I have read all the posts about night fishing and have learned alot.  I am preparing to night fish at Truman Res with my uncle and had just a few questions.  Is a black light absolutely neccessary?  If so could you suggest a good line to use with it.  From the posts I learned that black and blue  buzzbaits,spinnerbaits with colorado blade and black lizzards or tex.rig worms are good to use.  any other suggestions would be great.. thanks   darren

Try using the same stuff you would use during the day, colors and all,..you may be surprised to learn that even at night, a fish is still just a fish,lol.

As for the lights, the blacklights are only good for mono line. I don't use mono or lights personally so a recommendation isn't possible.

You guys are gonna have a blast, have fun and keep us posted!

One thing I've noticed at night is to move baits on bottom slower than you do in the day time.  

Hookem

Matt

I prefer topwaters like a Jitterbug & Spook at night, but only if the bass want those. Last night I couldn't get a bite on any topwater. I decided to try what's been working well on a finicky bite days, something I had not tried much before. It's a Charlie Brewer Slider worm and jig. They are short, do nothing worms that sort of glide down. I tied on a black & red to a 1/8 oz jig head, split the tail,  smeared it with Megastrike, and put it out there with plenty of moonlight to illuminate it. After a couple of retrieves I almost decided it was useless, dragging up weeds. But then it occurred to me I wasn't cleaning weeds off the hook. On the next cast I put the headlamp on and discovered bass were holding onto the worm and just swimming to me as I reeled. The weight of the bass was identical to a handful of weeds. I just wasn't setting the hook. But I wasn't feeling a bite, either, just a very gradual loading up, but never more than what a little bream might weigh.

That's when it's time to put the UV headlamp on and watch the Stren fluorescent line floating in the water. I was able to see the slightest line tic then gently sweep the rod to set the hook. There might be other brands of line for UV, but that's all I've found locally. I like the little 19 LED lamp, perfect for just lighting up my line while watching it. The old black light with two stoppers for mounting it worked fine but drains the battery too fast, and the stoppers dry rotted, so the lamp has to be tied to a cleat. I'd only use it if I had someone with me not wanting to use a UV headlamp. They do get uncomfortable after an hour of wearing, but I get over that.

Jim

Darren, good luck on your trip! Jim is right on the money about the "Stren" fluorescent(it's the blue line). Under the blacklight that line looks like neon tubing. You don't really need the blacklight but since you don't have a whole lot of experience night fishing then it will really help. In addition to the spinnerbait you mentioned, I like Berkley Powerworms(7" or 10"). Berkley doesn't have the best lineup of colors but they work well at night when color isn't a huge factor. The bass will hold on to them for a good while most times and they are bulkier than most worms. Keep a jitterbug handy also. Don't spend alot of time fishing it if you don't get hit with it. On a good jitterbug night the bass will come from far away to get it.

Have patience. Last night I fished the same 1/4 mile stretch for 3-1/2 hours before the bass started hitting. The bite lasted a solid 2 hours after that. Spinnerbait and pig and jig worked for me. They wouldn't touch a worm or a jitterbug. You just never know!

If you are going to go with just the moonlight, it may be helpful to avoid lures with treble hooks.  Stick to buzz, spin,plastic etc.  Trebles can be tough to unhook in the dark.

In my night catching, trebles haven't been a problem removing. I lay a bass between my legs belly up so it won't flop, and usually a gentle push slips the barbs out. Normally only one treble is involved, and pretty often only one barb of it. If you let the bass flop more hooks can get involved. In day fishing a bass can zero in on a lure more accurately and sometimes all the trebles on a crankbait are snagged somewhere. Night hooked bass are often lip hooked probably because attack accuracy is diminished.

Jim