Night Fishing

[Ben Stacy]

So summer is on us and I really want to do more night fishing for bass. I've fished some at night for walleye and striper but not really bass at all.

What techniques are most popular? What types of areas so ya'll fish? I'd think it would be hard to pitch and flip? I have blacklights and understand florescent line etc. just looking for some experienced folks to share what they like to do.

Thanks in advance!

[scaleface]

I use buzzbaits a lot , plastic worms and old metal lipped Bomber crankbaits  have also worked well for me . I find the fishing usually doesnt pick up until about 2 hours after total darkness . I prefer brightly lit nights just because I can see better .

[Derekbass02]

I have had some luck on a Black Jitterbug.

[gardnerjigman]

Top water, bladed jigs, 10" worms all work well. Fish weed edges, points and rocks.

[Catt]

Same lures in the same locations as you would during the day!

[stkbassn]

Top water thundersticks, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits, jigs, power worms

[Ben Stacy]

Thanks for all the advice guys - much appreciated

[WRB]

Try using the search tool at the top of this page, the gear icon at the far right, type in "night".

Tom

[Flippin4Biggins]

I've only had success with a 3/8-1/2oz black booyah with a big Colorado blade and a buzzbait

[Bluebasser86]

Dark colored jigs and bladed jigs are about the only baits I use at night. I don't like trebles after dark because a bass caught on trebles is hard enough to deal with in the daylight. 

[basshole8190]

Bass generally get shallow to feed at night. My 2 favorite night baits are a big jig with big trailer black and blue, a wake bait like a bomber long A or red fin

[WRB]

2 night fishing threads an hour apart, doesn't anyone even look or read what's under their nose!

Bass fishing at night isn't much different than day time bass fishing with one exception...we can't see very good at night, the bass can!

As I stated many times bass can be more aggressive at night and a good time to learn to catch them on worms or jigs because you must feel the strike. If you use black lights to watch line movement, helpful with Senko's, you may rely on your sight more than sense of feel.

Night bass anglers are more apt to fish shallow banks at night then they do during daylight, which most anglers tend to do anyway. If you are catching bass in trees at 25' during the day, those bass are still there.

Bass near shore that are suspended during the day in deep water often move towards the bank at night and these fish can be caught on crankbaits for example, you don't need black lights for crankbaits.

Areas around a lake with lights like marinas, docks etc attract baitfish and bass.

Swim beaches with light color sand can be very good. Rip rap areas house crawdads that are nocturnal, good places to fish. Isolated brush is always a good spot.

Tom

[Starchalopakis]

Ditto on the black/blue jig!!!

[FloridaBasser1]

Try swimbaits, and slowly creep them along. If you would like a more visual instuctional watch this video. He's a very reliable source.

[bassr95]

Wearing a headlamp is a huge help for landing and unhooking fish, taking weeds off your lure, and lots of other things. As Catt already said, I fish the same lures and locations I would fish in the day. I don't know how, but somehow bass can find and eat subtle baits like dropshot, tubes, or jigs even on a really dark night. 

[nestor]

You'll definitely need a pack of black Horny Toads.  T-Rig them with size 3 or 4 hooks.  

 

1st Advantage - They seem to attract the same amount of bass as a popper or other top water lure.  

2nd Advantage - You're not out $6 - $10 when you snag one on unseen cover.  

 

My $.02 

 

-A 

[NathanW]

Black Spinnerbait and Black Buzzbait are all I have ever needed fishing at night. I actually lost my last black spinnerbait over the weekend and didn't do half bad with a white one the rest of the evening. 

 

My two cents...

 

Night fishing can be extremely frustrating if you treat like regular fishing. Don't even try unless you are doing night tournaments. I dont want to be fishing any bait that snags easily first and foremost.  Clear your deck of all other rods, clear your boat of clutter and start fishing right from the launch or where your boat is moored. If your run somewhere just make sure you know the lake really well. Tie on a spinnerbiat/buzzbait with 17-20 pound fluoro or mono and beat the bank. If you aren't catching them shallow try fishing shallower. LM key in on timber the same way SM get on rock. I always thought that a black Senko would be deadly at night but I have never gotten past the black spinnerbait/buzzbait because they are both very easy to fish when you cannot see and catch em every time.

[Trek]

 I just flip a black jig with a rattle in it. You can see the outline of the cover and fish aren't that tight to cover anyways late at night.

[RHuff]

 Had a lot of real good success throwing a Midnight Special single big bladed black or dark blue spinnerbait. Reel it as slow as you can just enough to make the blade spin without dragging the bottom. Also had great luck with Pop-Rs and Buzzbaits. Nothing more exciting than still water in pitch dark absolutely blowing up a churning buzzbait. It has made me jump out of my skin before it has been so loud. Even catching small bass like that is exciting because they can cause just as big of a raukas as the big bass.

 

In my experience at night - the bigger the bait, the bigger the bass. 

[DocNsanE]

You'll definitely need a pack of black Horny Toads.  T-Rig them with size 3 or 4 hooks.  

 

1st Advantage - They seem to attract the same amount of bass as a popper or other top water lure.  

2nd Advantage - You're not out $6 - $10 when you snag one on unseen cover.  

 

My $.02 

 

-A 

 

How do you fish them retrieve-wise? Is it fished like a hollow bellied frog? I have a pack... never used them except as a trailer on a double bladed buzzbait to get it to plane easier and offer a bigger profile.

 

I love to throw a jitterbug at night. Looking to expand the baits I use this summer if the jitterbug bite isn't on.

[Fin Stalker]

How do you fish them retrieve-wise? Is it fished like a hollow bellied frog? I have a pack... never used them except as a trailer on a double bladed buzzbait to get it to plane easier and offer a bigger profile.

 

I love to throw a jitterbug at night. Looking to expand the baits I use this summer if the jitterbug bite isn't on.

Just throw them out and crank them in. No brainer fishing. Fish them more like a buzzbait, you just don't have to worry about getting hung up in the weeds so much because they are fairly weedless. I prefer the ZOOM Horny Toad hooks for all solid bodied toads. I like a toad at night because I fish them in places you can't fish a buzzbait or something with treble hooks. Also look at SK Rage Toads and Stanley Ribbits. I have foung that the noise each bait makes can make a difference on the number of hits you get. 

[BASSPATROL247]

Bass see darker colors better at night, anything that puts off vibration is good, topwaters along shallow weedlines can be killer sometimes..i love fishing at night, usually have the whole lake to myself,its cooler and i beleive bass feed more at night on smaller heavily pressured lakes, all but a few of my bass over 7 have all been caught night fishing with hardly any if no moonlight present. I slow waaay down and try to be as quiet as possible only using the TM to get to a spot then putting the anchor/anchors down. Alot of times i'll fish a spot for half an hour or so with no bites but i know the fish are there and then bamm! They start biting. I beleive their senses are on max power at night to better hunt and therefore any little non natural disturbance puts them on red alert but if your quiet and dont bang the boat etc.. they let their guard down and will carry on feeding or doing whatever they were before you got there...and dont beleive the myth about shallow water being best at night, its no different than daytime fishin, sure the shallows may be productive but there will always be bass shallow,mid depth and deep and where you fish depends on what your presentation is, myself i kind like fishing deep at night rather than trying to cast to the shoreline or a peice of shallow cover because you dont have to be as accurate with your casts...but i will always start shallow and work my way out until i get bites and find a pattern..

[Catt]

The eyes of a bass go through a night adaption cycle beginning at twilight and are usually adapted for black, white, and all shades of gray within an hour after darkness.

Bass can see color but not at night, color itself is meaningless at night, contrast is more important by far than color at night.

Does the prey species of bass change colors after sunset?

Under water vision of the bass is reduced at night so bass rely on their lateral line to locate prey; lures that are a little larger, noisier, & slower retrieves work better because it lets the bass locate the lure easier & zero in on it.

[BASSPATROL247]

Excatly why blacks and blues work well at night...

[Catt]

Excatly why blacks and blues work well at night...

My most productive color at night is called Starry Night, it is smoke colored on top & clear on the bottom.

I'm fishing it on the bottom in 15-25' of water, so how do the bass find it?