When anglers think of bluegills and shellcrackers, they usually think of spring through late summer and into early fall. But the wintertime bite for bream can also be top notch.
The trick to finding bream this time of year is to get away from the banks and head to deep water.
“Fishing on the Santee Cooper lakes, anglers can find plenty of good bream along the banks and in the cypress trees most of the year,” said Capt. Joe Dennis of Captain J Hook Charters (843-245-3762). “And you can catch just as many in the wintertime by heading out to deeper water.”
Bream like sticking close to structure, so when the weather turns cold, they seek out brush piles in that deep water.
Find the brush
“There’s no shortage of brush piles on either the upper or lower lakes,” said Dennis. “The ones in 20 to 25 feet of water are good places to start.”
These brush piles can be found with basic electronics. Dennis said crickets are the best baits, and he suggests anglers use Carolina rigs or drop shots to get the bait down. Dennis uses long Catch The Fever Precision Crappie rods, and fishes straight down.
Most anglers would equate this style of fishing more like crappie fishing, and that’s not a bad comparison. As a matter of fact, Dennis said it’s not uncommon to find crappie mixed in with bream.
“I like to have live minnows with me when fishing this way,” Dennis said. “Sometimes, you’ll catch a crappie on a cricket. If that happens, get a minnow down there and chances are you’ll catch another.”
Cooper River
Dennis said anglers can also find bream biting on the Cooper River. But just like on the lakes, the majority of bream in the river have left the banks and are located in deeper water.
“Fish crickets on the drop offs, deep points and ricefield breaks with slip corks and drop shots,” Dennis said.
He also said bream in the Cooper River usually bite better on the falling tide.
Get plenty of other tips on fishing Santee Cooper Country by watching Dennis on his YouTube channel at youtube.com/@ChasinTheWildOutdoorstv.
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