Night Fishing

[AvidAngler]

Recently ive been trying out night fishing. but in order to give it a fair chance, i just wanted to have a few other opinions. cuz the lakes here that i fish from aren't even stocked anymore and apparently seem just low on fish count. so ive been out at night fishing at Folsom lake in CA twice. so far weve caught 3 catfish in 2 nights, only 1 keeper. but ive heard that night fishing is pretty much better than fishing during the day for all species of fish. something about the bigger fish becoming nocturnal and trout also becoming more active at night due to the low traffic of boats and also lines at night. is this true? are you supposed to be able to catch more fish at night? does anyone regularly fish at night? and if so for what and with what bait?

[GoTakeANap]

i fish for catfish and bass at night. you will have alot of success fishing cats at night. what type of cats are around your area?

[clayton86]

I usually night fish a couple times a year for catfish or walleye. Chicken liver for the cat fish and smithwick jerk baits for walleye. I'v tried night fishing for bass with zero success so I don't bass fish at night iv caught a few like in the first 30 minutes of sun down but thats it.

[Bluebasser86]

I'd much rather fish at night than during the day during the hot summer months. Bigger catfish, especially flatheads and blues seem to become almost completely nocturnal during the summer and big bass move shallower and feed much more aggressively at night during the summer.

[NoBassPro]

The only thing I night fish for is salmon. Best way to beat the crowds, plus they are much more aggressive on average.

[GoneFishi'n]

If i'm going for a catfish that is around 20 pounds what should I use? I don't know what kind it is, but it's in a small lake. We have seen some that we think are at least 40. I mean these things look like they would eat a 10 pound bass. The ones I have caught are around a pound or two and they are like yellowish and have a white bottom.

[GoTakeANap]

If i'm going for a catfish that is around 20 pounds what should I use? I don't know what kind it is, but it's in a small lake. We have seen some that we think are at least 40. I mean these things look like they would eat a 10 pound bass. The ones I have caught are around a pound or two and they are like yellowish and have a white bottom.

cutbait such as shinners, shad, herring and bream if you can use it in your state. of course live bait is always the best. if u have sand perch there u can also use them.

[Bluebasser86]

If i'm going for a catfish that is around 20 pounds what should I use? I don't know what kind it is, but it's in a small lake. We have seen some that we think are at least 40. I mean these things look like they would eat a 10 pound bass. The ones I have caught are around a pound or two and they are like yellowish and have a white bottom.

More than likely in a small lake you're going to be dealing with flatheads if they're getting 20-40 pounds. That being the case flatheads are almost strictly predatorial. Live bluegill, green sunfish, bullheads, and goldfish will all catch flatheads. Rig them up on a heavy slip sinker rig (just like a carolina rig) and hook them just below and back from the dorsal fin or through the nostrils. Flatheads will eat fresh live bait from time to time but you'll be much better off with livebait.

[SmokeRise1]

I caught this cat while fishing in a night time bass tournament on Saturday. It was 5.11 and I got it on a black/purple flake SwimSenko.