anyone use white at night?

[YoTone]

ive been night fishing lately and ive been doing okay using black lures like chatter baits and spinners. ive been wondering how many of you guys have been successful using light colored lures on a consistent basis.

I have a mega bass magdraft that i was thinking about using at night but its a silver colored one.  

[jr231]

I like fishing top water at night. For the same reason I like watching scary movies alone. Lol 

Go for it man. Why not ? Everyone has an opinion. But the best way is to just try. 

[hunterPRO1]

black normally stands out best in dark conditions but never know if you never try!

[Raul]

I've fished with black spinnerbaits at night and caught fish, I've fished with white spinnerbaits at night and caught fish, I've fished with a black spinnerbait and then with a white one and caught fish. 

What I'm trying to exemplify is the fact that with many lures it doesn't matter which color you choose, why ? ----> bass don't need to see the lure in order to find it and bite it, they are NOT LIKE US, we depend heavily on our eyesight, they don't, they have other senses.

[Team9nine]

Black is the standard when it comes to night fishing, but that is usually because it silhouettes better. However, that really only happens if the black object is being contrasted against a lighter background, often the sky. In cases where you might be fishing under the fish, or where they have to look down some of the time to see your bait such as a jig or worm or slow rolled spinnerbait, a white bait might actually be the better choice because it will likely stand out better against the dark bottom, especially if the water is clearer and there is surface lighting (lamps, moon, etc.). Then again, you could simply ponder the question of whether you think bass stop eating silvery baitfish at night because they can't see them as well 

[Bluebasser86]

Yes, I use white and other lighter colors when the moon is brighter and have better success than using the typical dark colors.

[ghost]

White works at night. Caught bass with white lures

[bigbill]

Just before dusk when it's still light I'm throwing a Joesfly in black gnat his 1/4 ounce bass size.  The bass bite is on. As the light of day starts to become dusk the bite shuts down as their eyes adapt to the change in light the basses eyes change faster than the baitfishes do. Changing to a white, blue glimmer, hot chartruese, chartruese colored baits the action will pick up till total darkness arrives.  Don't limit yourself to not using brighter colors in low light conditions.  Be flexible break the norm.

When I was a youngster many decades ago at dusk I was throwing a uncle Josh 4" white pork strip on a hook. I was swimming it. In the low light I could see it being pulled every which way. In the mid 60's white was working in low light conditions.

One of my hottest baits in changing light conditions is a Joesfly 1/4oz in firetiger apache. Even on over cast rainy days. I've caught lmb, smb on these days. 

 

[bigturtle]

when you are using a big swimbait like a magdraft, i highly doubt the color matters too much. its so big and makes so much vibrations and thumping, fish have no problem sensing it

[WRB]

Catt will say use the same color at night as you do in day light, he fishes more at night than most do during to day time.

My preference tends to be high contrast color lures, but not always. I have caught bass on jigs and worms in black-blue, black-red, black-purple-brown, brown-neon blue, black grape- blue neon.....and white ghost crank baits, black-red,  black -orange belly crank baits, etc, etc.

Give it a try, you never know what those green fish want.

Tom

 

[Catt]

The eyes of a bass go through a night adaptation 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 it's self is meaningless at night. Bass cannot see details at night, so don't waste time with meticulously painted or patterned lures.

Contrast is more important by far than color at night. If you fish water where shad or minnows are the predominate prey species, then try white spinnerbaits with a white grub.  

The usual night time favorite black is the second choice in shad populated lakes. Black or dark hued lures give maximum contrast at night "when run on or near the surface". 

[timsford]

I this quite a bit at night for bass, walleye, hybrids, and stripers. I have several spots on the lake I like, but my favorite is the tail water right below the dam. The river opens up directly below the spillway and is basically a large 2 or 3 acre pond with slight current(unless the dam is generating) and river flows out of on the end opposite the spillway. There is a point that comes out where the actual river starts from the pond and the point is split in two by the river and by a spring fed Creek that flows out of the mountain up the road. There are always LOTS of big shad schools and all the fish congregate in those channels along the point. I've fished there for years and tried every lure you could think of, but all I've had any success with is hard and soft jerkbaits, and pulse r swimbaits in the larger size. I mainly only use 2 colors, unless it's a bait that doesn't come in white or black. Then I either buy shad colors or buy what's on sale and rattle can it white or black. The fish seem to like white on moonlit nights more and black more the darker the night is. I mostly use floating jerkbaits because most of the water is 2 to 4 ft deep with a rocky bottom that captures a lot of my lures. As I said it's a multi species hole and some nights any fish will bite a bomber b14a(the small size with 2 trebles), sometimes they hit the b15a, or even ripplin red fin better. On super clear nights when the dam hasnt ran in a while and the water is shallow I do best on a rapala f11 in silver. I might catch a walleye, largemouth, small mouth, hybrid, striper, or big brown trout all from the same hole on just a few casts. My most productive baits are bomber b15a, b16a, and the new long cast minnow in albino when the moon is out or purple(black back, purple belly) when it's cloudy or not much moonlight. I also do well with a white ice super fIuke rigged on a keel weighted swimbaits hook, or even a small jighead if there isn't much wood or weeds retrieve them much different than in the day. I seem to get more and bigger bites at night by slow rolling steady or by only pausing if I hit bottom with the hard jerkbaits, and by fishing the soft ones on bottom and letting them flow with the current. For the most part it definitely pays to experiment though so you may do better with a different retrieve on your homewater. I always use baits with rattles on dark nights as well to help the fish find them. My favorite baits are bomber long a's, Smithwick rogues(I use the floating shallow version), rapala f11 in silver,ripplin red fin,  lucky craft flash minnow, storm thunderstick, and if it's really difficult to get bites or I'm mainly fishing for trout or walleye for table fare, I always seem to do better with a smaller jerkbaits like a rapala f9 or the largest size of the yo Zuri pins minnow. I try the shad colors if they don't have white or black from the factory, and if they don't produce well, spraying them white or black usually makes a big difference.

I've heard of guys catching them on white spinnerbaits and I have has a really good night on a white spinnerbaits net dock and pier lights, but for the most part I use the jerkbaits because there's no telling what will bite next. Also I've night fished for about 20 years and black baits have always been my bread and butter. I use to get in the boat and only carry black buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swimbaits, jigs, worms, and creatures. Then a buddy turned me on to the jerkbaits and now that's where I like to go 90% of the time. I've tried all these baits and lots of others at this spot but the jerkbaits are all they seem to want. Plus It's just so much fun catching a 19"brown, 4 lb small mouth, and 15 lb striper on the same lure casting at the same spot. I know a couple guys that use black or white crankbaits at night also. Matter of fact the last night club tournament I fished was won by a guy fishing a black dd22 and white Norman nxs crank. Definitely try it out fish eat regardless of if it's dark and between the silhouette, vibration, and or rattles or scent, they can probably have no trouble finding a clear hardbait at night. Good luck and let us know how u do

[IgotWood]

On a bright night with clear skies and a half-full moon, lighter colors often work well. Water color and clarity will also have an affect on how they see color at night. I've been night fishing for stripers my whole life. A close friend of mine, devout fisherman, and optometrist, conducted some research and wrote an article on how a striped bass' eye works, physiologically. It's a very interesting read, but you may drive yourself crazy trying to choose colors afterward. I'll see if I can get my hands on it. 

[YoTone]

wow some interesting reads up in here by some obviously seasoned night time anglers and im very grateful for it.

I was thinking of using the magdraft because there are  stripers in some of the areas ive been targeting largemouths. i thought it might be interesting to toss it out and other  lighter colored lures  a few times  at night and see how my luck goes.

 

[crypt]

I use white or lighter colors at night all the time. works great in clear water,bright full moon. you have to try all colors to find out what works under the given conditions. 

[primetime]

I like using white when I have some light out, even just a dock light, If bass are keyed on shad, I just figure shad are still white/silver, but I like to add some flash or contrast like some chart/white....Sometimes it will work better than black, or the same, or it is not what they want.

I always try 3 colors at night..Black, White/Silver or white/Chart.....Or Black/Chart....Kind of use those colors the most to start, my friend likes to use Glow colors, Pinks, Electric Chicken, Lime, brighter colors and sometimes he does better...

I find a black and gold Rapala is almost always good at night but I just think it is because it is 2 toned and matches shiners which are the main forage, plus Bass rarely will pass up a rapala at night barely twitched or waked.

I guess I like 2 tone colors....with flash or without. But I don't buy the "Night = black since everytime I take someone new fishing at night, they think I am messing with them by suggesting a black lure, they always want something that is bright, and sometimes they will start killing bass on a UV bait or just a chartruese type color....

I use same colors at night and day...I always like contrast whether flake or two toned.

[the reel ess]

I use black or black/blue in daylight so I'd probably use it at night. It's especially good for soft plastics around here. The water is always a bit stained. I've caught more bass on a single black buzzbait than I have on all others.