Night Fishing Questions

[rondef]

I am going bass fishing at night for the first time.  Is there anything I need to know when fishing for bass at night?  I figure that I will use plastics (rigged and not rigged), swimbaits, and cranklbaits.  Will bass bite top water in the evening (late night)?  If they will bite topwater lures I can use my spinners and my Rapalas.  Thanks for your help in advance.

Ron

[Catt]

Fish the same baits, same locations, and same techniques you would during the day.  

[Daniel My Brother]

Yes, bass will hit topwater at night. Jitterbugs are my personal favorite for night bass.

[roadwarrior]

Fish the same baits, same locations, and same techniques you would during the day.

Simple and straight forward.

Sometimes I think we think too much. It's not that complicated.

[Tokyo Tony]

My three favorite baits are chatterbaits (aka boogie baits), spinnerbaits (black/red or black/blue with single colorado blade - strike king makes a great spinnerbait for nightfishing), and topwaters (i like walk-the-dog types - zaras or lucky craft sammys).

Unless you have a good spot where you KNOW there are a bunch of fish, I'd stay away from the plastics.

[roadwarrior]

Unless you have a good spot where you KNOW there are a bunch of fish, I'd stay away from the plastics.

Why?

[Tokyo Tony]

And I forgot to mention - the reason for these baits is that they make a lot of noise and are easy for the bass to locate.  And they work.

[Tokyo Tony]

RW - because I've found that they just don't work as well as the noisier baits in most circumstances, and I'm talking mostly about finding fish.  If you have a good spot where you know there are fish, by all means drop some plastics in there like your Fat Ika's.  I just feel like the fish can really key in on a chatterbait at night.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Unless you have a good spot where you KNOW there are a bunch of fish, I'd stay away from the plastics.

Huh?

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

RW - because I've found that they just don't work as well as the noisier baits in most circumstances, and I'm talking mostly about finding fish.  If you have a good spot where you know there are fish, by all means drop some plastics in there like your Fat Ika's.  I just feel like the fish can really key in on a chatterbait at night.

I see your reasoning but can't totally agree.  Plastics have turned up some of our biggest nighttime fish.  Night fishing is no time to learn new water.  I only suggest venturing at night on bodies of water you already know.  With this in mind, search bait patterns shouldn't be neccessary.

Camping out on flats and their edges are what night fishing is to us.

Also, very clear water, loud baits aren't always recommended.  Topwater action can surge with subtle types of twitch baits,.....but big ones.  When our clear water reaches it's plankton max if you will, during the summer, thats pretty much the only time we get loud with big, huge rattle spooks like the excalibur but even then, the subtler of the loud baits shine.  Jitterbugs, baby spooks just softly walked,etc

[Tokyo Tony]

Good point LBH - I'm usually night fishing on stained water and not targeting any specific structure, hence my preference, but you make a good point.

[rondef]

Thanks guys, I will just use all of the same techniques and lures that I do during the day.  I guess I was just trying to think about this to much.  I do have a fish finder so I will be able to get an idea where the fish are since I have only fished this lake from the shore in the past.  This will be the first time fishing this lake in my boat.

Ron

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Rondef- More important than lure or presentation, at night, is safety.  

-PFD's, if not on, close by.  

-Eliminate any floor clutter that is not necessary

-bring a few sources of light (flashlight, headlamp, big beam, lighter)

-Throwable flotation

-cell phone

-check all lights before leaving ramp

and most importantly

-Let someone on land, know where you are and when you expect to be back.

[roadwarrior]

Rondef- More important than lure or presentation, at night, is safety.

-PFD's, if not on, close by.

-Eliminate any floor clutter that is not necessary

-bring a few sources of light (flashlight, headlamp, big beam, lighter)

-Throwable flotation

-cell phone

-check all lights before leaving ramp

and most importantly

-Let someone on land, know where you are and when you expect to be back.

Great Post.

Excellent advice!    8-)

[Tokyo Tony]

Oh and LBH do you use scents at night with your plastics?  If so, any preference?

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

If there is a scent around, I'll throw it on but it's not something I "need" to have confidence, just something I think "can't hurt".

It's not like there will be no bite, then I put o some special, super secret scent and it's hit after hit,...but if it's around...

Dirk usually has a bottle of BANG Garlic around.  Megastrike is in the boat for a lube on swimbaits also, every once in a while, I'll slop a bit on a big spook too.

[Catt]

Move up closer to your target and waste less time in unproductive water.

Give special attention to beaches, docks, buoys, rafts, rip-rap, or night lighted areas.

I fish in grass a lot and the attractant helps my plastic baits slide through easier.  I use Fish Formula II or Baitmate (clear) with a ½ oz of pure anise oil added.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I fish in grass a lot and the attractant helps my plastic baits slide through easier.  I use Fish Formula II or Baitmate (clear) with a ½ oz of pure anise oil added.

I figured you would be the type to then dip it in some of that special Louisiana coffee!! lol

[Catt]

I heard about that but at 2:00 am I'm to busy drinking it to dip my worms in it  

[rondef]

I always prepare a fishing plan and give it to my wife before I leave.  It contains the ramp location, the departure and return times, cell phone number, boat registration number and a map of the lake with marked locations that I plan to fish.  I always carry an coast gaurd approved kit with me (4 PFD's, 3 wearable and 1 throw), a flare gun, a weather radio, a flashlight, a boat ladder and I have a latern for light.  As for preperation I always check my lights, horn, bilge pump, plug, electric and gas motors and my live well for proper operation and I charge the trolling motor battery before every trip.  Oh and I do have a set of oars as a last resort.

[Catt]

Max Million III Q-Beam; 3,000,000 candle watts  

[Del from philly]

iv been told, and have had some luck with solid black plastics at night

people on here pointed me in that direction, the solid color is easier to see with the kleast amount of light

MY FAVORITE FIHSING IS DONE FROM 6-9pm.....never had any luck in the early morning

[roadwarrior]

MY FAVORITE FIHSING IS DONE FROM 6-9pm.....never had any luck in the early morning

There is no reason this should be the case. Low light, morning or evening, is usually good for most fishermen. "Action" baits are more productive during these periods. I had some pretty good luck last weekend in the early hours throwing the Cavitron Buzzbait. You might want to give that lure or a similar bait a try.

[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. Bass can see color but not at night, color it's self is meaningless at night. Bass cannot see details at night, so don't waste time with meticulously painted or patterned lures. Contrast is more important by far than color at night. If you fish water where shad or minnows are the predominate prey species, then try white spinners with a white grub. The usual night time favorite black is the second choice in shad populated lakes. Black or dark hued lures give maximum contrast at night when run on or near the surface. Under water vision for the bass is reduced at night, so use lures that are a little larger. Slow retrieves work better because it lets the bass locate the lure easier and zero in on it.

There is no reason why the night time bite can't last all night but just like during daylight there will be periods of high/low activity. According to my records some of my best night bites have occurred as follows.

An hour and a half prior & after the raising of the moon on the horizon

An hour and a half prior the moon reaching its apex (moon directly over head)

An hour and a half prior & after to the setting of the moon on the horizon

An hour and a half prior to the moon reaching its perigee (moon directly underfoot)

[twors]

Go to WalMart and buy one of those cheap Energizer head lamps with the combo white and red LED's....their less than $15. I don't use the white light very often but the red light part of the lamp works well for working with tackle issues as it doesn't attract the bugs nor will it jack up your night vision.