The bream beds are full at Lake Wylie – and full of more than just bream.
That’s the report from Capt. Chris Nichols of Gastonia, N.C., who guides on the 13,500-acre reservoir that straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border southwest of Charlotte.
A rare “blue moon” this week – the second full moon in May – brought bluegills streaming into the backs of coves and pockets, setting up shop in huge congregations and providing tremendous light-tackle fishing for anyone interested.
“We’re just killing ’em on the bream beds; they’re just loaded – 50 to 100 in each place,” said Nichols (828-868-2298). “And they’re super aggressive. You throw a bait in there, and four or five of them try to get it as soon as it hits the water.”
Nichols said he and a father-daughter party bagged 125 bluegills in an evening trip this past Wednesday, and they were rewarded with three nice largemouth bass – they’re setting up shop on the outside edges of the huge beds, picking off an occasional stray bream every once in a while.
“The bream will bed on the full moons in May, June, July and August, but I think this spawn is the biggest,” said Nichols. “They’re in the back of most every shallow cove and pocket. You go in and catch 10 or 15, then you move to another one, until you’ve got all you want.”
Nichols said that tiny pieces of nightcrawlers, red worms and crickets have been deadly baits, and he’s caught plenty of bluegills on crappie mini-jigs.
“You can take a telescopic fiberglass bream buster rod or an ultralight spinning rod – just about anything like that,” Nichols said. “They’ve been pretty good-sized fish – from handsized on up.”
