Nothing brings back wonderful childhood memories like grabbing a cane pole and heading to a pond to catch a “mess of bream.” While you are patiently awaiting your bobber to go under water, you don’t even notice how dirty your fingers have gotten from digging in that can of worms. It brings you back to plain fun, relaxing fishing. There’s no need for any fancy boats or expensive equipment, just a pole and worms or crickets. The easiest way to rig a pole or rod is with a No. 6 or No. 8 long-shank hook, a small ‘bb’ split-shot placed about six inches above the hook and a small bobber set so that the bait suspends about six inches from the bottom.

Bream fishing is an excellent way to introduce youngsters to fishing. Recently, I took my 7-year-old nephew to Angie and Jimmy Gottler’s pond in Elberta. After digging up our own worms, we had a fun-filled day with family and friends catching lots of bream and bass and topping it off with a fish fry. Check out John Marshall’s recipe for the best fried fish ever.

If you don’t have access to a private pond, go to OutdoorAlabama.com for a list of state lakes open to public fishing.

Bluegill bream facts:

• Bluegills have incredible vision and use their eyes to spot food.
• The belly of a female is yellow, while the belly of a breeding male is rusty red/orange.
• Bluegills have a lifespan of five to eight years.
• Bluegills have a very small mouth and require the use of the pharynx to suck in prey/food.
• Bluegills are noted for the darkened spot on the posterior edge of the gills.
• The world record bluegill weighed 4 pounds, 12 ounces and was caught in Alabama in Ketona Lake in 1950.

John’s Fish Fry

• Fish fillets (skin removed)
• Yellow mustard
• Black pepper (3/4 tablespoon or to desired taste)
• Nalty’s Creole Seasoning (1/2 tablespoon or to desired taste)
• House-Autry “hot” breader
• Oil for frying
• Gallon-size Ziploc bag

Cut the fillets into even strips so they will cook at the same rate. Prepare a bowl with enough yellow mustard to cover all filets adequately. The mustard will hold the batter to the fish and will leave NO hint of flavor when the filets are done frying. In a gallon-size Ziploc, add House-Autrey (this brand is the best flavored fish fry I have found in my 30 years of fish frying), black pepper and Nalty’s seasoning. Roll 3-4 of the prepared filets in the mustard and then drop them into the prepared batter mix. Shake it up, then remove filets and set them aside on a clean plate. Once you have all of the filets prepared, start placing them into a preheated fryer. Never place filets in a raised basket as the filets will stick to the basket and pull off the batter. Too much batter will begin to burn in the fryer and will taint the flavor of your fish. Fry the fish to a golden brown. Lift the basket and allow the oil to drain before dumping fish onto a paper towel-covered pan. Do not add any salt nor additional flavor to the fish … they will be ready to serve! Always let the temperature come back up slightly after cooking a large batch to ensure that your next batch will be as crisp as the first. Enjoy!