11 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

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.

 

I have more nasty bug encounters during daylight. There's these knat-like bugs out in the marshlands here in south central Florida that bunch up in your face and follow you no matter where, buzzing and engulfing your entire head. They just don't go away, even if covered up. Mosquitoes are more prominent from the land, like you said, not so much on the water. If anything, there's more bug activity out in the everglades right when the sun goes down and then right when it comes up. Anything in-between is smooth sailing. Most of my bug problems are in my truck. They seem to sneak inside when I'm unloading my stuff at night, all kinds of bugs, which is all part of the clean-up later on. 

   Down here in South Mississippi the one thing you better be on the look out for at night is RED WASP NEST. They are as big as sunflowers and I don't mean the small ones either. You could die before you got to the dock. The fishing is fun but I'm too old to up past 9pm now days.

Tip - JUST DO IT! After a couple trips you'll figure out exactly what you need. 

My stern light was right at eye level.  Turn of the head, and I'm looking at a bright white light.  I found another section of aluminum pipe and swaged on what I had.  Now the light is higher up, and comfortably out of my line of sight.

Also see a lot of WERID stuff while fishing at night. This was the best I could do to capture a bunch of stars lining up...or whatever they heck they were. Very strange. I also took a video of them. 

 

1 hour ago, Zcoker said:

Also see a lot of WERID stuff while fishing at night. This was the best I could do to capture a bunch of stars lining up...or whatever they heck they were. Very strange. I also took a video of them. 

 

 

Starlink satellite chain after launch and before they have moved to their final orbit.

 

 

13 minutes ago, slowworm said:

 

Starlink satellite chain after launch and before they have moved to their final orbit.

 

 

 

No kidding! I was trying to fish while watching them all line up and was, like, that don't look right. I guess being close to the space center anything can happen. 

This helps 

My night fishing experience last week with no moon convinced me that the fish couldn't see any better than I can in the dark. Lots of strikes and misses on topwater. It's mostly a smallmouth fishery, if that makes a difference. I might give it another try closer to full moon and see if there's a difference.

On 7/16/2024 at 10:32 AM, Swest18x said:

My night fishing experience last week with no moon convinced me that the fish couldn't see any better than I can in the dark. Lots of strikes and misses on topwater. It's mostly a smallmouth fishery, if that makes a difference. I might give it another try closer to full moon and see if there's a difference.

 

It could make a difference but I have no expereience with SM fisheries, only LM. On dark nights (new moon) is when I get most of my nicer LM's. Full moons do produce but it's the exception and not necessarily the rule. I still get them but it can be much slower. It's usually much better when there's cloud cover. Either way, topwater is my first choice at night and when the fish are hitting, they rarely miss the lure. 

On 7/13/2024 at 5:53 AM, LionHeart said:

This helps 

Just when you thought it was safe to pee off the boat in the dark.😁

On 7/3/2024 at 11:38 AM, Zcoker said:

9l

Dude I'm just hoping I can break 8# before I die, hopefully another good 45/50 years in me. Crazy to think I'll only have that much time left here with my girls. I'm approaching that more time behind me than ahead of me line, gotta get my mind right and start looking in the right direction... up

On 7/4/2024 at 10:42 PM, papajoe222 said:

I want to emphasize an important piece of info; Be familiar with the body of water you'll be fishing after dark. It's easy to get disoriented at night, even on a lake you frequent.

I installed a compass on my boat 20yrs ago and got ribbed by my then fishing buddy as my home lake is only 120 acres.  Sure enough, one night we got disoriented after fighting and landing his PB. That compass paid for itself, of course my phone has one now, but that one on the console is still there.

Amen to this........

On 7/3/2024 at 12:32 PM, A-Jay said:

launched across two or three docks or even 50 feet or so straight into the woods.

I've had to somehow exit my kayak and get back on a few times with no shore to sneak around on. Tuck the yak under a dock and climb on, unstuck my lure from the dock ( or someone's boat), and get back on without it drifting away or tipping. 

On 7/11/2024 at 11:35 AM, Zcoker said:

Also see a lot of WERID stuff while fishing at night. This was the best I could do to capture a bunch of stars lining up...or whatever they heck they were. Very strange. I also took a video of them. 

 

That's some UFO type stuff right there. Course I always thought @Pat Brown might be a nice alien

No amount of mental preparation can prepare you for the swarm of mosquitos you will encounter if you choose to fish a lighted marina at night

On 7/6/2024 at 10:02 AM, bp_fowler said:

roving gangs of criminals

I'm far less concerned with this than I am bumping into one or 2 guys that see me as an opportunity with certainty there will be no witnesses. 

 

I now carry pepper spray, might get a night stick soon too

 

 

On 7/6/2024 at 10:40 AM, ol'crickety said:

highly concentrated spray that's rated at ten times the potency of bear spray

Can you PM me how to obtain this?

On 7/6/2024 at 4:56 PM, riverat said:

agree with Catt

@Catt when you two say that, you mean you prefer to fish when the moon is above?

1 hour ago, LrgmouthShad said:

No amount of mental preparation can prepare you for the swarm of mosquitos you will encounter if you choose to fish a lighted marina at night

 

They are biblical here at night time.  Not so bad actually on the water, but once you get close to shore or on shore, you will get eaten alive.  The amount of rain we've had has definitely played a role, as they hatch out of standing water.

13 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

That's some UFO type stuff right there.

 

Yeah, right! I'm sitting there with a full sky of stars, watching these little dots--which looked like stars--all come together to form one strait line. Craziest thing I've ever seen in the night sky.  

Night fishing can also be skunk city. The bass can go to sleep and never wake up until the sun comes up. I've had nights like that where the bass wouldn't hit a thing, no matter what time, no matter what was tossed at them, and even in seemingly ideal conditions, they just didn't feed. It can just as easily be like that in the daytime, the exact opposite. So both worlds, night or day, can be very unpredictable. Night or day, catching those bite windows is what it's all about. 

I bank fish mostly at night this time of year. It's significantly more successful than day fishing for me. I don't do a whole ton differently, I have a few lures that seem to work better at night but I'm in a lit up state park. The main thing I focus on is not casting shadows where I intend to fish. The big overhead lights attract bugs and bait. A green light in the water helps but I have caught my biggest basses on the edges of the overhead lit areas. It seems they use the darkness as cover and wait for prey to drift too far from light. I think it is vital that the light is stationary for this to be a thing and casting shadows on the water will immediately change the dynamics. Otherwise they behave like they do in daytime, just in the shallows instead of the depths. I also tend to dress in a way that blends in with the areas I'm fishing, and move as quietly as possible but that's not exclusive to nighttime.

18 hours ago, 1984isNOW said:

Dude I'm just hoping I can break 8# before I die, hopefully another good 45/50 years in me. Crazy to think I'll only have that much time left here with my girls. I'm approaching that more time behind me than ahead of me line, gotta get my mind right and start looking in the right direction... up

 

Man, I hope so too! Find the places that you KNOW have big bass 8 pounds and up. Fish those places as much as you can, even if they're far off. Try night fishing the shallows, if possible, working a big musky jitterbug. That lure has captured more record fish than any other lure in history! I make my own for my everglades excursions. 

13 hours ago, 1984isNOW said:

I'm far less concerned with this than I am bumping into one or 2 guys that see me as an opportunity with certainty there will be no witnesses. 

 

I now carry pepper spray, might get a night stick soon too

 

 

Can you PM me how to obtain this?

@Catt when you two say that, you mean you prefer to fish when the moon is above?

 

No sir 😉

 

During daylight anglers pay attention to daybreak, mid-day, & sunset.

 

At night anglers pay attention to moon rise, directly over hear, & moon set.

 

Those three moon time periods can occur during the day.

 

Lot has been written about best times to fish...there they are.

 

Oh! By the way it matches your tidal movements. Tidal anglers are fully aware of those three time periods. 

 

Even in non-tidal waters you should be paying attention.

13 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

They are biblical here at night time.  Not so bad actually on the water, but once you get close to shore or on shore, you will get eaten alive.  The amount of rain we've had has definitely played a role, as they hatch out of standing water.

 

15 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

No amount of mental preparation can prepare you for the swarm of mosquitos you will encounter if you choose to fish a lighted marina at night

 

Man, I just don't get it with the bug hype. I mean, I used to live up in Massachusetts, way up there in North Adams Berkshire mountains area and never had a bug issue at night fishing around dock lights nor on land off the bank. Same with the everglades. I don't even think the word BUGS. I don't even carry BUG spray. That's how far away they are from my thoughts. And I fish out there in the glades 2-3 nights a week all night long until sunup. Maybe it's called "mind over the bugs," maybe. 

@Zcoker My biggest bug issue is Deer Flies, them little suckers bite harder than a mosquitos.

 

On Toledo we have some little grey bugs that will swarm you, completely ingulfing you. Good thing is any wind stops em!

5 minutes ago, Catt said:

@Zcoker My biggest bug issue is Deer Flies, them little suckers bite harder than a mosquitos.

 

On Toledo we have some little grey bugs that will swarm you, completely ingulfing you. Good thing is any wind stops em!

Never encountered those. There's these bugs called no see ums on our coastal shores, mainly on the west coast beaches. Now, those things are a different story. They will literally eat you alive. They burrow into the skin, like dig in and stay put.