“I’ve just found that the technique I’ve developed is very effective and allows me to fish more places. Often, I can catch multiple fish without having to put another piece of worm on the hook. That’s really important when you get into some fast, furious action on huge shellcrackers. But by fishing the right places, it’s hard to go wrong on Chickamauga in May in shallow water,” Greg Jones concluded.

Moving across the state, we’ll find another outstanding bream hotspot. Reelfoot Lake has long been noted as a bream factory and that fishery is certainly still very strong.

I’ve sampled the great bream fishing on Reelfoot on several occasions. Billy Blakely, a lifelong resident and professional guide for bass and bream, has shared many of the secrets of this fishery with me on how, when and where to fish for shallow-water bream.

Blakely is a native of Samburg, located on the shore of Reelfoot Lake. By his own account, since he was able to climb into a boat, he has been fishing this lake.

“One of the problems a lot of fishermen have when bream fishing on Reelfoot Lake is all of the lake looks so great for bream. With the cypress trees, grassy shorelines, pads and logs and stumps everywhere, it all looks perfect for bream,” he said. “Certainly, you can catch scattered fish throughout the lake. The key, however, is to look for specific places that may hold fish. For example, in a group of cypress trees, you may have water that’s a fairly consistent depth, but there will be the occasional higher or deeper spots. These are often the places the bream will target. I’ve learned through a lifetime of fishing where many of these places are, but I still keep an eye on the depthfinder, even when bass fishing. Sometimes I make a mental note of something that looks promising for bream fishing and I’ll return to check it out.

“Also, when working the shoreline looking for bream beds, a lot of fishermen just fish the entire stretch of weeds or pads. Again, I suggest looking for something different. A small pocket in the weeds, a hole in a thick mat of pads, for example, will often be a gathering area for bream. Often, a log lying in the water in conjunction with a weed line in 3 or 4 feet of water will be enough to attract a lot of bream.

“Remember, the key to success will often be to look for something slightly different so you can focus your efforts in targeted areas. Don’t just hope to get lucky with a random, haphazard method of fishing.”

Blakely will use spin-cast and spinning rigs to cast to his targeted areas. In addition, he’ll use 10- to 12-foot bream busters as well. Typically, he’ll use crickets as bait. The important part of gear, he noted, is to use the equipment an angler can cast most accurately with. Often, you’ll need to put the bait under cypress limbs or into small targets to be successful. That’s why he will occasionally use the long poles; it allows him to drop the bait precisely where he wants it. It requires a bit more stealth in terms of being quiet to not spook the big bream, but it can allow very precise bait presentation when needed.