Recently I have been reading a bit about night fishing/fishing in the dark - specifically about fishing at/after sunset.

I have not done (fishing at night/in the dark) to this point, for several reasons - I am newer to boat fishing so I needed time to increase my navigation skills/confidence (I will always be vigilant, I am now fully confident in my skill level) before boating in the dark (as we all know darkness complicates the on-water environment) -- and our ramps here are dark (I have now installed LED lights to the back of the truck to help with backing in to a pitch black ramp). But I would like to try night fishing/fishing in the dark in the summer of 2026. I don't think I would stay out for hours and hours in the dark yet might extend to an hour or two after sundown.

What suggestions do you have ? Do you use any special lighting ? (ie, spotlight ? head lamp ?)  Do you change up what lures you are using ? Do you fish more shallow ? deep ? stay with your same patterns ?

Thank you !

I frequently launch at four and it's dark then, but not for long. Launching at 11:00 p.m. would be too spooky for me because there'd so much night between the light and me. However, I wish I could fish all night because the fishing is fantastic. Most mornings when I launch at four, there are bass feeding in all directions. I surface fish and wear a red light on my forehead. I exercise extra caution when freeing fish. I've caught some of my biggest bass in wee-est hours of the morning.

This was pinned for a while.

It's still applicable. 

A-Jay

 

👆All the info you'll ever need in A-Jay's thread.

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

This was pinned for a while.

It's still applicable. 

A-Jay

 

I agree. Grew up night fishing in the gulf. When I lived in Florida. @A-Jayhits into on the head 

Here are some of my experiences when I used to night fish.  1)  Don't cast a big Jitterbug and hit a pontoon boat.  It will make A LOT of noise.  2)  Don't jump out of the boat if you get close to shore and you spook an egret.  3)  If bats are buzzing around your rod tip, just ignore them.  They won't bother you.  4)  If you cast and you don't hear a splash, you're most likely in a tree.  5)  I used to night fish when I stayed at a cottage on the water.  I'd come in from fishing the evening bite, sit around having a beer while it got good and dark, and then went back out.  If I didn't catch anything in an hour or so, I came back in.  6)  I always used black tandem colorado spinnerbaits or a topwater such a Jitterbug.  I was just looking for active fish.  It was fun when they were hitting but I wouldn't last long if the fish were not active.  Overall, I didn't really like night fishing.  Now getting out on Lake Michigan a half hour or so before the sun comes out is amazing.  Good luck.

Also search for Catt night fishing threads. Tommy fished about half the year at night for several years.

RIP Tommy, we all miss you🥲

Tom

 

Many years ago I Fished at night during the summer. I only threw one lure. A Texas rigged BLACK worm. One piece of gear that IMO that is indispensable is a 12V black light. Black light and fluorescent line allows one to see their line. Looks like a laser beam. My buddy and I fished a lake that had many docks. Roughly fifty feet or so in front of the dock there is a brush pile. Work that black worm through that brush pile and hang on. I later added a 12V white light called a Moon Glow that gently lighted the bank and docks.

I’ll never forget one moonless night before Moon Glow light we were casting down the bank. We couldn’t see the bank and my buddy said that we were fishing great cover. We turned on a flashlight and we were maybe twenty feet or so from the bank and throwing our worms in back yards🤪.

 I suggest that the first few times out go on a waxing gibbous moon.  Get on the water a couple of hours before dark and get comfortable.  As the sun goes down you will have moonlight so it wont ever be black dark.

If you have a sonar with gps, set a new track at the launch incase you get turned around so you can use it to help you get back.  Use only a red light to see.  Don’t throw baits with treble hooks.  Night fishing used to be all that I did from April to October.   Good luck.

I catch bass in places that are easy to cast too like shallow points, shallow flats and rip rap banks. Lures buzzbaits , spinnerbaits, squarebills and texas rigs.

I learned about night fishing from this site, especially @Catt and @A-Jay, so definitely get into those threads.  My experience is on a small inland lake where my boat is easily accessible and I can navigate the water relatively easily because of all the time spent on that body of water.

 

Quick list of what works on my lake...

 

- the weedlines in 8-12' fow is my sweetspot

- though daytime summer seems to be about shad, nighttime feels like bass are cruising for juvenile crappie/bream.  I tend to favor larger profiles.

- "cruising" those 8-12' fow weedlines near deep water is what I think these fish are doing.  The bite seems to live in windows, I often sit in a prime area and wait for them to come to me or hit on them immediately and wait out a lull only for it to turn back on.

- if the summer night is 8hrs long, the third to fifth hours have historically been my best

- my biggest July/August bass are usually night fish.

- the darker the night, the more excited I am for big fish.  

- baits that move more water are my preference.  Slow rolling a big swim jig with a 5" paddle tail is my go to and they will find it no matter how dark the night.  

- full moon nights, love to throw a chopping style glide or bluegill crank down if they're active, dragging a jig if they're still buried in the grass

- I use the same exact lures at night that I do during the day; regarding color

- I prefer to anchor, shield my stern white light from the front, and stay in the dark except to unhook or net at the boat.  A head lamp (white) and a red light flashlight are all I seem to need.

- trust no other boat on the water, so many bad decisions made by boaters and alcohol.

- I bring less rigs with me at night to open up more deck space than my normal fishing

- night fishing is also great in spring and fall, this is more of a reminder to myself

 

Good luck!!

 

scott

 

 

  Travel slowly even if you know the water. Use heavier gear, rod, line, and hooks. I always use a headlamp and have plenty of spare batteries. Only turn the light on after hooking a fish, for the purpose of netting. I normally go big for lure size but it's not always the answer. 

JUST DO IT!

I decided to try night fishing for a several reasons including A-Jay and Catt's threads. I caught fish. However the half hour drive home was dangerous to say the least. I was basically slapping myself in the face most of the way home just to stay awake. So mine is a cautionary post. 

 

 

It’s creepy out there at night. Every sound is amplified. It’s not for the faint of heart.

 

But catching a bass on a top water in blackout conditions is exhilarating.

Beautiful bass, @GreenPig!

 

Thanks for remembering Tommy, @WRB-2.0. I remember when he casually mentioned his 35-pound bags. Big bags impress me more than anything. We all can luck into a big bass here and there, but luck won't land a big bag...and by bag, I mean a real bag, meaning five bass caught by one angler or a tournament pair in one session, not your five biggest in a week or your five biggest of the season. Tommy was a top notch angler. 

 

 

Topwater explosions by moonlight are pretty exhilarating. So are beavers setting off nukes with their tails 10 feet away from you...every time it scares the crap out of me lol.  

I tried it on a remote pond I knew very well, no moon, pitch black, no homes with lights.

 

Had no idea where I was after I paddled out to what I guessed was the middle or where I was casting. It was just too dark. Headed back to the put in but ended up on the wrong side of the pond, followed the shore back, head lamp only goes so far. One of the newer million lumen flashlights would have helped. Tipping over would have been bad news.

 

Fished from shore in the middle of the night while camping. Picked a spot and paddled around in the immediate area during the day. Worked out better as it the stars lit it up a little. Got a couple nice ones on a torpedo, could hear them hit but not see em.

I have fished mainly at night from mid-May to October since the 1980’s. Here are some of my suggestions. 
 

A blacklight is not necessarily needed but I use one all the time. I also use 17-20 lb. test Stren clear blue fluorescent line for all my night fishing. 
 

I keep it real simple as far as tackle. I use a 5/8 oz. spinner bait and a 10” worm on a Texas rig. On occasion I’ll use a buzz bait. 
 

I recommend keeping your running lights on if there is a lot of other boats in the area. 
 

I use a headlamp with a red light which will not affect your night vision. You only need it when landing and unhooking a fish.

 

Keep your life jacket on at all times. No reason to take any chances. 
 

If you have time I recommend scouting the area during the daytime to familiarize yourself with it. 
 

The main thing is take your time and don’t get in a hurry. I can tell you night fishing can be addictive. 
 

Hope some of this helps. 

Ajay’s thread is the gist of it.  If you’re doing it for the first time, do it in a lake you know well.  Go a couple hours before dark if you can and fish where you’re going to fish for a bit.  Then when you come through in the dark it is familiar.  It also helps to get your casting accuracy in a good place before dark.  Get where you’re pinpointing your casts with muscle memory and that will pay off in the dark.  Fishing as the sun goes down helps your eyes adjust really well.  Until…

 

Don’t use a white light.  Even the briefest exposure will set your eyes back.  Your eyes take up to a half hour to truly dilate to low light levels.  It takes a half of a second to reverse it with white light.  I have a red headlamp for tying knots or unhooking fish.  I can switch it to white and bright if I’m in a bind, but i try to avoid that at all costs.  Otherwise, no lights on in the boat.  I take black electrical tape and cover the LEDs on my trolling motor foot pedal and heading sensor.  I normally turn off my fish finder since I’m on a lake I know well.  Here in NJ there is enough light most anywhere that even on a new moon night you can get around once your eyes adjust.

 

Simple is best.  I agree that nighttime bass are eating bluegills and shore bound bait, at least the ones I’m fishing for in < 4’ of water.  The big bass that live shallow all the time but are wary will get more careless.  They get out into the open and you never know where they will be.  Color doesn’t much matter.  Either white (maybe with chartreuse) or ‘dark’ which can be black or can be a darker green pumpkin analog.  Keep it simple.  My one caveat is that on a bright full moon night I’m starting by throwing white- frog, spinnerbait, jig, doesn’t matter.  I’ve seen it too many times that white is just the hot color in that instance. Mostly though, it’s more important to put it in the right place and have the approximate shape/size/vibration.  Some nights they are on top, some just below, and some towards the bottom.  Since I’m targeting fish in 4’ or less mostly that’s an easy range to cover.

 

I’m in weedy lakes and the baits fit accordingly.  Buzzbaits, frogs, and toads on top.  Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits below the surface and down to the bottom.  A swim jig with a thumper tail that you can just feel if you’re really getting into the weeds.  That’s about it for me.  I want just a little feel on the lure.  I’ve tried fishing a big worm on the bottom and it’s just not for me.  If the fish aren’t actively feeding and eating baits with some feel then I’m going home to bed.  I also want to feel when the lure is fouled.  A buzzbait you’ll hear it.  A spinnerbait or bladed jig you’ll feel it.  

 

Sometimes, the bass take a minute at dusk.  I suspect that they just need a minute to relax from all the predators that are out during the day.  If you have ospreys and eagles, herons, otters, etc then they are all out feeding on fish in the daylight.  The fish are on high alert when it’s bright.  They hold onto that for a bit when the sun goes down and sometimes that hour from pink sky to black sky in the evening is tough.  I still keep fishing and mentally prepare myself that it will turn on at some point and be great.  But just know that going in.  The first couple times take your dinner, a cigar, or something else to pass the time for an hour.  Take a break before you restart.  I find the opposite in the morning and often prefer a morning stretch.  If I start at 2 AM and they are biting, then they will keep at it until the sky turns pink.  And then they shut off.  I fish as hard as I can in that period (which flips around 530-600 in NJ in August) because once they shut off they are off for a bit. I’ll motor out to the middle of the lake, pour a cup of coffee and have a nice sugary donut, honey bun, or similar.  I’ll have been out since 2 at that point so some fuel is good.  I think the bass that I am targeting in open water, sparse cover, shallow areas just sink into the cover or out a little deeper.  They get less reckless.  I’ve found that after that hour of rest they are catchable on Texas rigs (sometimes the underwater baits mentioned above) on my lakes.  I think for that hour they are moving, getting wary, and just not in a biting mood.  They find their daytime place and settle in.  And then eat.

 

Aside from ‘be safe’, the answer is ‘just do it’.  It’s a different experience and I love it.  For a couple years my wife thought I had a second family.  Truly.  I confessed I did and her name was Betty- Betty bigmouth bass.  To be fair to her, the lake I mostly fished had basically no cell service and she couldn’t see where my phone was.  And I was poor at communicating while I was out.  I’d launch on a weekday evening around 3 and fish until 11 or 12.  If I didn’t have to work I would have stayed out longer.  Once July rolls around, my favorite time to be on the water is on a still, warm, night.  You’re by yourself, it’s quiet, and the fish are usually eating.  What’s not to love.  

 

 

@casts_by_fly provided a good synopsis. I agree that bass quit feeding for about half an hour when it gets dark.

 

Trolling in the dark has worked for me. When you catch a bass, then cast back to where that bass hit. 

I love fishing at night, mostly from shore or a kayak. I loved shore fishing cuz you get to see a whole other world out there. Different birds, bugs and animals.  You can see alot in the lake too. Bait fish and crawfish. Also helps with your instincts too. I never had a light on, only when I’m walking or tying up a new lure. It’s by feel or sound. Fishing a topwater hearing smash on the bait or feeling the jig bite. 

On 12/22/2025 at 8:28 AM, Kayak Koz said:

It’s creepy out there at night. Every sound is amplified. It’s not for the faint of heart.

 

But catching a bass on a top water in blackout conditions is exhilarating.

Most especially in Florida, Ocala National Forest, as well as Orange-Lochloosa. In the 80’s had to lay low one night when some gator hunters were doing illegal hunting..