What’s night fishing like?

[gim]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

If I'm on a productive pattern before dark that includes a Redbug worm you can bet your sweet bippy that I'll be throwing that worm after the sun sets!

Oh I'm sure of that too.  That's occurred a couple times in recent years too.  I was on a productive pattern right before dark, so I just kept tossing it and slaying them after the sun went down.

[crypt]

2 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Your question brought back a bunch of memories for me.  I night fished for years both in salt water and fresh.  Your first concern should be safety.   Are you fit enough to swim in the dark?  Will you be able to get back in your kayak if you fall over?  Don't even think about fishing without a quality life vest.  Better yet, fish with another kayak close by just in case. 

 

Light is not as big of a problem as you may think.  As flyfisher said, your eyes will adjust.  A good place to start night fishing for bass is in a canal.  You won't have boats running over you and you will be very close to the shore.  A full moon is also helpful.  It's best to use weedless lures at night.   Large black Texas Rigged worms and spinnerbaits were my favorite.  Summer is the best time to fish at night.   From my experience, the best night time bass bite is normally after 12 midnight.  At least you won't have to deal with alligators. I fished the everglades alone many a night in a bass boat.  Would I do it in a kayak?  NO WAY!

this,and also fish somewhere you are familiar with. it helps when your just trying it out at first. good luck.

[TnRiver46]

I try to fish open water on the rare occasion that I’m night fishing. Hard to get near the trees 

[roadwarrior]

I rarely fish at night, but when I do it is always with a guide. Night fishing 

is too dangerous for old folks. 

[padlin]

I've fished at midnight from shore, worked out great. Been out a couple times in my canoe, after launching I couldn't see a thing, like zero. I knew where I wanted to go but after a few minutes I had no idea where I was or what direction I was going, much less finding the put in if I wanted out before twilight. Going to try it with the GPS now that it's warmed up at night.

[Trox]

My sonar looks the same no matter the light conditions... Find a brush pile or grass, waypoint it, and cast towards it... it's all feel after that. literally nothing changes from day to night when fishing offshore in the summer time as you wouldn't be able to see the cover or structure that your fishing regardless of the light conditions anyway

[Catt]

There are night fisherman & there are guys who fish at night.

 

[Tennessee Boy]

What's night fishing like?  It takes 30 minutes to find your pliers.  

[GreenPig]

Night fishing great. Have a headlight with fresh batteries as it'll always be pointed where you're looking. I only turn my headlight on when netting a fish. Go slow and always assume nobody can see you from their boats. Fish bigger baits on beefier gear because the big girls feed in the dark.

[Chris Catignani]

One thing that served me well night fishing was the ability to tie a reverse clinch knot.

This is a knot I learned as a child watching John Foxx Outdoors.

Well...turns out...this is a knot you can tie in the dark.

[WRB]

8 minutes ago, Chris Catignani said:

One thing that served me well night fishing was the ability to tie a reverse clinch knot.

This is a knot I learned as a child watching John Foxx Outdoors.

Well...turns out...this is a knot you can tie in the dark.

San Diego Jam knot and Palomar knot, same as day time.

Tom

[Bankbeater]

You don't have to worry about the sun coming up and killing the topwater bite.

[A-Jay]

I haven't been on the water at night this season yet.

But this thread has me all kind of fired up to get out in the darkness. 

Such a vastly different experience.

Hard to explain and impossible to duplicate.  The sounds, the smells and the unknown.

So good.

Stay Safe my friends. 

A-Jay

 

[T-Billy]

Gonna be scorchin hot the next three days in OH. Water is finally in the 70's. I'm expecting some hot action Thursday night. I've found that green lights are the way to fly on dark nights. They allow me to see much further than red without messing up my night vision, don't spook fish, in fact they attract baitfish, and they don't attract bugs. A couple cheap waterproof LED strips stuck to the side of a small 12v battery allow me to pitch cover very effectively at night.

 I used to fish just black baits at night, but over time discovered exactly what Catt suggested. No need. Just fish the same baits you would during the day. Fish have no problem finding them. 

[NHBull]

I am a guy who enjoys fishing at night but not a night fisherman.

 

My night vision is easily lost so instruments can be an issue.

 

I go out at dusk to acclimate and pick my preferred spots. 
Only 3 rods on deck..topwater, jig and Trig.

Small light in the baseball cover

 

Best nights are around the full moon.

[ironbjorn]

I'm way too hyper alert and sketched out to fish at night comfortably, but the few times I've tried, it was miserable because of the lack of vision.

[PhishLI]

8 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

I'm way too hyper alert

and that's exactly why I love it. I'm already peaked, then it's a rocket ride when a big one smashes a bait. Night bite hits on bigger baits are sometimes violent kill shots, and when you feel that particular strain in your forearm from a fish with some really nice weight, the rush gets cranked up a notch. I'm getting the shakes just writing about it. Where's my defibrillator?

[T-Billy]

5 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

and that's exactly why I love it. I'm already peaked, then it's a rocket ride when a big one smashes a bait. Night bite hits on bigger baits are sometimes violent kill shots, and when you feel that particular strain in you're forearm from a fish with some really nice weight, the rush gets cranked up a notch. I'm getting the shakes just writing about it. Where's my defibrillator?

Especially about 3am when you're literally out on your feet, barely functioning, fishing by feel alone and POW!!! the rod nearly gets taken out of your hands. NOW YOU'RE AWAKE!!!

Then there's those territorial beavers that like to sneak up behind you and slap their tails a foot from the boat, or the herons that like to wait until you're directly under their roosting tree before they take off screaching into the night. Neither has actually made me pee my pants, but both have come close!!! ? Man, I love night fishin. All your senses are heightened.

 

 

[Bird]

I got pinched in the back of the neck by one of these critters late at night...... give me daylight.

[Koz]

When I'm out in my kayak at night, the water is dead calm, and there's not another soul on the lake it's creepy AF.  There's really no other way to put it.

 

Here's another tip - wear a gaiter. It's no fun when you run into a swarm of bugs over the lake. Well, unless you enjoy picking them out of your nose and teeth.

 

Were those bats or were those swallows?

 

The first time I went out at night I had my electronics shut off and pedaled out of my narrow cove towards a reference point in the distance. Surprised the heck out of myself when I suddenly found myself very close to the shoreline and a lot further from my launch point than I thought I was. I now run the split screen with GPS when I'm moving locations.

 

Check the regulations in your state regarding kayak fishing at night. I run a YakAttack VisiPole II which also acts as my safety flag during the day. Do I keep the light on all the time? No. But if there any boats moving into my vicinity that light goes on. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KMH9I5I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I wear one variable intensity headlamp with both red and white lights and keep a spare in my crate. They also strobe if I need to try and signal someone.  That was another Amazon purchase.

 

Whether it's day or night, I always fish with a life vest that has a whistle attached.

 

I frequently use VMC Touch Loc Snaps and these really come in handy at night for switching lures, but I tie on my soft plastics. During the day I have 4 rods on my kayak, but at night I cut down to three. Next time I'll probably cut down to 2, and I think I'll also leave my big crate at home and just bring a small, open crate, 2 planos, and a few soft plastics. 

 

It's going to be 98+ (before the heat index!) for the next two weeks so if I get out there at all it's going to be at night.

 

With all that being said, I enjoy fishing at night. But I have a ridiculously busy work schedule, I get very few days off this time of year, and I'm already not getting enough sleep as it is. I had a day off this weekend, woke up at 4 am to go to the lake, but didn't have the motivation and went back to sleep. I fished in the afternoon and got heat stroke pulling my kayak up the big hill back to my hotel at the end of the day. Now I think I'll sacrifice some sleep instead of go through that again.

 

 

[Darth-Baiter]

12 minutes ago, Bird said:

I got pinched in the back of the neck by one of these critters late at night...... give me daylight.

haha...WAIT.  WUT!!!??

[LrgmouthShad]

Maybe I’ll night fish once or twice this summer. I have done it a little more than several times before. It has been alright. Definitely a challenge but also a very cool experience. 

 

[Woody B]

My PB came at night, around 11PM decades ago during a full moon.  I've been at night a couple times this year, but with my current work schedule I prefer to go really early.  I guess that's still night, just the other end of it.  I've been getting to the landing around 4am.  Sunrise is a little after 6.   I'll fish until the lake get's crazy with wake boats, then go home.   

 

 

NC (and SC) law requires lights be on between sunset and sunrise.  The big bright white light at the rear of the boat in a killer.   I concentrate not looking toward the rear of the boat.  I've got a light with a really tall mast that helps some.  The light is actually above my line of vision.   

[5/0]

As far as your regular daylight baits working at night. We had club night tourney last year, team with seven fish limit. The team that won it had over 30#. They had four 5+ and an 8+ in their limit. All caught on a, wait for it, a ned rig!

[whitwolf]

Read the entirety of @A-Jay thread. It's  a night fishing primer. 

 

Like others have said,  and it really can't be stressed enough, know the water! It's  a different world at night and you can get in trouble quickly.