Night Fishing For Bass

Summer time brings with it an amazing fishing opportunities "Night Fishing". Night fishing has some great advantages and some disadvantages too.

First lets talk about the disadvantages and how to fix them. The obvious disadvantages are the fact that you can’t see. So use night-lights!!!! There are a lot of viewpoints on this subject. Some think that even a cigarette burning at night is so unnatural that it will spook fish and others like me believe that the light actually attracts fish. I have done and incredible amount of reading and study on this subject and the fact that I keep coming up with is that the light actually attracts fish. Lights at night are not necessarily unnatural to fish, take any lake in this state and they all have boat docks and at least half of those docks have lights on at night and furthermore you will find that those docks that are lit up tend to be the more productive ones.

Now I must agree that a light moving along the bank may seem unnatural but I know from experience that it does not spook fish. Another point, submersible fishing lights, crappie fisherman actually use these to attract fish to their baits. And then there is the baitfish issue; if you have ever used light at night you have surely seen all the minnows that start running with your boat to be in the light. A baitfish has learned that the light means bugs, and then the larger fish have learned that the light means minnows that are eating the bugs.

Another disadvantage is fumbling threw your tackle in the dark. First you need to realize that at night there are not a lot of baits that you will be throwing (I will cover these later) so you can clear your deck of a lot of equipment and I like to take one of my storage boxes and put only what I will be using in it to cut down on the searching in the dark. Always carry a bright flashlight with strong batteries in it. This will help in several ways; one it will make it easier to search threw that well planned out storage box, two it will help with unhooking that catch of a life time, and three as much as we believe we are phenomenal fisherman and can cast a bait to the perfect spot every time – at night you are likely to miss place a cast or two and the light will help make sure there are no large bugs in that tree you are shaking. Speaking of bugs, the mosquitoes can get very annoying at night, so a good dose of bug repellent will help but the best thing is to were a light weight long sleeve shirt and some comfortable pants. Don’t forget it is going to be a lot cooler and shorts and a tank top are not necessary to stay comfortable.

Finally the last thing I believe is a disadvantage. That is traveling at night. And one last time use a light. You can pick up a spot light, just about anywhere sporting goods are sold, they are not that expensive. Lakes that are difficult to navigate have boat roads on them and those boat roads are marked and those markers have reflective signs on them. It is actually easier to see them at night with a good spot light than it is during the day. So when night fishing don’t be afraid of lights everything about them is a good thing. 

Now advantages. It is so much cooler and comfortable to fish at night, you don’t have all the boat traffic, it is quiet and peaceful and the fishing can be absolutely incredible. During the summer you are much more likely to catch a fish of a life time at night than you are during the day.

Baits of choice. I head out night fishing with only three rods on the deck. Buzz bait, Colorado bladed spinnerbait, and a worm; and all in black!!!!! Color is not very important to me at night. I have found that black is the best as it cast the best silhouette against whatever light is present (Moon, night lights, boat dock lights). Color is simple but the bait can be changed in many different ways. When it comes to a spinnerbait I always use a Colorado blade but I do change the size of it quite often. At night a bass feeds primarily by feel, so the thump of the blade is more important than the flash. So just as you would change blade shape and color in the daytime to create a different flash you need to be concerned with the vibration at night. Some believe that the larger the thump the better but I have found that that is not always true. You need to match the hatch if you will at night also. If your fish are feeding on shad mostly you want a lighter thump and if bream are your primary forage then a larger thump. I have found that when fish are feeding on crawdads that a large blade with a slow retrieve works best. Again I don’t worry about color because I don’t believe that bass feed by sight at night as much as vibration, try to match the vibration that they want. When it comes to buzzbaits I like the noisiest one I can tie on simply again for the sound and vibration. I have also found that at night you shouldn’t pop or aggravate your retrieve. Both with spinnerbaits and buzz baits you want a steady retrieve to allow the bass to find it and hone in on it easily. When the bite slows down I like to use a large worm that will move a lot of water and create a large disturbance when it is moved again this is so the fish can feel it. Remember at night it is all about sound and vibration so you want to match your bait as much as possible to the way a baitfish feels or sounds more than the way it looks… 

To me night fishing is so incredible because the fishing is much more productive and your senses are on edge. It is so exhilarating to feel that thump on your worm rod or feel the swing of a baseball bat on your spinnerbait rod. Then you set the hook and it is on, you have a 5 pounder on the end of the line and he is thrashing around and you are trying to control him WOW what a rush!!!!!!!

Get the Net it’s a Hawg
Mike Cork