal-Mart. They get them in occassionally in a Riverside cardboard box that has a bunch of panfish plastics in it.

There are alot of other good colors also. Rig it on a 1/32 oz plain lead jighead. Cast to structure let it sink, bounce it off the bottom back to the boat. Redbreast love em. So do bass, crappie, bluegill, even caught a few cats on em. Its a river fish's main diet.

I tried some 1/64 jigs with a #8 hooks in local ponds in the summer. With .5 to 1 inch tubes loaded with Berkley nibbles, got a hit most every cast! Can't wait for spring break and those Grandkids! If too windy, I add a small float which helps the casting. Be sure to take a small hook retriever, like the one one the handle on fishermans line clippers, for they swallow this lure. Good Luck

Ah, the redbreast sunfish. I caught the heck out of 'em years back in the New River around Blacksburg Virginia. Awesome, awesome fish. I miss 'em, they are mostly in Atlantic river drainages (althogh the New drains into the Ohio system).

My go to catch anything bait was a red 1/16 oz jighead with a fine wire #6 hook and a 2" white grub, sometimes with a beetle spin spinner. I remember catching them in areas with some slow current right along the weed edges. I didn't hardly eat fish then, but man I could have come home with quite a mess.

I caught everything from walleyes, green sunfish, bluegill, smallmouth, rock bass, muskie, tiger muskie, largemouth bass, KY bass, you name it, on that little jig combo. Best way to fish was to walk upstream a couple miles on the railroad track, then float slowly downstream in the lazy current in a belly boat.

Joe