RRocket

Excellent! I figured there would be something that would chemically "melt" the bait back together

Sun is down! Cooler and portable firepit packed! Bowfin are irritating with blow ups! Time to catch some bass (hopefully).

Have been using fragile JDM baits. They seem to tear easily. Is Mend-It the only way to fix these plastics? Or is there a similar type of chemical one can buy to achieve the same results?

Ok! I've roped the wife to come with me as my "support staff" for the all nighter tonight! A couple weekends ago I had her fighting and catching Channel Catfish almost as big as her! Bless her heart for putting up with and participating in my fishing silliness! LOL ? She's definitely my best catch ever!

That's pretty much how I ended up using the Jika. It's less "fussy" than Tokyo and are easily made.

You can't believe how badly I want this to be true here! I work afternoons/nights exclusively. So on those days when I'm done just after midnight it would be a dream come true to go and have productive fishing immediately after work.

I do use a buzz toad (Z-man Billy Goat) and I'm well aware you can catch fish on topwater after dark. Have done so. I'm interested in sub-surface...And as of yet have never caught a Largemouth this way after dark. Am having great success with Cover Scat during the day. So I'll give it a go and do a full night session. Sadly, there are no giants here...or they are extremely rare. For example, the totals put up by AlabamaSpothunter would have won the last local BassMaster tourney by about 8lbs. And the record largest bass ever caught here is a smallmouth. I truly am jealous of the quantity and quality of fish people catch on this forum. With it was like that here! Pulled in this 3 pounder moments ago though!

I can reliably catch fish in the same windows everyday. I certainly haven't been skunked any day at this location. It's precisely why I chose this particular location for my night fishing. I know the fish are reliably there during the day. I guess the only way to know for sure is to pull an all nighter fish session. I'm still not sold on what works in Region A works in Region B. Have seen too many peculiar things in my fishing life. Heck, some fish won't eat a certain color bait, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they won't eat as readily at night here.

Went night fishing! Sunset tonight was 8:07pm, so I endeavored to go out 2 hours before sunset and 2 hours after. It's a place I fish often only minutes from my house. I use it to test new gear, baits, etc I also fish here if I need to be close to home or if I'm just too lazy to travel far. It would be accurate to say I fish here hundreds of times per season. I fished a free rig, which I've been fishing for a couple years now at least. Texas rigged a DoLive Beaver as I thought the water displacement by the claws to be beneficial after dark. Plus I like the Senko-like stall after the weight hits the bottom. It's been a good bait for me. From 6:07 to 8:07 I caught 6 fish. Nothing giant of course, but still very fun on 4lb test. I have included a picture of the first fish of the evening. From 8:07 until 10:07 I didn't have a bite. At all. Nothing. It's as if a light switch was thrown. But all was not lost! I did get to see a small weasel swimming and foraging along the water's edge! That was a treat! Since I was out already, I decided to go to a marina/harbour. I have fun here dock skipping, throwing around the boats and the walls. Zero bites. Zip. Now both places are quite weedy (Texas/weedless rig a must) so I don't know if that plays a role? I'm obviously no expert here! Needless to say, I'm really disappointed. I just don't think it's a "thing" here. Surely I should have had ONE bite. One touch. But as noted, it's as if a light switch was flipped. Now I have caught fish after dark at both of these locations on topwater. But this was more like dusk-until-you-can't-see topwater fishing and not something well into the night as I did today. You are indeed correct to point out that I don't know everyone. But I do know guys who would not only know about it if it was a thing here, but would be doing it too. I just don't think it is...which is really disappointing as this would have opened up more fishing opportunities for me. I'm jealous of you guys! I'm not giving up after one night mind you. I'll be out at night for the next 3 days using the same scenario. Will try other water displacement baits. Might throw a Jika with a Boar HogZ. Will think on it. Would love to throw my new poop baits as they have been stellar in the day! At any rate, just thought I'd update.

I've fished at night here, as it's fairly common to do so for walleye and catfish. Never for bass though! I'll go out tonight and see what happens. I will have a benchmark to compare it to as I will fish the exact same spot with the exact same bait using the exact same rig I used this morning. Should be an easy comparo. I must admit...I am skeptical. If bass fishing was as good at night here as during the day, many anglers would be doing it. And nobody does. Am wondering if it's one of those odd regional things that works well in X but not in Y. Even top water seems to stop completely here after the sun goes down, as I've continued to throw post sundown and never a bite let alone a fish. And that's multiple times over many years. It just seems to stop dead after dark. We'll see!! Thanks for the encouragement and info, fellas!

So you just fish exactly as you would during the day..but at night? Do they see that well at night?

I really want to hear more about night fishing. Would this work anywhere? Nobody here ever fishes for bass at night...and even mentioning it will get you bewildered looks.

I used a Ryugi Infini 2/0 EWG on the 2.5 today

In light of this thread, I picked some up. I had avoided these because I thought they were expensive and "stupid". Boy, was I wrong. The fish can't leave these alone! Personal best today for quantity and it was my first time using this bait. I still can't get my head around how well this bait worked.

This is correct.

I used the Tokyo quite a bit before I settled on the Jika. It was a productive rig.

Scrub with Tinfoil and Cola. Not joking. Though I'd probably try a plain old SOS pad first.

I've done similar, but with a 1/0 ringed hook. As you point out, bait looks great underwater.

I've used one and as pointed out, hooksets can be difficult. It's an inferior topwater lure. There are much better options out there.

I agree. That's why I have the color in my box. I absolutely believe that green pumpkin is a color staple. By every metric it should produce. But it just doesn't work here. Exact same bait (regardless of water color) in Junebug, blue/black, purple, sprayed grass, etc DO work. The longer I fish, it just seems like there are some regional peculiarities that just defy logic.

That's one of the least productive colors here. Haven't caught one on that color this year.

Sounds a bit similar to my progression into newer finesse rigs and in particular the Free Rig. I started out throwing swing head style jigs since the ability for the hook to be "free" really resonated with me. Great action, comes through weeds great, and catches fish! My favoritea were the Z-man Finesse Texas Eyez, and the Decoy SV-46..a very unique weight. The Jika and Free Rig were the next logical steps. They comprise the bulk of my fishing these days. And I'm especially fond of the Dolive Beaver on the Free Rig (I'm looking forward to testing Rapalas knock off, the Crush City Bronco Bug! Anyone else?) And while a C-Rig isn't ideal for the areas I typically fish, when I do I also use a ringed hook to keep with the free hook ethos. I'm REALLY interested in this. I've thrown baits after dark and have never had a bite, let alone have caught a bass on a sub surface presentation. Am wondering if this a one of those odd regional phenomena things (what works in X might not in Y) I'd love to hear as much detail into what you're doing as you can share!

I stuff an old worm piece (Senko, etc) into the tube then Texas rig with an EWG.

And it would be the opposite for me due to how extensive the weed growth is here. As you point out, often times with works is a regional thing.

I use stickbaits but maybe slightly different than others. I use the Big TRD. On a Free Rig either hooked wacky or Texas. Since the TRD is buoyant, it offers some interesting presentation options this way. You can twitch it until it engages to the weight. Then put slack in the line and the worm floats back up. Rinse, repeat. I'm a Free and Jika Rig enthusiast and a stick bait is just another tool in the box that works well with those rigs.