I was just reading a thread in the "Fishing Tackle" forum, about night fishing and I have a few questions now.

When night fishing for Bass, is it the norm to be fishing in total darkness, except for maybe a head lamp or light that you turn on only if you need to retie or something?

If so, then why is this? Are Bass not like other fish, are they not attracted to the light?

If fishing in total darkness, what baits would you use?

I'm assuming you would have to rely more on noise to attract the Bass than you would sight, unless Bass have real good night vision.

Thanks in advance

Thanks for the reply Flyrod.

That goes to show you how green I am, I've got these big light stands that I used to use when I was night fishin for trout in salt water because trout are drawn to the light.

So I set these monsters up one night to try for Bass, needless to say I didn't get a single bite :'(

I'll check into this UV lighting you mentioned, because I like to fish at night.

Thanks Again

Michael

I rarely fish at night and when I do it's only for walley and smallmouth. These are my suggestions:

Have the boat organized so you know EXACTLY where you have your rods, lights and net.

I have two spinning rods rigged with whatever I plan to use. This eliminates the backlash issue and all the problems with tying lures at night.

If it's safe to have your lights off, keep them off. After a period of time you can see in the darkness. Night vision varies with indivuals and conditions, but it's surprising just how much you can see.

I usually fish ACROSS points. This eliminates most casting problems.

I fish jerkbaits exclusively. That's not necessarily a recommendation vs. other lures, but it works for me.

Most importantly, I wear a life jacket at night and keep a small waterproof flashlight in my pocket.

Flyrod's advice was good.

Keep in mind that at night bass don't hold as tight to cover for shade or to ambush prey.

If you fish near docks with lights, the lights attract bugs and baitfish and bass will hang well out of the light to catch prey coming and going.

If you fish soft plastics, do so with light or no weights.

Expect to catch most of your fish at dusk, dawn and one feeding period during the night.  I suggest that once it gets dark you swap out sleeping periods with the caveat that when the person awake gets a bona fide strike he immediately wakes the other up as it may be the only feeding period of the night.

Fish are not going to roam all over the lake at night, they will be in the same area where you would find them in the day and you need to stay there so you will be where there are fish ehn they start feeding.