Going night fishing on a lake known for docks...what would be your top baits?

[Catt]

7 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Thank you all.  I know that bass have lateral lines and more acute night vision than we do...but do you have confidence in a texas rig or do you prefer throwing something that rattles (ie spinnerbait, chatterbait...)?  I love fishing a ned rig but not sure if it will be enough for bass to know it's there

 

There no lures you can throw that a bass wouldn't know it's there!

 

They can find a black worm sitting dead still in 20' of water on a moonless night.

 

[clemsondds]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

 

There no lures you can throw that a bass wouldn't know it's there!

 

They can find a black worm sitting dead still in 20' of water on a moonless night.

 

Oh I have no doubt about that. The question is, how far will that bait pull fish from? Just wondering if they are 10-20ft away…will they sense it…vs a chatterbait for instance.  Not trying to argue…insincerely don’t know and so just want to increase my chances of getting a bite while at same time trying to cover water.  Enjoying the discussion appreciate the feedback 

[Catt]

1 hour ago, clemsondds said:

Oh I have no doubt about that. The question is, how far will that bait pull fish from? Just wondering if they are 10-20ft away…will they sense it…vs a chatterbait for instance.  Not trying to argue…insincerely don’t know and so just want to increase my chances of getting a bite while at same time trying to cover water.  Enjoying the discussion appreciate the feedback 

 

Ain't no way to tell that even in daylight!

 

Sometimes even with a Chatterbait ya gotta hit on the head.

 

I can guarantee they will find your Texas Rig, Jig-n-Craw, Shaky Head, or weightless Senko.

[Woody B]

By this time of year the dock bass have been overfished. 

Give the dock bass a break and try to find the ledge bass.  They hang around steep drop offs like creek channels or the main river channel, then come up on the flats at night to feed.   

 

I suspect the deep bass, the ones that hang out around deep structure don't even know it's night.  How deep does sunlight penetrate in the average lake?   Fish them the same as during the day.   

[clemsondds]

7 minutes ago, Woody B said:

By this time of year the dock bass have been overfished. 

Give the dock bass a break and try to find the ledge bass.  They hang around steep drop offs like creek channels or the main river channel, then come up on the flats at night to feed.   

 

I suspect the deep bass, the ones that hang out around deep structure don't even know it's night.  How deep does sunlight penetrate in the average lake?   Fish them the same as during the day.   

Yeh I’ll be down there for three nights so I figured I would try the docks first and then work my way out. I love fishing offshore but frighten I would give docks a try first…there’s prob over a million on this lake lol 

[T-Billy]

9 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Thank you all.  I know that bass have lateral lines and more acute night vision than we do...but do you have confidence in a texas rig or do you prefer throwing something that rattles (ie spinnerbait, chatterbait...)?  I love fishing a ned rig but not sure if it will be enough for bass to know it's there

A buddy of mine catches lots of big smallies in 15' - 25' of water on a ned at night. He hauled a 23"+ just a few weeks ago. I fish jigs and Trigs at night without a rattle or beads. Bass find 'em just fine. A chatterbait is awesome many nights, but sometimes, mostly on slick nights, it's just too much for 'em and I'll get a lot of short strikes. I recently started throwing a paddletail swimbait on those nights. I don't think I've had a subtle bite on the swimmer yet. They KILL that thing.

[gim]

41 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

I recently started throwing a paddletail swimbait on those nights. I don't think I've had a subtle bite on the swimmer yet.

Plus there's all kinds of over sized dead saugeyes floating you can pick up and hold for photos!!!

[GreenPig]

12 hours ago, gimruis said:

I have to wonder, for those of you that are fishing docks at night, how do you actually see the dock?  I have enough difficulty skipping docks during day.  In the dark, I wouldn't even attempt it.  Are you using the force or do you have night vision?

I installed green LEDs on my boat with a rheostat switch to adjust the brightness to as dim as I can get away with and accurately cast to docks.

[casts_by_fly]

5 hours ago, Woody B said:

By this time of year the dock bass have been overfished. 

Give the dock bass a break and try to find the ledge bass.  They hang around steep drop offs like creek channels or the main river channel, then come up on the flats at night to feed.   

 

I suspect the deep bass, the ones that hang out around deep structure don't even know it's night.  How deep does sunlight penetrate in the average lake?   Fish them the same as during the day.   

while I agree with the general sentiment, light penetrates 200-400’ in modestly clean water.  In the depths that bass inhabit, day and night are very different. 

[clemsondds]

Thanks for all your help!  Fished a little last night and a little this morning.  No luck either time.  Water clarity is 8-10ft and water temps 90. I tried a little bit of everything last night (only fished 2 hours).  Tried deep bluffs/structure with football jig and deep diving crank and then a texas rig glass/brass monster worm. Flipped docks with senko and spinnterbait (black colorado).  No bites...no surface blowups...  Not sure what was going on. Hopefully better luck tonight. 

[Deephaven]

On 7/21/2022 at 7:20 AM, gimruis said:

I have to wonder, for those of you that are fishing docks at night, how do you actually see the dock?  I have enough difficulty skipping docks during day.  In the dark, I wouldn't even attempt it.  Are you using the force or do you have night vision?

The mast light is the most disruptive thing to your eyes you can possibly have for night fishing.  I have 2 masts.  One with a much lower wattage bulb which I use whenever I feel that visibility for other boats isn't a problem.  On top of that there is NEVER any white/blue light on my boat at night.  Red is the best color to preserve your night vision.  I don't have any external lights as they aren't legal here, but these all dim via remote at the helm and provide enough to see without hurting night vision.

 

[RHuff]

Man if it were me I’d go smaller bait, bigger presence… For example.. a smaller profiled flatside crank is sick at night. Maybe a Frittside 5 or 7..  Smaller wiggle wart..  to start off..   Give the fish something to track but the smaller profile makes it easier to inhale it in the dark… The bite will come violently…

 

If fish are being extra aggressive then a chatterbait/craw would be my next go too

[clemsondds]

2 hours ago, RHuff said:

Man if it were me I’d go smaller bait, bigger presence… For example.. a smaller profiled flatside crank is sick at night. Maybe a Frittside 5 or 7..  Smaller wiggle wart..  to start off..   Give the fish something to track but the smaller profile makes it easier to inhale it in the dark… The bite will come violently…

 

If fish are being extra aggressive then a chatterbait/craw would be my next go too

Thank you!  I’ve actually heard someone recently having some luck on flat side.  I’ll give it a go. I’m on Lake Norman (south portion)  by the way…not sure I mentioned that. 
for those fishing deep brush piles and ledges at night, what’s your go to bait?  
 

[Bluebasser86]

I night fish a couple lakes filled with docks. Typically, they move off the docks and spend more time roaming the shorelines between the docks at night on those lakes and the shorelines that are void of fish during the day can be hotspots at night. 

 

Bladed jigs, spinnerbaits, 10" worms, and jigs make up 95% of my night fishing baits. No topwaters because I don't like dodging missiles I can't see in the dark when someone misses a fish and sets the hook on the explosion. I about ate my BIL's 130 plopper last year when he insisted on fishing it in the dark and swung on an explosion that missed his bait. 

[A-Jay]

I agree with @Bluebasser86 above ~

 Bass seem to relate more loosely to cover at night (except in the presence of bright moonlight or artificial light, then it’s just like day time). They can & do still tuck into places but often times they’ll be “around it" rather than in the middle of it.  This is a good thing because it’s not easy to make pin-point presentations when your depth perception is all but non-existent.    

Seems shadows are just as important at night as they are during the day, fish like them.  

A-Jay

[Catt]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Seems shadows are just as important at night as they are during the day, fish like them.  

 

Could have sworn someone mentioned that!

 

Another consideration is the type of dock. Down here we have only two kinds.

 

Floating docks which sit flat on the water & move up & down on poles. I usually don't fish those at night unless there's lights.

 

Pole docks which don't move & have room under them for skipping.

 

[gim]

Hey @Catt if there’s a way to skip under those floating docks, please tell! Lol

[VirginiaKayakBasser]

For night fishing, look for docks with lights.  I have done well in the past ripping a lipless crankbait through the light pools.  Big bladed spinnerbaits are also great for night fishing.

[Woody B]

Night fishing is the only way to fish on Lake Norman this time of year.  Especially on the south side.   Like most lakes the action doesn't start until later.  I rarely catch anything between sundown and 10PM or so.  After midnight is better at least this has been my experience.  I haven't been to Norman at night in 30 years though.  I caught some good bass there during the day earlier this year.  (I sold my boat 30 years ago, and recently bought another and started back fishing)    Decades ago the shallow humps, and islands near the main river channel, or creek channels were hot spots at night.  

 

I usually launch at Little Creek Landing.  I've caught a bunch at night on a shoal that's just out from Little Creek.  My PB came from an island that's West of Little Creek.   I love to fish topwater at night (and during the day) when conditions allow.  My PB came on a Devils Horse.   There's a bunch of what I call free floating docks.  They have a walkway down from a dock.  The floating part if positioned by this walkway.  No poles.   I like to cast a flatside crank bait over the dock,  loop my line around the dock, stick my rod into the water and bring the crankbait under the dock.  You can do the same thing with a jig or worm, but I believe the bass are usually suspended near the bottom of the dock.  In my mind a flat side, or square bill running by their face has a better chance at a reaction strike than a jig or worm on or near the bottom.  

On 7/21/2022 at 10:55 PM, casts_by_fly said:

while I agree with the general sentiment, light penetrates 200-400’ in modestly clean water.  In the depths that bass inhabit, day and night are very different. 

 

Thanks for the knowledge.  I've never done the research.   I've targeted some deep structure bass with decent luck on Lake Wylie at night recently.  The lake get's really crowed during the day.  I'm afraid someone might run over me if I spot lock off shore on a busy lake. 

 

 

Regarding the light required white light at the rear of the boat.  I got a really tall mast/light, and I wear a bonnie style hat (like in the sun) to keep from ruining my night vision by "seeing" that light.