It’s time to dust off the bream tackle. The bluegill, red ear and long ear bream began spawning when water temperatures hit the mid to upper 70’s and held steady for a week of so.

The average surface water temp over the past week was 76 to 77 degrees. Our area lakes are loaded with bream and, unlike the bass this year, they are easy to catch.

Bream fishing does not require a great deal of tackle. To keep it simple, a cane pole with about 10 feet of line, a couple spilt shot, a cork and hook is all that is needed to battle with the bream.

Thread a red worm or cricket on a small hook and you’re ready. But if you’re not a “live bait” fisherperson, you may prefer a 6- or 7-weight fly rod rigged with a Ligon Bream Killer or a Poppin’ Bug.

Spinning tackle is tailor-made for bream as well. Rig a small 1/32-ounce spinner with a black and yellow grub and retrieve the tiny spinner as slow as possible. Many times artificial lures will outfish the real thing. It just depends on water clarity and, of course, fish activity.

The clearer the water, the better artificials will produce for the purist that doesn’t like to get worm “dirt” under their nails.

I have tremendous problems fishing with live crickets. For every cricket I fish out of the cage, five or more will escape and disappear like magic, so I’m better off with artificals when pursuing bream.

For numbers of bream try Lake Concordia. The bream in the northern third of the lake will begin to bed first. Just fish along the cypress trees along the inside bend and you’ll find some nice fish.

Some will be scattered, but when you come across two or more bream in the same area, slow way down. If there is a bream bed in the area you can catch a limit without moving the boat.

Toward the end of this month and throughout May and June the mid-lake and south end of Lake Concordia will produce some nice bream.

For larger bream but fewer numbers, try the Natchez State Park Lake and Lake St. John. The first bream beds of the season are usually located in the south end, where the lake splits into two arms. Going south, the arm to the right is home to some nice-sized bream right now.

Fish the bulrush with red worms and crickets. Most of the catch will be big, dark-colored bluegills, but there are a few red ear or chinquapin in the area.

The red ear bream tend to bite better on red worms, while the bluegill would rather eat crickets.

If you’re using fly tackle, rig a wet fly, a slow sinker, like a bream killer on the business end of your leader.

For spinning tackle, it’s hard to beat a small horse head spinner or a safety pin-style beetle spin. Just be sure to retrieve the lure as slowly as possible and keep it near the bottom.

The bream was the first caught fish for many people, and it’s considered a great fish to keep the kids busy. The tasty little fish gives the hardcore bass anglers a chance to “catch,” rather than “fish.”

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached by e-mail at fishingwitheddie@highstream.net.