I've spent most of my fishing years as a bank angler while living in gator infested waters so night fishing was something I never did. But now that I'm out of that area I've tried some night fishing out back of my hotel on Lake Oconee.

 

It has been a busy week at work and between Thursday morning and this afternoon I had spent 24 out of 32 hours working. So tonight I went to bed at 7:30 but woke up at 11 pm and thought, "Hey, why don't I go fishing?"

 

My Bass Pro order had come in the other day and in that I had picked up a 3/4 ounce War Eagle Night Bait spinnerbait and gave it a try. Nothing. So I went back to one of my trusty chatterbaits, put on a Rage Tail chunk, and not long after landed a nice little 2.5 pound LMB. And believe it or not, that's the first fish that I can remember catching at night. Yay for me!

 

I was using a lift and drop method, and not long after that while reeling down after the lift and drop I felt the line tense, set the hook, felt the line stretch, and started to reel in. The line barely moved. I love when that happens.

 

I was using my new KVD reel on a Dobyns Fury 703C and the biggest fish I have caught on that so far was just under 3 pounds. This felt different than that. It was definitely bigger. How much bigger was hard to tell. When you fish a combo long enough you usually have an idea of how big the fish is on the other end of the line. But not only was I fishing this new combo, but I was also using Yuzuri Hybrid line instead of my trusty 40 pound braid.

 

It was a pretty good battle and I could not horse the fish in. I was on one dock and the bass broke for the dock next to me and just before it looked like it was going to dive under the dog it breached the surface a bit, turned, and spit the hook. Dang. I didn't get a look at it in teh dark, but it moved a lot of water.

 

I doubt this was a DD or even a PB, but it was probably 5 or 6 pounds. I casted back on followed up a few cats later with a spinnerbait, but it was gone. Oh well. I did catch a little one pounder later on, but then called it a night about 1:30 a.m.

 

It was disappointing not to land that one, but at least now I know there are some decent fish out there. I'm also going back to braid on that baitcaster. I just don't like the feel of that hybrid line, and it's probably not ideal for a chatterbait. Since I traditionally fish baitcasters with braid, I'm pretty sure my hookset was light for that type of line. I'm not used to the give in the line with the hybrid compared to the braid. Definitely my fault that caused the fish to get away.

 

I am definitely going to try night fishing more often. It's so different compared to the daytime as every sound is amplified, even the baitfish breaking the surface and the sound of bigger fish feeding near the surface. It was a lot of fun.

 

 

Enjoy it now, before the Mosquitoes get bad and try to carry you off @ night. Here in Fl. Ya can't pay me to fish on our lakes after dark. I have tried it and it is just plane misserable. Good Luck and stay after them. 

Sounds like a fun night!! Always remember a hillbilly on the loose is far more dangerous than a gator at night 

Here in Florida, the summers are very hot.  Most bass fishing is limited to early morning or late evening that time of year.  When I was a kid, summers were the time to fish.  I always read that summer fishing was better at night.  I hooked up with an older man that was a member of our church.  He had a Jon boat and we would go out at 12 AM and fish until 9 AM. Our best fishing was always between 2 AM and 5 AM.   Back then, we used top water plugs exclusively.  When I began to get serious about bass fishing, I fished the Everglades at night.  I would leave Holiday Park or Sawgrass at midnight.   The mosquitoes were relentless. You had to coat yourself with Cutter every 15 minutes and burn Pics coils in the boat. Fishing alone at night is not a good idea, but I was young and thought I would live forever.  I loved fishing at night.  I had all the good spots to myself.  I caught a lot of fish and they were bigger than the fish I caught in the daytime.  I used 10" black worms dipped in Anise oil and big black spinnerbaits.  Eventually, I started fishing Okeechobe at night.  That was scary.  All alone at night on 40 miles of water can be frightening.   My best fish came on big spinnerbaits.  My favorite was the "Deadly Dudley"  It had a large boat propeller blade that turned with the slightest movement. Some of you may remember this bait.  Great memories...

I've had many a great night fishing trips on Oconee and Sinclair. Fish the dock lights, under water lights are good, underwater green lights are the best. You might want to give the Shaky Head a try. A Squarebill is great for Hybrids around the lights. Congrats. Welcome to the Dark Side.