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“Regular top-ups produced a memorable bream catch”
How Paul Burke kept a stillwater swim ticking over with mixed feed and regular Spomb top-ups—resulting in 18 bream, six doubles and a best of 12lb 7oz.
@Paul Burke
by Angling Times |
Published on29th October 2026 at 12.00pm
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Paul Burke – 12lb 7oz bream
“I’D NOTICED a lot of surface activity from the bream in a certain Midlands stillwater, so at the first opportunity that arose I had a go for them.
“I arrived at first light and could see that they were still in the area. So, I Spombed out around 3kg of crumb containing a mixture of different sized pellets, generally of bloodworm flavour, plus half a tin of corn, half a tin of chickpeas, and a half-pint of maggots.
“I didn’t want to overdo the feed, as it would only be a day session, but I still gave the fish plenty to grub about over.
“Over the top, I cast six red maggots on a size 12 hook on a fluorocarbon hooklink, and it only took around 10 minutes for me to receive my first bite from a bream of 8lb 14oz.
“I felt this was a very promising start, but often, when you catch an early fish, the session can go one of two ways – sometimes it can be the only bite! Thankfully, this trip went the right way.
© Freddie Sandford
“I could see fish bubbling away, with one occasionally rolling on the spot. The wind was a gentle southerly, and the sun was just breaking out. As many bream anglers will know, sunshine can be the kiss of death for a session, but try telling these fish that, as I ended up with 18 bream by the end of the day!
“None were smaller than 8lb, and six others went into double figures, topped by a specimen of 12lb 7oz.
“The fishing was interesting – there would be spells where they’d feed hard and I’d often receive double takes. But then the swim would go quiet. However, the key to buying a few more bites was a top-up of three or four Spombs full of bait.
“The session was incredible, and one I’ll never forget. Watching those slow bobbin rises, feeling heavy headshakes down the line and then watching big bronze flanks slide over the landing net one after the other was surreal.
“I went home covered in bream slime, but I wasn’t complaining!”
Paul's top 5 tips
Make the most of activity – I kept an eye on the lake leading up to this session, and acting on signs of activity was what led to the memorable catch.
Arrive early – First light is a great time to see fish showing and bubbling. I arrived at dawn to see if the fish were still in the area.
Choose the right rods – I used 1.75lb TC bream rods. These offer enough backbone to hit the spot, but also the softness to cushion the fight of a big bream.
Get them grubbing about – Feeding a mixture of baits, including pellets of different sizes, helps to retain the fish in your swim.
Feed less initially but top up – If you only have a day at your disposal, rather than piling in the feed initially, it’s better to top up in line with the fish’s response.
Chunk of spam tempts trent whacker
Julian Barnes – 18lb 1oz barbel
AUTUMN is the quintessential barbel-fishing season, and this year, after a long and dry summer, anglers are keen to make the most of any extra rainfall and cooling temperatures, just as Julian Barnes did when he banked this fine 18lb 1oz fish.
Julian, from St Neots, headed to the River Trent – a river on which he has taken some phenomenal catches over recent years – as soon as better weather conditions rolled in. It proved a great move as, alongside the ‘18’, he landed 12 other barbel during what was a session to remember.
© Julian Barnes
Swan mussel-flavoured boilies proved the downfall of 11 of the fish, but it was a chunk of good old Spam that tempted the haul’s biggest!
Strong tackle was the order of the day, and Julian opted for 15lb Gardner Hydro Tuff mainline alongside a 16lb fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 6 Target Barbel hook.
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