Is night time a bad time for bass fishing ?

[Bassin407]

Do bass bite at night, let's say 1-2 hours after the sun sets? I have a lot of golf courses nearby and the groundsmen said the golfers frown upon fishers there during the day but after hours would be better. 

 

I was just wondering if bass were even active at all when it gets dark out? 

[Darren.]

While I can't night fish on the local reservoirs, 
I used to when I lived in upstate NY, and yes, 
my best up there was caught on a full moon
night brining a jitterbug across the middle of
a local "lake"...

I'm sure @A-Jay will chime in here as he does
fish at night when he can.

[tholmes]

Night time is the right time! Especially in the dead of summer and on heavily pressured lakes.

Tom

[tstraub]

They'll bite at night.  General guidelines are if you like soft plastics throw something a little bigger than you would in the daylight.  Black is a great color. Jitterbugs and buzbaits are also a good choice.  

Tyler

[Bassin407]

Wow thanks, I would of never thought to throw something black as I would think that since the water is darker a brighter worm would be easier for a fish to see. I was going to throw a senko  watermelon or zoom watermelon. . Maybe Ill get something a little darker to try.

 

Night time in florida means gators and snakes too, yikes.

[Senko lover]

Black buzzbaits and spinnerbaits at night produce some lunkers. Give it a try!

[tstraub]

10 minutes ago, Bassin407 said:

Wow thanks, I would of never thought to throw something black as I would think that since the water is darker a brighter worm would be easier for a fish to see. I was going to throw a senko  watermelon or zoom watermelon. . Maybe Ill get something a little darker to try.

 

Night time in florida means gators and snakes too, yikes.

Black works because there is very little light to make bright colors show.  But since the fish are under water and the night sky is the only light source black makes a good silhouette for the fish to zone in on.  

[Bassin407]

21 minutes ago, tstraub said:

Black works because there is very little light to make bright colors show.  But since the fish are under water and the night sky is the only light source black makes a good silhouette for the fish to zone in on.  

You've made a great point.

Can somebody recommend a good black worm and buzzbait. Also should I use a trailer? 

[bralexander]

This is a good topic, that I have been thinking about lately. If anybody has any other tips and tricks for night fishing, especially on a small lake, I would be interested. 

 

Bassin407, I picked up some Strike King mini pro buzz in black recently and I like them. I haven't caught a bunch of fish on them, but they seem like good quality and "run" well. 

Bruce

[TyF]

I fish the golf courses by me in Virginia at night all the time. I have had some amazing nights fishing hollow body frogs and wake baits. I usually use the darkest color I have. Or if the bottom of my frog is white I will just color it with a sharpie. Night fishing golf courses is probably one of my favorite ways to catch them.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, Darren. said:

I'm sure @A-Jay will chime in here as he does
fish at night when he can.

This is all you really need to know.

A-Jay

[j bab]

46 minutes ago, Bassin407 said:

You've made a great point.

Can somebody recommend a good black worm and buzzbait. Also should I use a trailer? 

From what I hear, Megastrike Cavitron buzzbaits are good. For worms I'd use any Zoom product in black. Like a lizard or a Mag

[WRB]

I am sure if your search "night fishing" you will find more threads than you have time to read.

Just remember that you can't see well at night without some sort of light like a cap mounted LED helps to have hands free to retie hooks and white light tends to draw bugs. 

My suggestion is keep it simple at night,  start with a T-rigged soft plastic worm like Berkley Power worms in 7 1/2" and 10" ribbon tails, black-blue or black-red are standard night worm across the country.

If you own a rat wake bait, night is when the nocturnal critters are active.

Good luck and let someone know where you are fishing and take along your cell phone and flash light.

Tom

[Catt]

Night Time Is The Right Time

[N Florida Mike]

Nighttime in the summer son!I fish black frogs and black senkos.I love to drag the frog over weeds and stop, and go.I don't catch big numbers like this, but the fish are usually quality ones.I like fishing areas where you here lots of frogs croaking.The bass will be there waiting for a frog to slip up.I fish big dark senkos at night by reeling them across the top, and sometimes letting them fall.The bass will absolutely clobber them on top.

On a serious note, please wear safety goggles at night.I didn't and it nearly cost me an eye.

[Raul]

SAY WHUT ?!? 

[Eric Montes Polk FL]

I see you're in the 407. Im in the champions gate area. The last bass i caught at night was quite large. I know a few tricks to bring em out at night. It also depends on the temperature , lunar set , water clarity , time of the year and natural bait. Shoot me a PM. Im always down to meet up an scout with new people. Heres a pic of the last one i caught at night a few weeks ago. TIGHT LINES.

[Bluebasser86]

Night time is about the only time I fish when it starts to get above 90 during the summer. The bass that bite at night versus the few dumb enough to bite in that heat are almost like a different species. Lakes that you're lucky to catch 10 during a full day of fishing will sometimes produce dozens of fish and much bigger ones if you'll venture out at night. No jetskis, wake boats, blaring music, just you and the fish. Man I can't wait for that. 

[Catt]

I fish the same structure with same lures at night as I would during the day. The only thing I add to my tackle is a Brinkman Maxamillon III Q-beam!

Bass Do Not Morph Into A New Creature After Dark!

[CarolinaBoy4Life]

In the summer time I have found the night bite to be significantly better than during the day. Your not having to deal with the heat or sun. Temps drop and the bass become a little more active. The issue is most lakes around here you must be off by 8 pm so you don't get to get on the night bite unless pond or bank fishing

[Ohio Yakker]

I have had an opposite experience to what you guys are saying. I have only fished at night a few times, but when I have I have my numbers have gone up, but all I catch are dinks. I don't think I've caught a fish over 1 pound at night, but during the daylight on the same lake I catch 2-3 pounders on average, with the occasional dink.

[Catt]

44 minutes ago, Ohio Yakker said:

 I have only fished at night a few times

Insufficient data.

[Ohio Yakker]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

Insufficient data.

True. I'm definitely going to try and go out at night some more this year. Even if the fish aren't big, which hopefully they will be, it is still pretty cool to be out on the water with a full moon by yourself. Peaceful.

[blckshirt98]

From what I've read the larger bass will feed while it's still dark...smarter fish that have adapted and survived by feeding in low light conditions when there's no predators like birds that can spot them.  I've tried to fish at night but the pitch black conditions coupled with the freaking mosquitos and bugs, makes it no fun for me.

[Catt]

If y'all really wanna experience the full effects of night fishing then I suggest ya fish at night only for a full year!