Night fishing

[clark9312]

All the tournaments around here are switch to nights. That being said I’ve never been much in night fishing but I’m going to try and get into it. I need to know what I need to get set up correctly. Blacklights, spotlights, line, baits. I’m not sure what I’m getting into. I’m open to all suggestions.

[LOZSteve]

Nights can be fun depending on the lake speed limits are important. Make sure when driving the boat you are on careful lookout for boats, trees in the water etc. hat lights work well and a quick beam spotlight can be handy. If you are fishing around docks or have good moon light I haven’t seen the need for black lights. Try and organize your boat/lockers so you can find stuff quickly. Take some bug spray. 

[Glaucus]

Night fishing can produce amazing quantity and quality.

 

Naturally the worst parts are the bugs and lack of visibility. Another pro, however, is the lack of sun and heat on a pleasant summer night. Preparing for the bugs is like preparing for the sun. Proper spray and apparel makes all the difference. The only true suckery is losing a lot of your main sense - eyesight.

[A-Jay]

Some solid info on it here ~ 

A-Jay

[Catt]

Lack of visibility is not a hindrance...it's an advantage!

 

Removing your visibility forces you to relay on your sense of feel which will absolutely make you a better angler.

 

Fish the same lures, the same locations, and the same techniques you would during the day with one exception; night lighted areas. Lighted docks, lighted boat ramps, a row of camps with lights along the bank or a single camp with a light near the water.

 

The only thing different I add to my repertoire at night is a Q-Beam!

[clark9312]

Do you guys use a black light?

[WRB]

Catt is the BR resident night bass angler, Liston to ole Catt!

Me, I only get to night bass occasionally during charity tournament or a few events.

The tournaments I fish start before 1/2 hour before dusk and only run 6 hours, so you need to have both day and night lure presentations. After dark I like to upsize my bottom bumping worms and jigs, darker colors and big rat wake baits. 

I rely on my sense of feel all the time. 

You will see all types of lighting form black lights to flood lights, I prefer a simple cap light to aid tying hooks and a flash light to find things if needed. Powerful Q beam spot light is handy for navigation. If you are allowed to fish the marina at night do it!

Keep well organized with spare everything, plus a anchor and rope. Multiple rods out on deck after dark isn't good, try to keep out only the rod you are using. I tape a flash light to the net handle to help net bass.

9" to 13" black with blue neon Uptons worms, black with blue rattle back jigs, black-red deep DD22 crankbaits and dark colored wake rate like BBZ. The rat has been my go to lure during the first hour night transition time along with the crankbait, then I tend to settle down into big worms and jigs.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

3 hours ago, clark9312 said:

Do you guys use a black light?

No, I use a headlamp for tying knots and unhooking fish and a spotlight for navigating. Best is to use as little lights as possible and let your eyes adjust. Use your eyes and your ears as much as you can during your cast, then let feel take over during the retrieve. You know what a bite feels like during the daylight right? It feels the same in the dark

 

[NHBull]

I don’t get out as much as I like,  but I use head lamps with multiple colors.  Red and blue help maintain night vision and I do place light sticks in important areas. When it gets dark, I first fish top waters like the rat, WP and jackle..........I also get reminded how much of a sight fisherman I am. I only fish areas I know and know well.

Also, no poles on deck for me and as my balance is off and I’ll break them for sure.

I also slowdown as the increased level of focus is greatly increased. 

.......Leaving breadcrumbs on your electronics is a great idea and reduces stress.

[scaleface]

I like night fishing but it can get frustrating . Depth perception is horrible and casting into the trees is something I am good at .So , I like to fish flats and shallow points where the cast are more random and I'm not casting near  the snags as much. The bass will often be there  and feeding .

[Catt]

#1: know your body of water!

 

I've seen some amazing boat operators get totally turned around at night. The problem is not being able to see landmarks. The salutation is learn how to identify landmarks differently. I can recognize camps, marinas, & boat launches by their lighting. 

 

Lighting: I use a white light that attaches to the bill of my cap. Yes the white light affects my night vision but only for a minute or so. If I was flying an F22 Raptor I might be concerned but I aint, I'm sitting on the deck chunking a lure!

 

My second light is using when running; a Brinkmann Max Million III Q-Beam Spotlight. 

 

Night fishing is one time when I highly suggest having a partner. Navigation at night is easier with one spotting & one driving.

[buzzbaiter83]

The majority of club tourneys and derby’s I fish are night time deals. Equipment really depends on how you plan on fishing. I agree with Catt about knowing your body of water. I’m blessed here with the Tennessee river chain that gives us constant deeper water channels to follow with good knowledge and a good GPS. 

 

If you’re going to fish soft plastics, jigs, or slow roll a big spinnerbait on mono then I’d definitely use a blacklight. Being able to see your line with those baits is huge and you’ll be able to notice ticks & pecks that you wouldn’t without the light. I’ve used headlamps but they don’t compare to fluorescent line and blacklight. As far as the rest of your equipment, just use what you normally would in the daytime. 

 

I will say that that when I throw a Colorado Bladed Spinnerbait, I like to throw it on big braid with a heavy or medium/heavy rod. When bass hit a big spinnerbait at night it’s way more violent than a daytime bite. They’ll take off blades or break the wire sometimes. You want something you can hammer them and get them in quick with.  

[Bass Turd]

I love to night fish. I put Green LED light strips all the way around my boat and I love them. They are bright enough to light up the shoreline as far as I can cast. I can see my lure when it gets close to the boat so I don't run it thru my top guide. They attract bait fish (great for night crappie). They are very calming. Other boats can see me a mile away. Now before people say the bright lights will scare the fish... I catch plenty of bass at night. On a moving bait they sometimes hit it just as the lure gets to the light circle. I don't know if they are following or if they are lurking below and hit it as soon as it silhouettes against the light. Bugs...  the green lights still attract bugs. Because they are brighter they probably attract more bugs. Luckily I fish two reservoirs that are rocky and steep and arid. There is no standing water around to breed mosquito. I did try this at lake Fork and didn't last 10 minutes the mosquitoes were so bad. 

[buzzbaiter83]

36 minutes ago, Bass Turd said:

I love to night fish. I put Green LED light strips all the way around my boat and I love them. They are bright enough to light up the shoreline as far as I can cast. I can see my lure when it gets close to the boat so I don't run it thru my top guide. They attract bait fish (great for night crappie). They are very calming. Other boats can see me a mile away. Now before people say the bright lights will scare the fish... I catch plenty of bass at night. On a moving bait they sometimes hit it just as the lure gets to the light circle. I don't know if they are following or if they are lurking below and hit it as soon as it silhouettes against the light. Bugs...  the green lights still attract bugs. Because they are brighter they probably attract more bugs. Luckily I fish two reservoirs that are rocky and steep and arid. There is no standing water around to breed mosquito. I did try this at lake Fork and didn't last 10 minutes the mosquitoes were so bad. 

I agree about fish not minding the light. They don’t pay much attention at all. We use them crappie & stripper fishing to attract baitfish and catch a lot of bass in them while fishing for other species.  I will say the only time I’ve seen light play a factor and make fish not bite is when throwing topwater. Unless they’re feeding crazy they just won’t take it as well with a light on. The darker the better. 

[Tennessee Boy]

It's been 25 years since I fished a night tournament and I'm sure much has changed.  I would just say don't trust your senses too much.  You start telling yourself that light you're looking at is one you're expecting to see that's a half mile away when it's actually one you forgot about that's two miles away.  Modern GPS with maps and heading sensors makes that stuff a lot easier.

[Catt]

Lights will indeed attract bait if ya aint moving!

 

As far relying on my senses

 

I can tell if a light is incandescent, LED, halogen, or a sodium-vapor lamp. Each type gives off different colors making them easily distinguished from others. 

 

Yes GPS is helpful but I rely first on me!

 

Y'all aint been broke down & stranded till ya been broke down & stranded at night!