Read the article with FishingTheSpot: the red bream
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See the fishing tripsThe Red Bream
All year
15 cm
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The Red Bream belongs to the Sparidae Family. The Red bream is a fish with a common length of 15 to 30 cm, the maximum known size being 60 cm. This fish can live for about twenty years. It breeds from May to August or March to July. Although it is fished all year round, it is between fall and winter that catches increase.
The body is oval in shape, compressed laterally, as in most Sparidae. The head has an almost straight profile, a pointed snout, a fairly small mouth in a low and inclined position. The diameter of the eye is much smaller than the length of the muzzle. The inside of the mouth is greyish or whitish. The 2 jaws have sharp teeth in front (larger outer teeth, with small teeth) and 2 or 3 rows of molar-shaped teeth in the back. Like all Sparidae, it has only one dorsal fin. It begins at the plumbing of the pelvic bones and includes 12 spines and 10 to 11 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 8 to 9 soft rays, the length of its base is one-third that of the dorsal fin. The pectoral fins are high and very long, reaching almost vertically from the beginning of the anal fin. The caudal fin is forked. The body color is silvery pink with bluish reflections, the back and top of the head being darker. The upper part of the body is dotted with small blue spots. The upper outer edge of the lid is marked with a carmine red. The bases of the pectoral fins have a reddish spot and sometimes a spot is also observed at the base of the last rays of the dorsal fin.
The Red Bream lifestyle
The Red Bream is an omnivorous fish with a predominance of carnivorous fish. It feeds mainly on small fish and benthic invertebrates* (worms, small crustaceans and mollusks).
It is a protogyne hermaphroditic species (first female then male), whose sexual maturity is reached for females after 1 to 2 years for a size of 15 to 17 cm. Some of the large females over 2 years of age become males. This results in more females than males (often twice as many) in a red bream population. Breeding occurs when the water temperature is between 19 and 21°C, from May to August (Mediterranean) from March to July (southern Portugal). There can be 2 spawning periods in the southern part of the area. Egg laying is pelagic, gametes are released in open water. Eggs give birth after 2 days of incubation at 21 °C to a pelagic larva measuring about 2.5 mm. The fry then concentrates on shallow sites.
The Red Bream habitat
It is a semi-pelagic, demersal fish, i.e. living near the bottom. It frequents coastal waters, on various bottoms (rocks, gravel, sand or mud) with a preference for soft substrates*.
It is found in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, North-East Atlantic.
The Red Bream Angling
In surfcasting, fishing to support at anchor, in stone, drifting or longline, by hand or with a busque, its defense (interspersed with head blows) generally promises good fishing trips.
The red bream is receptive to artificial lures such as Madai, TaĂŻ-Jig and Tenya Jig, but it is most often fished with natural bait.
