Tips for fishing at night

[Captain Phil]

Not much I can add to this post. All I can say is stay safe. Minor issues during the day can turn into a tragedy at night. Don't ever night fish alone.  I did it in my 20s when I was stupid.  Here in the deep south, the biggest night fishing issue is bugs.  If you are up to the challenge, night fishing can be great.  Good Luck!

[whitwolf]

I want to piggy back on those that have brought up knowing your water.  Do NOT go at night unless you are very familiar with the body of water you are fishing. 

 

Night time navigation is a different animal. Take your time. You may know the water well but there's always someone that doesn't.  I can not count the times I've idled out of a creek and a boat has come out of know where. They were Not running in the middle of the channel.  

 

Baits, times, and everything else has been fully covered in this thread. BUT; make durn sure the person you're taking fully understands what night fishing is all about. A skilled angler is going to be a much better partner than a beginner.  

 

One last thing. Here in the South it's still hot at night and usually the humidity drops very little. I stay just as hydrated at night. 

 

 

[scaleface]

On 7/3/2024 at 11:32 AM, A-Jay said:

There seems to be 90 minutes or so after actual sunset where the bite is pretty slow.

Thats  been my experience  .

[Catt]

The eyes of a bass go through a night adaptation cycle beginning at twilight and are usually adapted for black, white, and all shades of gray within an hour after darkness.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I've always believed what Catt said above to be accurate, but at the same time I've never personally noticed the bite died for an hour after dark.

 

I've caught some of my best night Bass within that first 1-1.5hr after dark.   

 

The cheat code within the cheat code is to fish areas and boat docks that have strong lights on them.    I've got one milk run just based on hitting up all the strongly lit areas and docks.    

[Catt]

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I've always believed what Catt said above to be accurate, but at the same time I've never personally noticed the bite died for an hour after dark.

 

Please re-read, never said the bite died.

[Woody B]

Most of the time my night trips don't start until midnight or so.  If I end up fishing at dusk I'll fish lighted docks for an hour or so.  After that I mostly stay away from lights.   

[Catt]

I'll stir the pot 😉

 

I don't particularly pay attention to moon phase. Like fishing during the daytime, when I decide to go, I go. 

 

What I do pay attention to is moon rise & moon set. Oh by the way I pay attention to that during the day.

 

During full moon  nights or waxing moon nights I'll tend to fish more shorelines. Only because of the stumps on Toledo Bend, I can see em better. During the new moon or waning moons I move offshore. 

[ironbjorn]

Have a box of beef jerky on hand in case Bigfoot comes knocking.

[Glenn]

Why yes, yes I  DO have a night fishing video!

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

I'm not exactly a night angler like Catt, Zcoker, or T-Billy, but you've all seen photos of my bass caught in jet blackness, so I do fish the beginnings and ends of night, but not the even spookier middle.

 

@HOV02 noted that bad guys can prowl at night, but it's been my experience that they're more likely to be on the prowl around midnight, but by four a.m., they're long gone. Many critters, on the other hand, are up all night and it can get noisy at night with their movements and cries. 

 

However, the spookiness is mostly in our heads, arising from a lifetime of acclimating to light and being told that it's dangerous at night. Your best defense against rare danger is your ears. Move slowly and listen. Bad guys and dangerous critters are all noisy. 

[Catt]

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Your best defense against rare danger is your ears.

 

I'm a Cajun 😉

 

 

[bp_fowler]

For me fishing from the bank at night or hours of darkness, here’s what I do…

 I usually carry multiple light sources.  One is a headlamp with a red light setting.  Obviously this is for when I need both hands like when unhooking a fish or when I need to retie.  As others mentioned the red light doesn’t wipe out your night vision as much.

 

Another is your standard flashlight. I use this mostly when I’m moving between spots.  As a rule I always move under white light no matter how well I know the area.  
 

Lastly I also carry a small batter Powered lantern.  I will set this up several yards from the bank and will cache my extra rod(s) and equipment.  Serves as a beacon of sorts so I don’t lose that stuff in the darkness.

 

Normally when fish in the light of day I’m constantly moving down the banks or changing spots.  However during the night time I slow down a lot.  I do fish mostly the same lures that I fish in daytime.  The colors may change though, usually darker.  The only exception to this is that I don’t fish anything with treble hooks.

 

As far as safety, I fish alone and I know thats probably not the smartest idea but I make sure someone knows where I’m at and when I plan to be back.  I have my cellphone fully charged. I’m usually in fairly remote areas so my chances of running into roving gangs of criminals is pretty low but never zero.  If I were fishing the Scioto in the south end of Columbus at 1:00 AM I probably would take additional precautions and use the buddy system.

 

 In either case know your environment, what’s normal, what’s not.  If you’re aware of your surroundings you can avoid most problems before they start.

[Catt]

@bp_fowler 👍

[Swamp Girl]

34 minutes ago, bp_fowler said:

If you’re aware of your surroundings you can avoid most problems before they start.

 

I was alluding to this when I made my comment about my ears. When I'm in the woods alone at night, I often stop and just listen. I read about a park ranger in California who patrolled the most dangerous park there. He was a former Navy Seal and he talked about how often he was still in the forest and how that gave him an advantage against the bad guys. He knew where they were. They didn't even know he was there. I don't carry a gun, but I do carry a big gun of highly concentrated spray that's rated at ten times the potency of bear spray...and I carry it with the "safety" off. 

[IcatchDinks]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

 

 I do carry a big gun of highly concentrated spray that's rated at ten times the potency of bear spray...and I carry it with the "safety" off. 

 

 

Note to self: don't creep around the woods and water ways of Maine without knowing where Katie is at all times. 

[Bazoo]

On 7/3/2024 at 11:37 AM, Choporoz said:

Kayak:

-one white 360 light at all times

-headlamp, only on when needed

-no treble hook baits

 

Boat: 

-360 white light at stern and red/green running lights at bow, on at all times

-red LED rope lights around the gunwale, dimmed as appropriate 

-up to one treble rigged on deck

-limit number of rods on deck

-one handheld lantern with white and red options

 

Both: 

-turn up baitcaster brakes a notch or two - daytime backlashes got nothing on a midnight bird nest 

-electronics on 'night' settings, with as little backlight as you can

Red LED rope light is a great tip, thank you! 

[river-rat]

18 hours ago, Catt said:

I'll stir the pot 😉

 

I don't particularly pay attention to moon phase. Like fishing during the daytime, when I decide to go, I go. 

 

What I do pay attention to is moon rise & moon set. Oh by the way I pay attention to that during the day.

 

 

I absolutely agree with Catt on moon rise and moon set. Not just for night fishing but for during the day also.

[Bazoo]

I just finished reading all the post, very informative and interesting discussion, thanks all for contributing.

 

I fish some at night, so far, always from the bank. Always a place I'm familiar with. I've not done it enough to have major success stories like others, but I've caught a few here and there.

[Zcoker]

Night fishing can be a fad for some, maybe for the heck of it, just to see what it feels like, a sort of rush, if you will. Very few, however, stick with it. For others, to be sure, night fishing is a way of life and adapting to that way of life takes a lot of time and a lot of experience, a lot of hard earned experience with many unpleasant and dangerous pitfalls and even a few close encounters. Knowing the water fished is one thing. But what if those waters change on a dime? Out in the glades, for example, the floating masses are actually alive and ever changing, like a living amoeba. A nice clear-cut waterway can turn into a thick barrier of ominous shadows, instantly blocking your path or boxing you in. Many such situations come to mind. One has to not only know what's going on but also have that instinctual sense to guide them along. 

[@reelChris]

On 7/6/2024 at 2:57 PM, Bazoo said:

Red LED rope light is a great tip, thank you! 

 

Another simple solution is dollar store chem lights placed near the gunnels to prevent stepping off into the wetness.  

[Catt]

2 hours ago, Zcoker said:

for example, the floating masses are actually alive and ever changing, like a living amoeba.

 

Floating turf 😕

 

It actually looks solid enough to stand on. 

 

Toledo Bend was voted the #1 lake in the nation 3-4 times, producing multiple double digit annually. Yet most nights I only hear an outboard in the distance. 

[gim]

On 7/6/2024 at 6:46 AM, ol'crickety said:

However, the spookiness is mostly in our heads, arising from a lifetime of acclimating to light and being told that it's dangerous at night.

 

Exactly.  Its mostly just fear mongering.

 

The bugs are not though.  They clearly are much worse at night time.

[Zcoker]

15 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Floating turf 😕

 

It actually looks solid enough to stand on. 

 

 

 

Some of that floating stuff is so thick that trees and thick bushes grow on it. 

13 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

 

The bugs are not though.  They clearly are much worse at night time.

 

I have never had an issue with bugs at night out in the Florida everglades, even during the sticky hot summer months. I don't even carry bug spray! 🤷‍♀️

[gim]

11 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

I have never had an issue with bugs at night out in the Florida everglades, even during the sticky hot summer months. I don't even carry bug spray! 🤷‍♀️

 

You will get eaten alive at night time here in the summer by mosquitoes.  Not actually on the water, but going to it.  And we've had near record rain this spring here, which has exponentiated the problem since they hatch out of standing water.

 

I was an intern one summer in college for the MMCD (Metro Mosquito Control District).  Spent 4 months chasing rain and treating the water.  That was our best control method.

 

Bugspray helps, obviously.