Night fishing during the Dog Days of Summer

[T-Billy]

1 hour ago, Deephaven said:

Dusk is the bewitching hour in Minnesota.  Go midlake at that time and about 30 after complete dark you can approach shore again.  I spend a lot of time on a boat at night... my favorite time to be out, so peaceful.  

 

Same here in my part of OH. Its unglaciated here with lots of rocky hills so we have a pretty good bat population. The skeeters get bad at dusk sometimes, within a half hour afterward the bats are everywhere and no more skeeter bites.

[whitwolf]

Like @Catt the reason I fish at night from May through September is it's  cooler tempature wise. 

 

I used to get caught up in all the night baits having to be darker. I don't  so much anymore. If you're  more confident in doing so you should do it. Purely for nostalgias  sake I will fish a Black Rebel ringworm with a fire tail at night but mostly the same colors I throw during the day.

 

As for casting at night I simply cast and go with it. If I get hung up so be it. Yes, sometimes I'm  not positive it went where cast but I still seem to do pretty well. 

 

Bugs; it's the price you pay at night but here in North Carolina it's  manageable, even in the swamps. 

 

Lastly, and I mention this in every thread about night fishing. KNOW your water. It's  a different world out there at night and trouble can easily happen if you're  not familiar with the lake you're  fishing. Wear the pfd!

[Catt]

On 6/25/2022 at 7:40 PM, whitwolf said:

Lastly, and I mention this in every thread about night fishing. KNOW your water. It's  a different world out there at night and trouble can easily happen if you're  not familiar with the lake you're  fishing. Wear the pfd!

 

I've seen some really good boaters get turned around at night. After 4-5 minutes I'll ask where ya going? When they answer, I'll say not that way ya ain't!

[GreenPig]

10 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

I've seen some really good boaters get turned around at night. After 4-5 minutes I'll ask where ya going? When the answer, I'll say not that way ya ain't!

A New Moon and especially dense fog can get anybody turned around, even if you know the area.

[Catt]

On 6/25/2022 at 8:20 PM, GreenPig said:

A New Moon and especially dense fog can get anybody turned around, even if you know the area.

 

Clear skies & bright full moon can do the same. 

 

Shadows, depth perception, judging distances all play havoc with your senses.

[Zcoker]

11 hours ago, schplurg said:

I question the idea that fish need time to adjust to the darkness after sunset. Darkness happens gradually. I don't need time to adjust if I'm out there as it gets dark.

 

 

I have know idea where this adjustment notion came from either. It has always puzzled me because I’ve caught more fish during this so called adjustment time. Any one know where this came from or what science backs it up? 

[Catt]

14 hours ago, Zcoker said:

Any one know where this came from or what science backs it up? 

 

Strange us older guys found it with out Google & y'all can't with it.

 

Just because their eyes are adjusting doesn't mean they sit around waiting. Bass feed with their eye sight & lateral line working in unison.

[Zcoker]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

 

 

Just because their eyes are adjusting doesn't mean they sit around waiting. Bass feed with they eye sight & lateral line working in unison.

 

Yeah, no kidding. Adjustment period fish below lol Goes to show that there is no adjustment period, or, if there is, it's fish specific, or area specific....point is, just go fishin and forget about it!

 

 

[soflabasser]

I have caught lots of big bass while night fishing in South Florida. It is fun, but I much rather fish during the day.

[the reel ess]

On 6/23/2022 at 6:46 AM, Captain Phil said:

 

There is always a lull in fishing action right after full dark.  It takes awhile for the fish to adjust.  If you start fishing at midnight, you will do much better.  

I can't get into the place I usually fish late at night. But I can get there at 6:00 AM or stay late until sundown. I have observed that the night bite extends into mid morning. I don't observe that the night bite starts at sundown. I will get a few more bites in the evening than in midday. But I attribute that to low light conditions. I'll get more and bigger bites from before sunrise to about 11-ish. I'll go whenever I can, but morning is primetime for me in summer.

[river-rat]

I have been night fishing for too many years to remember for the same reason as Catt mentioned - it's too dang hot during the day. I live in south Louisiana and this past week the heat index was 108 - 113 degrees every day. The months of July and August will bring more of the same.

 

I still make an occasional trip during the day, but the vast majority of my fishing will be at night until we get a break in the weather pattern, which is usually mid to late September.

 

 

 

[T-Billy]

Saturday morning the wife and I fished a shallow grassy flat about 5 acres in size. It was slick calm and not a cloud in the sky. We caught lots of dinks and saw several good fish but the big'ns were super spooky and showed zero interest in our baits.

 I went back and fished it from about 2am-5am this morning. What a blast. Caught a 4-8, a 3-14, five between 2 and 3, a pile of dinks and had another really good one jump off. The crack of dawn shut it down cold, but what a fun 3hrs. All on a chatterbait. Couldn't get bit on a topwater or the Ol Monster, but they were hit'n that CB like it had bad mouthed their momma. 20" eye too that'll get released to the peanut oil. Terrible pics are better than no pics I reckon. Unfortunately the hatlight doesn't make me look any brighter.?

4-8

3-14

Beautiful sunrise.

This flat has some interesting features. It comes out to a 150yd long point at the mouth of a cove then drops off into 28', has another deeper 10' flat off the other side of the point before dropping off, several weedlines, and some scattered wood. It's gonna be big fun learning it at night the next couple months.

 

[Catt]

I love the sights 

There's an island I frequent & when the bats are flying big momma is out. 

 

Seen a lot of space debris reenter the atmosphere.

 

I love the sounds 

Frogs everywhere!

A clacking buzzbait 

Hoot Owl  in the distance

 

[blanked]

I thought it was common knowledge fish feed at night with a full moon

[gim]

16 hours ago, T-Billy said:

I went back and fished it from about 2am-5am this morning.

That's what I'm talking about.  Fish that are spooky and not biting during daylight often feed at night.  I've experienced this more than just with bass too.  I've caught muskies and walleyes at night time when I couldn't buy a bite during the day.

 

That headlamp aint helping with the photos lol

1 hour ago, blanked said:

I thought it was common knowledge fish feed at night with a full moon

I've had really good success at night with a full moon but I've also had success when its a new moon (so there isn't much light from the moon).  I probably don't have enough of a sample size over the years to determine which one is better though.

[Zcoker]

I especially like wind at night. We don't have much wind at night during the summer months down here in south Florida but during the other months with the weekly fronts, the wind certainly perks things up. Full moon is so so....but I do enjoy watching a big moon peel over the night sky and set red on the horizon. Every night under ANY condition can produce nice fish; just a matter of moving around and working that water just like during the daytime. 

[Catt]

2 hours ago, blanked said:

I thought it was common knowledge fish feed at night with a full moon

 

Do y'all not pay attention to the moon during the day?

[A-Jay]

43 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Do y'all not pay attention to the moon during the day?

You know I do.

A-Jay 

[Catt]

4 hours ago, blanked said:

I thought it was common knowledge fish feed at night with a full moon

 

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

Do y'all not pay attention to the moon during the day?

 

40 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

You know I do.

A-Jay 

 

Most anglers only pay attention to moon phase at night or during pre-spawn/spawn. In both cases they dwell on the full moon.

 

I don't care what phase it's in, I wanna know when it rises & when it sets...daily.

[scaleface]

On 6/25/2022 at 8:06 PM, Catt said:

 

I've seen some really good boaters get turned around at night. After 4-5 minutes I'll ask where ya going? When they answer, I'll say not that way ya ain't!

Happened to me .. I couldnt figure out why the marina lights were off . I was looking the opposite direction .

[river-rat]

32 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

 

 

Most anglers only pay attention to moon phase at night or during pre-spawn/spawn. In both cases they dwell on the full moon.

 

I don't care what phase it's in, I wanna know when it rises & when it sets...daily.

 

Could not agree with Catt more about moon rise and moon set during the day time. I always check this whether I'm fishing at night or the day time.

 

 

[Zcoker]

When I go fishing, the last thing on my mind is where the moon is at. I mean, I know it’s up there somewhere and not going anywhere lol Comes in handy when casting at night, or navigating in general. To be honest, the bass in the Everglades are slamming my lures regardless of what the moon is doing. 

[schplurg]

On 6/25/2022 at 3:50 PM, Catt said:

 

You're above the water & your eyes aren't a bass eyes.

 

@Catt I just wanted to come back here and say that you are correct. I'm all about evidence and I found plenty, and I like to learn, which includes admitting when wrong. I didn't doubt you per-say, but long story short, things that seem like they should be true often are not.  

 

I did my research and a bass' eyes, cones, etc do adjust slowly as night falls. At least according to what I read, and I believe it was one of the Berkley articles. It's interesting.

 

I'm trying to find the article but my tendinitis is bothering me too much to look very hard. It was easy to find at the time. I found one now but it isn't as in-depth.

 

Anyways, I still get bit at all times, but I will accept that bass eyes do take time to adjust, even if darkness does come slowly. Maybe I will do better now that I am armed with more information. It's not like I catch a lot of fish, so I need to be less stubborn.

 

Thanks for the education!

[Catt]

@schplurg Lot of guys talk about the similarities between a human's eyes & a bass's eyes but fail to understand similar doesn't mean same as.

 

And a bass's brain isn't as complex 

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Lot of guys talk about the similarities between a human's eyes & a bass's eyes but fail to understand similar doesn't mean same as.

 

And a bass's brain isn't as complex 

You haven't met my cousin.