Tips for fishing at night

[Zcoker]

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. 

[thediscochef]

my biggest nighttime nemesis bug-wise has become the wolf spider
I would still never hurt one intentionally, but getting bit 8 times in one night leaves an impression of the name. top of my ankle is still healing lol
the mosquitoes seem to leave me alone most of the time. pretty much just chiggers, spiders, and scorpions been eating me up this year

[Pat Brown]

1 hour ago, Zcoker said:

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. 

 

 

Timing, timing, timing (and location but also timing 😂).

 

Completely agree with this and love that you thought to add this point because we as anglers so so often forget: bass don't read rulebooks. 😎😎😎 

 

Edit: just saw No See Ems referenced in another post.  Had flashbacks to trying to rip the skin off my legs scratching those bites.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  So so bad.  And so prevalent on the NC coast.

[Zcoker]

2 hours ago, thediscochef said:

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.

 

Some good points brought up here that I'd like to emphasize on. Bass don't act that much differently during the night as they do during the day. There are slight differences but not a whole lot that I've noticed. They feed in spurts, or bite windows, just like they do during the day. They hit most of the same baits. Preferably black but I've caught them on ALL colors. Another one is stealth. One of the biggest advantages to the angler at night is stealth, masking the presence of the angler. But don't presume that just because it's dark that all is well. Bass can see a LOT, day or night. Even though it's dark, I dress in dark clothing. I sneak up on my spots motor off. Not wake or waves. No ripples. My fish finder is never on while fishing. My cast are deliberate. I try not to impress any such harsh movement over the water. One thing is clear: BIG bass feed at night and anything out of the ordinary, any such bang on the boat or smoking or coughing or talking on the phone, any artificial light, any such oddity and they are GONE GONE GONE OUTTA THERE!  

[ol'crickety]

1 hour ago, thediscochef said:

my biggest nighttime nemesis bug-wise has become the wolf spider
I would still never hurt one intentionally, but getting bit 8 times in one night leaves an impression of the name. top of my ankle is still healing lol
the mosquitoes seem to leave me alone most of the time. pretty much just chiggers, spiders, and scorpions been eating me up this year

 

How did a wolf spider bite you eight times?

[Pat Brown]

57 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

 

Some good points brought up here that I'd like to emphasize on. Bass don't act that much differently during the night as they do during the day. There are slight differences but not a whole lot that I've noticed. They feed in spurts, or bite windows, just like they do during the day. They hit most of the same baits. Preferably black but I've caught them on ALL colors. Another one is stealth. One of the biggest advantages to the angler at night is stealth, masking the presence of the angler. But don't presume that just because it's dark that all is well. Bass can see a LOT, day or night. Even though it's dark, I dress in dark clothing. I sneak up on my spots motor off. Not wake or waves. No ripples. My fish finder is never on while fishing. My cast are deliberate. I try not to impress any such harsh movement over the water. One thing is clear: BIG bass feed at night and anything out of the ordinary, any such bang on the boat or smoking or coughing or talking on the phone, any artificial light, any such oddity and they are GONE GONE GONE OUTTA THERE!  

You're making a strong case for 6 lb monofilament and weightless soft plastics here 😂😂😂

[Zcoker]

4 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

You're making a strong case for 6 lb monofilament and weightless soft plastics here 😂😂😂

 

Yep, but where I fish I need to go much much heavier, minimum 50lb strait braid. Most of my hunt is on top of the water. Just something about a big bass at night blowing out of the water onto a helpless lure. Can't seem to shake that rush. Always comes back to me if I try anything else. 

[Pat Brown]

1 minute ago, Zcoker said:

 

Yep, but where I fish I need to go much much heavier, minimum 50lb strait braid. Most of my hunt is on top of the water. Just something about a big bass at night blowing out of the water onto a helpless lure. Can't seem to shake that rush. Always comes back to me if I try anything else. 

 

Yeah, I've pretty much only been fishing a frog on that exact setup from sun up until sundown for the past 3 months. I relate to you. 😂😂😂

[1984isNOW]

On 7/11/2024 at 12:35 PM, Zcoker said:

stars lining up

Nope, where did you post that video? That isn't a constellation in our universe

[Zcoker]

16 minutes ago, 1984isNOW said:

Nope, where did you post that video? That isn't a constellation in our universe

 

I didn't post the video. And I know it's not a constellation lol. Someone on here said that it was Starlink Satellites lining up before taking their final orbit, which makes sense since I'm close to Kennedy Space Center. Still an awesome site! 

[1984isNOW]

4 hours ago, Zcoker said:

Find the places that you KNOW have big bass 8 pounds and up

There's no way to know that up here in MA, I talked to a guy who owned a tackle shop - he told me it took him over 60 years to finally hit 8 pounds. This is a guy who's livelihood literally depended on fishing - I got nothing on that. 

 

But, I'm hoping to explore some more and find the ONE.

 

I'm scared to throw trebels at night, especially some size 1 or 1/o on a big ol musky jitterbug.... but I might take the risk, I keep hearing how that's been the trick for decades down south.

59 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

li

Just saw that post, I got the pages mixed up replying to specific comments and being bumped back and forth while others were posting too. Yeah, definitely cool to see, but probably to boost the Pegasus Project - not cool at all

4 hours ago, Catt said:

moon rise, directly over hear, & moon set.

So moon set and moon rise are best,  moon over head is good,  and moon on the other side of earth is no good?

3 hours ago, thediscochef said:

sco

Scorpions are striking you?? Bro, I would only fish in steel toes if I was you

[Zcoker]

19 minutes ago, 1984isNOW said:

There's no way to know that up here in MA, I talked to a guy who owned a tackle shop - he told me it took him over 60 years to finally hit 8 pounds. This is a guy who's livelihood literally depended on fishing - I got nothing on that. 

 

But, I'm hoping to explore some more and find the ONE.

 

I'm scared to throw trebels at night, especially some size 1 or 1/o on a big ol musky jitterbug.... but I might take the risk, I keep hearing how that's been the trick for decades down south.

 

 

You're probably right about that, living in MA. I mean, it's possible. Somebody just caught a 13 in NY. Might just need to call it a day and make a trip down south to places that have a ton of them. Always a chance. When you catch one, it sure is a great feeling. The first 8 is a memory of a lifetime! 

 

As far as the trebles go, I use them exclusively at night. I use worse ones, saltwater BKK Fangs, absolute razors. Talk about grabbing! I know folks don't recommend them at night and if not experienced enough I probably wouldn't recommend them either. Especially on lures like the Jitterbug. I make my own wooden musky jitterbugs that are much bigger and use much bigger mean and nasty trebles. Gotta have a good sense with those trebles, a good enough sense to keep from getting stuck. So far, so good, knocking on wood! 

[Catt]

54 minutes ago, 1984isNOW said:

So moon set and moon rise are best,  moon over head is good,  and moon on the other side of earth is no good?

 

Moon rise & moon set, major time periods.

Moon directly over head & moon directly under foot, minor time periods.

[gimruis]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

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

 

There is a river that I will sometimes fish in midsummer that has deer flies at times.  They are ruthless.  They'll land right on your face and take a bite out of you.  Bug spray is useless against them.  I've literally had to leave because they were so unbearable even when the fishing was tremendous.

 

Mosquito hatch is directly linked to rainfall.  We've had drought 3 out of the last 4 years but this has been the wettest April/May/June in nearly 30 years here and they are bad.  Dusk is the worst.  Night time is dependent on location and wind.  Mosquitoes can be repelled with deet/bugspray though at least.  I worked for the MMCD (Metro Mosquito Control District) in college one summer and all we did was follow the rain around the Twin Cities all spring/summer and treat standing water to prevent them from hatching/reproducing.

 

Most people don't realize the diseases that some of these biting insects can carry.  The mosquito is literally the most dangerous organism on the planet.  Malaria, Dengue, Yellow Fever, Zika, West Nile, etc.  They are all caused by mosquitoes.  I won't even go into ticks.

[Catt]

@gimruis

 

Vick's VapoRub 😉

 

Long sleeve shirt, a dab of Vick's on your shirts wrist, collar, & close to exposed shin. They'll swarm but not land.

6 hours ago, Zcoker said:

 

Some good points brought up here that I'd like to emphasize on. Bass don't act that much differently during the night as they do during the day. There are slight differences but not a whole lot that I've noticed. They feed in spurts, or bite windows, just like they do during the day. They hit most of the same baits. Preferably black but I've caught them on ALL colors. Another one is stealth. One of the biggest advantages to the angler at night is stealth, masking the presence of the angler. But don't presume that just because it's dark that all is well. Bass can see a LOT, day or night. Even though it's dark, I dress in dark clothing. I sneak up on my spots motor off. Not wake or waves. No ripples. My fish finder is never on while fishing. My cast are deliberate. I try not to impress any such harsh movement over the water. One thing is clear: BIG bass feed at night and anything out of the ordinary, any such bang on the boat or smoking or coughing or talking on the phone, any artificial light, any such oddity and they are GONE GONE GONE OUTTA THERE!  

 

☝️

 

Night time is not a magical, mystical time. The bass do not morph into a new creature just because the sun set. Neither does their pray!

 

As mentioned above we're looking for windows of opportunities that are constantly changing. 

 

Day or night; location then timing. Ya can't catch what ain't there.

[thediscochef]

7 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

How did a wolf spider bite you eight times?

Pretty sure it got trapped in my shoe, that's usually what happens

[ol'crickety]

Just now, thediscochef said:

Pretty sure it got trapped in my shoe, that's usually what happens

 

That sounds horrible. 

[thediscochef]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

That sounds horrible. 

Eh

I don't really react to them that bad it's just more of a secondary infection risk than anything else. Main reason I try to keep my feet dry, there's usually at least one type of bite somewhere from the calf down

[geo g]

I used to do it when I was young, but not anymore.  Fishing in south Florida and the Everglades you need to be covered from head to toe or the mosquitos will drive you crazy.  They laugh at repellants even 100% deet.  In the summer it is so humid even at night, your life will be miserable.  It's just not worth it anymore!

[WRB]

The land of sky blue waters is where bugs live. SoCal very bugs to bother you at night the few we have don’t bite.

Very few opportunities to fish at night 🤬

Tom

[softwateronly]

On 7/31/2024 at 4:54 PM, WRB said:

The land of sky blue waters is where bugs live. SoCal very bugs to bother you at night the few we have don’t bite.

Very few opportunities to fish at night 🤬

Tom

 

I too love a cold Hamm's!  

 

scott