Bluegill and other bream beds are the hot topic this time of year. These panfish flood the shallows to spawn once the water temps hit 60 degrees, and they’ll continue to come to shore wave after wave throughout the summer. You can use several different presentations to catch bass that are relating to these bream beds, but one of the best is a twin prop bait like the Bagley Twin Spin.

How to Find Bream Beds -

As spring fades into summer, begin looking for bluegill, shell cracker and other bream to flood the shallows and start making beds. These panfish will spawn in groups, creating dozens of circular beds in a honeycomb structure that looks a lot like a layer of car tires lying on the bottom. These groups of beds are sometimes referred to as nests.

Bream spawn in relatively shallow water, most in 1 to 6 feet. The muddier the water, the shallower they’ll spawn. They like hard bottoms that are mostly sand or gravel, and they prefer to spawn out of the current.

Since bream spawn shallow, you can find their beds by walking up and down the bank, with the backs of pockets being high percentage places to look in particular. If you’re in a boat, you can just put the trolling motor on high and head down the bank until you stumble onto a bed. Once you do, you’ll often find several of these nests along the same stretch of shoreline.

What’s So Special About a Twin Prop Bait -

A Bagley Twin Spin creates a lot of disturbance on the water’s surface, it mimics the size and profile of a bream well and it can be fished slowly. These three things come together to create a realistic imitation of a bream struggling along the surface, which is exactly what a bass near a bream bed is looking for.

How to Fish the Twin Spin -

Taking the Twin Spin and fishing it around and over these beds is a great way to get bit by a big bass that is looking for the most vulnerable bream of the bunch. Throw the the bait past the bed and then work it slowly over the bed by twitching the bait, letting it sit a few seconds and then twitching it again. This stop and go action will draw a bass’s attention to the bait and give it enough time to make up it’s mind to bite.

Gear to Use -

While you can fish a twin prop bait like this on a spinning rod or a spincast (Zebco), this technique works best on bait casting gear—something in the 7-foot, medium heavy range. You can use monofilament or braided line, since both line types float. But you will be able to cast the bait farther using braided line. The mono isn’t a bad option here though if that’s what you’re more comfortable with, or if it’s all you have available.

Final Thoughts -

Targeting bass around bluegill and other bream beds is a lot of fun. This is one of the best ways to catch big bass shallow in the summer, and these bass are more likely to blowup on a topwater than most others this time of year. Taking a Bagley Twin Spin and twitching it over top the beds is a great way to get bit, and might just result in a new PB for you if you decide to try this style of fishing out yourself.