Over time, data from this program should alert anglers to productive places to fish. Another way to find likely sites for catching big bream for right now is to ask the DWFF district biologists -- most of whom, when we asked, unhesitatingly declared that their first choice would be intensively managed private ponds.

Look for mineral and nutrient-rich water with moderate weed growth. The weeds oxygenate the water and provide habitat for aquatic insects and invertebrates. Heavy weed growth limits the predator’s access to small bream. Similarly, water visibility of at least 18 inches makes it easy for bass to feed on bream.

Finally, consider the ratio of bass to bream. In the case of big bream, you’d want access to a pond “out of balance” -- overcrowded with bass.

If you don’t have access to a private pond, the biologists said, some of the best public waters for big bluegills and shellcrackers are Leon Brooks Hines Lake in Escambia County, Lake Guntersville on the Tennessee River, Lake LU at The University of West Alabama in Livingston, and Lake Yates on the Tallapoosa River. Escambia County Lake and Lake LU are intensively managed waters.

For redbreasts, biologists recommend the Choctawhatchee, Pea, Yellow and Little rivers, as well as Lake Yates. The first three rivers drain into the Florida Panhandle, while Little River flows into Weiss Lake.

Except for Lake LU, which is the best-kept secret in the state, all of the bluegill and redear destinations produced bream weighing more than 2 pounds in the last year. Most likely, the top lake for big fish is Escambia County Lake. The state added about a ton of lime per acre to the lake last year.