Night Fishing (headlamps? casting gear?)

[1984isNOW]

For any of you who night fish do you always have a light on?

 

Do lights cause less bites or spook fish?

 

How do you time stopping the lure at entry with a baitcaster?

 

I try to avoid lights and I'm torn between dealing with backlash sometimes or buying gear solely for night fishing.

 

[Jar11591]

I only use a head lamp when re-tying or taking a fish off. Running a light non stop will bring death by mosquitos in these parts. Your eyes adjust very quickly to the darkness, even on moonless nights.

 

I may tighten my brakes a little on casting gear but usually just go by muscle memory. 

[Jig Man]

I only put on a light when I need to retie or unhook a fish.  Having a little moon helps.

[A-Jay]

I prefer a green or red lens.

A-Jay

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 minute ago, Jar11591 said:

I only use a head lamp when re-tying or taking a fish off. Running a light non stop will bring death by mosquitos in these parts. Your eyes adjust very quickly to the darkness, even on moonless nights.

 

I may tighten my brakes a little on casting gear but usually just go by muscle memory. 

I fish 45-60 nights a year I'd say if I'm heavy into the sport, and being from AL, you basically have to during June, July, and August.   

 

I agree with my good friend here for the most part.    Beyond letting your natural night vision take the wheel after an adjustment period that starts over each time you use a non red light source, the Mosquito beacon on your forehead will ensure that you don't keep it lit often.

 

That said, on certain stretches of bank with certain lures, I'll use the full 500 lumans of light to fish a 50-100yd section.       For the most part I'm fishing with natural night vision 95% of the time though.    Lights don't negatively effect Bass, and if anything they are advantageous...i.e. think Crappie or Dock lights.   

 

Night fishing is just one of those things that you have to do in order to learn.    

 

Use a red light as much as you can.    Use T Rigs and cheap stuff in the beginning.   Be prepared to get a backlash no matter how good at casting you are.    Be prepared to catch the biggest Bass you're gonna catch as well.   

[GreenPig]

-Click my headlight on when I hook a fish through the release.

- I've found lights have a negative impact on fish in the clear water I fish. Less so in muddy/stained waters.

- Stopping the lure is all about timing for me. Fishing a New Moon with a black buzzbait/ big worm/jig with no lights, it's really the only option.

- I use heavier gear at night. 

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

For any of you who night fish do you always have a light on?

Only when necessary and never pointed out into the water.

1 hour ago, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

Do lights cause less bites or spook fish?

Depends on the lake. In some places fish are more spooky than in others.

1 hour ago, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

How do you time stopping the lure at entry with a baitcaster?

Start out casting lures on a high trajectory, or arc, then listen to and feel how the vibration of the spool and its bearings change throughout the cast. They'll inform you of where your bait is during flight even on the darkest nights. It takes a little time to download this info, but if you can process it you'll be fine. I haven't blown up a spool in years and I primarily fish at night. An occasional thrown loop is going to happen day or night, but nothing problematic or fatal if you're tuned in.

 

Distance to targets out and away from the shore is all muscle memory that's been calibrated by tens of thousands of reps, but stopping the lure in time is all by feel and sound. Casting towards the shoreline at night from a boat is a different animal. Depth perception is whacked at night, especially in the beginning. It takes some time to adjust.

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Night fishing is just one of those things that you have to do in order to learn.    

You bet.

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Be prepared to catch the biggest Bass you're gonna catch as well.   

You bet!

[JustJames]

Same as most everyone else. I fish a lot at night. I only use green or red light for re-tie and unhook the fish. I’m not worry about spooking the fish with light but those bugs are super annoying with bright light. Backlash can happen a lot but a little stronger brake should help. I don’t know about you but I can feel the spool spin decelerated after maximum speed that when my thumb start to lay on top of spool. My problem at night would be wind and cast too far onto the shore ???.

[Catt]

For running at night 

Brinkmann Max Million III

 

For re-tying a cap light in white. I don't worry about white lights affecting my night vision, I'm trying a lure on, not flying an F22 Raptor.

 

With a baitcaster I feel my spool slowing down by keeping my thump hovering slightly above it. 

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, Jar11591 said:

Running a light non stop will bring death by mosquitos in these parts.

Tell me about it. During the height of summer I wear two sweat jackets to keep them from destroying my upper body and a wool winter skull cap to keep them from lumping up my scalp. NY mosquitoes are evil.

[WRB]

Catt is the night fishing expert so listen him.

I love to night bass fish but our lakes are close at sunset 90% of the time.

We have maybe 6 nights to fish during the summer and includes night tournaments. I always fished with my son at night events, good memories.

Our lakes very good water clarity with few docks other then the marina area with lights. The lakes don’t have any homes, it’s very dark. We have few mosquitos not an issue.

My night lighting was a very bright squids submersible light that I hung about 3’ down out the transom and out of direct view. We must have running light on and rear white pole above the engine height. I put a strip of duct tape to reduce the white running light blocking off about 60 degrees to save out night Vision. The squid light lite up the water about 30’ all around the boat, like setting on a lit swimming pool at night. The underwater light illuminated indirectly far enough to improve depth perception that helps casting accurately.

The squid light helped to net bass and it draws in baitfish, doesn’t bother the bass as far I could tell.

A ball cap with a bill light was used to find things and retie, otherwise it was off.

To key for me when fishing the shoreline was keeping the boat a controlled distance away to match our casting distance helps a lot. The occasional tree branch or casting too far happens. I don’t rely on reel brakes, my thumb feels the same day or night.

Caught 90% of our bass on worms and jigs, the balance on crankbaits and rats. 

Keep it simple and well organized.

Tom

[Koz]

When I fish on my kayak at night I generally run dark, but if I hear or see any boats out there I turn on my light on my Yak Attack VisiPole. That doesn't cast much light on the water or my deck.

 

I also run a 7" Humminbird DI SI and frankly I have to tone that down because it messes with my might vision. I also have a headlamp with varying brightness of both red and white LED lights.

 

As far backlashes, I probably tend to drag my thumb on the spool a little more than usual on my standard reels and you kind of get a feel for it after fishing in the dark for a while. That being said, I probably use my Curado DC at night more than my other reels.

[scaleface]

I use a Bushnell clip-on light from Wal-Mart with a red light setting . As far as back-lash free casting  its not a problem . If you can cast  during the day you should be able at night .

[softwateronly]

I’m in the “no light till a fish is on” camp.  My lake does have homes on about 65% of the shoreline. That makes it easier, for sure, but I think trying to let your eyes adjust is the best method.  I’ve blown up my reel a few times, but adjusting to sound and feel only, actually seems to limit my overruns. 
 

I throw top water, wakes, jigs, and my number one bait, a swim jig. Regardless, the most important thing to have in terms of fishing gear is a an open and easily accessible net. The biggins sure seem better at last second surges and jumps that make lipping impossible for me in the dark. 
 

scott

[ATA]

It depends on moon phase , if it is pitch black you must have lights on, You can go with red lights. Also so many nights if you turn the lights on, The mosquitos will eat you up, So a net also needed in some occasion. For night time fishing for bass I always have enough rods rigid up with what I had plan in my home, I also trying to be near my truck to do rigging there. If you have boat, I wouldn't see any problem to have some sort of light in the boat.

Another thing I learned is in night minnows coming to light and bring bass to you, Also I use minnows as bait

Starting next week I am going to camp every weekend for bass and trout.

[Woody B]

It's kinda funny.  Most nights my casting is really good.......no backlashes.  Then, every now and then I start backlashing like crazy.   I use a headlight but keep if off most of the time.  I also wear the same hat I wear in the sun.  (a bonnie hat)  The brim keeps the light at the back of my boat out of my eyes.   I don't fish in areas I don't know at night.  I also don't blast off across the lake wide open.   

 

I got a ticket for turning my lights off several decades ago.   I pulled up to a point, turned off my lights, then heard the game wardens boat start.   The led light on my current boat doesn't seem to draw insects as bad as the incandescent light on my old boat.   

 

 

There's nothing like a night time topwater blow up.  My PB came at night several decades ago.  

[1984isNOW]

Yeah, I feel like I'm learning the songs of my reel and can sense the conclusion coming well enough - tough in the rain though. Totally changes the sounds and feels. I've always kept the light off as much as possible, but my 4 head lamps don't have red options... I'm going shopping... or maybe painting to keep it cheap.

 

I used to only use spinning gear at night, definitely keeps things simple - especially on drizzly or windy pitch black nights.

 

What I really wanna do is yak at night, but I think my wife would make a stink.

[Jig Man]

If you want to practice casting and get the feel of what it is like at night, go out and cast with your eyes closed.  You don’t even have to be in a boat.  You could do it in the backyard.

[PhishLI]

3 hours ago, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

my 4 head lamps don't have red options... I'm going shopping...

 

[Bankbeater]

I only have the light on when I retie, change baits, remove a fish, or untangle the bait.  I try not to have it on very long since it tends to draw in bugs,

[AlabamaSpothunter]

If you plan to fish a lot at night, do yourself a big favor and buy a rechargeable model. 

 

 

[1984isNOW]

6 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

If you plan to fish a lot at night, do yourself a big favor and buy a rechargeable model. 

 

 

I like the tip - I already have some rechargeable AA batteries, it makes so many things rechargeable haha. Great for beard clippers and kids toys that eat up power... and probably headlamps

[throttleplate]

I would be lost without it. I wear my headlamp in the summer with a mosquito head net which costs under $ 5.00. I only use it in summer to walk the bank or up the rip-rap of a dam bank and to put on new lures or take fish off. In summer I can see pretty good up untill 9:30pm.

In the colder fall months when it gets dark out at 7:30pm with no mosquitoes or knats around i use it with no head net.

 I have been keeping the light on so when i reel my bait in i can check for gunk without fumbling with turning on headlamp.

I keep spare batteries in tackle box.

Oh and try to manuever around this bank with no light and then climb the rip-rap with all your gear to get out to the top and to the car.

 

[Catt]

Cyclops Orion LED Hat Clip Light $12.99 at Academy.

 

[Big Hands]

43 minutes ago, Catt said:

Cyclops Orion LED Hat Clip Light $12.99 at Academy.

That looks great. I hate having to choose between a light and a cap at night.

 

=========================================

I do use one of my headlamps for retying and rigging baits, and maybe to net a fish if other lights are not helping, so I always have one on or nearby.

 

I haven't found that having some lights on is a noticeable deterrent to catching fish. I too use a light in the water when my guests want to. I made one of my own with parts from Amazon that works great. We call it the 'Bite Sabre'. I recently got a rechargeable Thermacell repellant system that works surprisingly well, but only need it when the air is still or close to it. If I didn't use it then, the insects that are attracted to lights would drive me off the lake. 

 

On the rare nights we are granted permission by our benevolent dictators to fish, there are a lot of participants, so it's not anything like we're the only ones out there by any stretch. Imagine a reservoir of 1500 to 2000 acres, with an armada of 50 to 100 boats, many lit up like Christmas trees, all leaving the same (currently only) launch area within a period of an hour just as it's getting dark.

 

Some folks use something that can only be described as 'stadium lighting' with poles mounted in their seat pedestals, which I don't find necessary or pleasant, but I do like some light being cast toward the shoreline for reference on super dark nights.