Find the right pattern and load the boat with Cooper River bream

Wyn Mullins of North Charleston said the quickest way to limit out on bluegill in July is to find the right pattern quickly.

“The sweet spot will be a combination of depth and cover on a specific place,” he said. “It’s also a matter of technique. I use a long spinning rod so I can poke and probe around an area. I’ll have one rig with my balsa float, but I’ll also fish another rig vertically on a tight-line.

“A different presentation can make a huge difference, plus, this enables me to fish two distinct targets at the same time.

Find the right spot and action can be so fast that anglers like Wyn Mullins wind up with doubles that are difficult to land.

“Even better, when I am fishing with someone, they can do the same thing, and it doesn’t take long to work an area effectively,” he said. “Unlike bream beds that cover a fairly large area, these targets are much more precise. It’s not unusual to limit on a single stop when I find that sweet spot. But even if the action slows, I’ve got the pattern and will target a couple other places that hold bream.”

Mullins said one drawback to the two-rig searching scenario is the occasional big one that gets away.

“On some places the bream are stacked in so well that I hook bull bream on both rigs at the same time,” he said. “That can result in losing one of them, but it also confirms a swarm of bream are just a few feet below my boat. I can live with that.”

About Terry Madewell 821 Articles
Award-winning writer and photographer Terry Madewell of Ridgeway, S.C., has been an outdoors writer for more than 30 years. He has a degree in wildlife and fisheries management and has a long career as a professional wildlife biologist/natural resources manager.