When I was much younger, in my latter twenties, I had a wife and four children at home. On Friday nights,the kids would be asleep between nine and ten o clock. I'd take a casting rod, a small one tray tacklebox, a good flashlight and go walk the banks at a small lake near home, night fishing for bass. My night box contained a few spinnerbaits, a jar of #11 pork frogs, and a bag of large Culprit worms, hooks and weights, as well as two Jitterbugs, a 5/8 oz size, and a then new muskie jitterbug. I always fished the same cove. The cove was not very large, and had an old half rotted wooden dock, with one light above, which put out a little bit of dim light. Some guys would promise to meet me there, but almost all backed out, so I made these trips alone. On certain nights, bats would circle the light, occasionally swooping down close by, but there was never any problem with them. One humid night, I decided to hike around the cove and fish the other side. Using my flashlight, I made the hike, walked down the bank and began casting. Directly behind me around ten feet distance, was a large thick wooded area. Very overgrown and thick with trees, vines and deadfalls. No paths or trails in this woods, and I'm sure nobody ever went in there. After a short time, I heard a tree crack in the woods behind me, followed by some loud commotion. This happened again, but sounded closer. I held my flashlight up and scanned the woods, but everything seemed still. There was something in that large woods, trying to get through, and getting closer. I heard what sounded like a larger branch breaking along with more rustling noise, and that was it. My imagination got the best of me. I quickly reeled the spinnerbait to the rod tip, grabbed my tacklebox and quickly( very quickly), made a beeline back to my truck, on the other side of the cove. When I got to my truck, I was sweating, and it took me a minute to calm down. I stared into the woods across the cove trying to see just what it was that made that noise behind me. Whatever it was, it was large enough to break branches and make some serious commotion. Night fishing for bass can be awesome. Your senses become very sharp, and everything is amplified. This all happened over 35yrs ago. I'll never know what was in those woods that night, and I'll always wonder. I still have my black muskie jitterbug too. I've never caught a single fish on it. Now, it's just a reminder of a night time bass fishing trip from years ago.
Please share any strange or unexplainable things that you've experienced while night fishing for bass.
