Bream is pretty large growing, tall and flat fish. When small sized and dense populated, Bream is considered as rubbish. But when it grows over 1 kg, it has become utilized in fishery.
Bream is persistent and in it's north border of ubiquity in Finland. However it is common in South- and Central-Finland. It also exists through whole coast side of the country.
Giant of warm waters
Breams like warm water. That's why they are missing from Lapland. Also barren waters lack bream. They like big lakes, therefore at they pass the winter in deep, although otherwise are moving in shallow waters of flourishing shores. Bream won't tolerate large-scale oxygen deficiency in winter.
Motion and eating
In spring and early summer breams are in very shallow water. In the middle of summer they visit a bit deeper only to return to eat. Winters they spend in deep waters, especially big fishes.
Breams eat in shallow and flourishing waters with soft mud bottom. They eat in shoal, searching larvae, gastropods and small scallops from the mud. Bream's mouth is an excellent tool for rooting up muddy bottom, as it makes up great blotter when fish pulls it out. Eating bream shoal is exposed as parts of water plants arise to the water surface. Bream eats some water plants also.
Spawning
Spawning of breams was important event before. Large and tasty fish could be caught big time. Catch was usually salted down.
Spawning time is in Finland in between end of May and Midsummer. It starts when water is warmed up to approx. + 15 C. They spawn in very shallow water with water plants.
Old Finnish folk used to talk three cycles of spawning. From little fish to big, tough there are notes of contrary order also.
Catch, records and special ways to fish
Bream catch is not big as it used to be in Finland. Finnish game and fisheries research institute's stats reveal yearly catch of pro fishermen to be 400 tonnes and recreational fishermen 2000 tonnes in 2006.
Official record is 7,45 kg. Nowadays unofficial, old record was 11,5 kg.
Breams have been fished traditionally with nets with "headstalls", but normal nets that are laid loosely do fine.
Sources:
- Koli, Lauri, Suomen kalat
