Good Baits For Night Fishing

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Well, not really night fishing. More like 5 in the morning but with fall coming on its still dark out. Ive mostly been using a frog and having some success but Im wondering what else would be good. Im better at fishing senkos and texas rigged worms but it seems like these would be harder for the fish to see in the darkness. What are some baits/colors that perform well in the dark?

[BenBassmaster]

I'd use a Popper, Frog (Like you said) or a Buzzbait (With or without clacker, single or double buzz). I've caught a nice 4lber last time I was night fishing on a black blue custom Buzzbait. Good Luck!

[msolorio]

Use the same thing you would use during the day. Seriously. Bait, be it shad, gills, perch, trout, craws dont change color just because it gets dark outside. They're the saw color 24/7.

[msolorio]

*same

[Stingray23]

You know what always worked for me? A 10" power worm, texas rigged, in black, purple, or dark red.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

hmmm....interesting. i was thinking maybe swtich to brighter colors like white or chartreuse but you have a point, msolorio. baitfish dont change colors.

stingray - i have some purple worms that are similar to you power worm but i think its only 7 inches. Ill give it a try.

i was also planning on buying a popper so ill try that too. thanks guys. appreciate your input.

[papajoe222]

I've caught many a bass on a T-rigged worm. I like the paddle tail as I can feel it thumping, but a Zoom OleMonster will get you some pigs. A fish's eye can collect more light than yours so their night vision is better. I still use darker colors at night, but that's more of a confidence thing especially when I'm using a faster moving bait up in the water column.

This is a great time of day for faster moving baits and although you said that you're better fishing Senkos and such. Becoming a well rounded angler will increase your odds and enjoyment of the sport. Try a spinnerbait or a shallow running crank. You can cover a lot of water with them and the first time a bass hammers that thing, you'll be 'hooked' too.

It's a great time of day to be on the water and a great time to gain some confidence in other techniques.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

thanks papajoe. ive got a spinnerbait that i haven't used much and a crank that runs like 2-4 feet deep. ill give them a shot.

[ClackerBuzz]

the bit is usually good/aggressive at dawn so i'd start with a 3/8oz black booyah clackerbuzz...frog/popper...or 3/8oz z-man chatterbait in black/blue for sub-surface. other than that you can can really use all ur normal day time baits. good luck

fyi: a spinnerbait is just as good as a chatterbait and basically serve the same purpose. if you have alot of weeds....the chatterbait is much easier to bounce off the tops and rip thru them w/o getting weeds caught on it

[Tuckahoe Joe]

are chatterbaits/buzzbaits the same thing? they sound similar

[The Rooster]

Chatterbait is a jig with a blade on its head. Buzzbait is a top water lure with a spinning blade, like a triangle shaped prop. They are different lures. And then there's the spinnerbait to throw in there too.

Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits can be used in the same places, but there are times when I'd rather have one over the other. Spinnerbaits I feel deflect off of stumps better due to their wire frame making them very snag resistant. Chatterbaits have more vibration than spinnerbaits do most of the time. Sometimes you want that, sometimes not.

At night I use either bright white, chartreuse, or a combination of them, but only if there is enough light that I feel they can be seen. I much, much, much prefer black or black blue, even dark blades over shiny metal. Black silhouettes great in the water and I feel the fish see this easier.

Of course, science constantly changes, but I once read that bass see color in the day, and mostly have black and white vision at night. It also said there is about a two hour period where their vision isn't adjusted fully as it transitions from color to black and white, or back to color again, so adding vibration to the bait helps a lot. For reference, this was in a book from the late 90's about largemouth bass behavior put out by the North American Fishing Club.

Also, baitfish don't change colors, but anything we can do to help bass find our bait is a good thing.

[Bluebasser86]

Chatterbaits, buzzbaits, and jigs are my go to low light baits. Not a fan of treble hooked baits in the dark, once you have a full sized spook you can't see smoking back at your head at mach speed you'll understand why.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Thanks for that rooster. I have a couple jigs that I haven't learned to use but none of them have blades. Ill get around to learning them eventually. One step at a time ya know.

Bluebasser - I was thinking that same thing. My lakes kinda snaggy and the last thing i wanna have to do is struggle with a snag in the dark. Hard to dodge flying hooks that i cant even see.

[Arv]

I've had luck on buzzbaits before. Also a good ol' jitterbug has done me well, it may not be the most exciting lure to work but it does catch fish.

[K_Mac]

A jig or T-rigged plastic has produced a very high percentage of my night fishing bass. Stroking or bouncing a spinnerbait, working a chatterbait at various speeds, and topwaters of all sorts have all worked well at times, but a dark colored jig and craw (with or without a rattle-depending on the fish) or a dark colored plastic (usually a big worm, although this year a smallie beaver has been my best bait) will usually catch more and better fish for me. These are what I like to throw, so your mileage may vary.

[Stingray23]

I also like big, single blade spinnerbaits in black.

[FairfieldIllini]

Last night I had good luck with the River2Sea Whopper Plopper. Baby Loon color. It's the smaller, bass-sized version of the famous muskie lure. Even caught a couple of 10 inch bass on it.... and it's a 5.5 inch lure.

[Crestliner2008]

Cooling, almost dark, fall mornings I love tossing a buzzbait until the sun lights everything up. Then I'll probably switch to a spinnerbait.

[iceintheveins]

Buzzbaits, rage shads, jitterbugs, prop baits, and big single spin spinnerbaits.