Bream - Soft Plastics / Lures vs Bait ?

[Fish-Hunter]

I have been fishing for Bream since a boy, I fished with bait till only recently & have caught many Bream with baits. But haven't enough experience with SP's to compare which is more effective.

Lately I got me three outfits suit SP's + hardbodie lures, from ultra light 1 to 2kg, medium 3 to 4kg (drop shot / snaggy areas), medium / heavy 4 to 6kg (Mulloway) for use with SP's + hardbodies etc.

Question -
whats the opinion of members here ? SP's / Lures vs Bait, for effectiveness in catching Bream consistantly.

[Basti]

My tally stands at 1 each on bait and lure so im no bream fisho by a long shot. I wasn't targetting bream whe i got the one on bait, and the lure caught fish came after mulitple sessions of donuts. this is a very small sample ofc but from what i've seen on the net, bait seems to be the more effective option

[mazman]

bait is way more consistent but the challenge of getting them on lures and reward associated is worth it IMO

[ecoronad]

Bait will always out fish lures when it comes to effectiveness. What size you catch is another matter.

If you've ever watch feeding bream, you'll know that they're scavengers, always picking/looking and chewing on things rather than inhaling things (very similar to a trout). Quite often you can have a whole school of fish follow the lure or soft plastic your retrieving right back to your feet but not get a bite. The excitement however wears thin when you realise that none of the fish will actually eat your artificial offering.

Personally, I use soft plastic and lures if I want to be proactive and not just be sitting in the one spot waiting for a fish to bite.

[sloth]

You can get consistency with bream on lures but it takes time and its a bit of a learning curve. You can offer them an artificial they want to eat like an sp or you can use a hardbody or aggressively worked plastic to trigger a reaction bite. I've never fished bait for them so I can't compare.

Personally I think if you spend the time learning how they behave, where they hang out and how they react to your presentation then you can get good consistent results with lures. You're probably way ahead on some of those areas already from your bait experience.

[dezza68]

I have tried a sort of combo where you pre bait a swim to draw/concentrate the fish and then fish the sp over the baited up section. Helps if you bait up a few then you can still move about a bit.