# night fishing



## madcrappiekids (Mar 11, 2006)

ok, i'm sure this has been coverd in the past, but.... need some advice/suggestions for fishing at night for bass. Looking at an all nighter soon and would like to find something to get a bite! 

I have all the usual baits, buzz, 10'' worms, cranks....

what i am looking for is something maybe you found by accident or homemade that has worked?

lighting ideas? i'm working on a rod with hanging lantern using a rod holder to extend a few feet from the boat. Also wondering about the black light/ neon lights....

any info would be appreciated!!


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## OSU_Fisherman (Mar 1, 2007)

I have only been night fishing once, so I'm sure somebody with more experience will step in. But what we found was that the less light you have the more you're actually able to see. Sounds weird, but your eyes adjust better when you don't have much light on your boat. At least that's how it was for us.

I bought a light that suction cups to the side of the boat and has a black light and a white light. Tried the white light at first and we ended up not being able to see outside the boundaries of the boat. Tried the black light,... and that did nothing because we were on Alum Creek and the light dome from Columbus is crazy so it never really got dark enough to need it in the south pool. We even ended up putting red cellophane over the LED Hat Clips we had. When they were uncovered we kept blinding each other whenever one guy looked at the other guy.

Another thing to consider... lantern on a pole = tons of bugs right by the boat


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## 1st shirt (Jan 11, 2008)

It's been a long time for me. Getting too old for those all nighters. LOL Always had my best luck using a black buzz bait. If you think it's hard to wait for a hook set when you see the strike, you may have trouble though. It's even harder (IMO) to wait when you can only hear the strike. Only used a light if I needed to navigate the boat. On public water you need to use the navigation lights when required though. Of course you probably knew that.  I have a friend in VA who swears by using a black light, but I never tried it. Good luck, let us know how you do.


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

I have done well with black senkos.
You can bring a black light with you and you can see your line pretty easily. Makes fishing that much easier.


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## ronnie_everett10 (May 20, 2008)

i fish bass tourneys at night all throuh the summer we never use lights only flashlights and the lights from the boat i have seen people using the black lights with little luck we always used the black buzz baits and jidderbugs and the chugbug works good too.


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## Tiny Tim (Sep 19, 2006)

I got one of those work lights that have a roung alum. reflector around it and the spring clamp on the bottom. You can clamp it on the side of your boat. I cut the plug off of it and put two clips on to hookup to the battery and got a 25 watt 12 volt bulb to put in it. You can tip it up enough to put light on the bank so you can see, but it wont scare the fish. I have got Smallmouth in 2 ft. of water using it. I like to throw black spinnerbaits at night. A good one to start with is the Rattlin Midnight Special. I put a black #11 pork frog on it for a trailer also. I like to use bucktail spinnerbaits better but they are hard to find so I started tying my own years ago. You can bring them back to the boat with a slow retrive ( stopping and starting it once in awhile ) but my favorite way to fish them is to slow-roll the spinnerbait. Just lift it off the bottom with enough force to feel the blade thump and let it fall back on a tight line. Hope this helps ya. Good Luck.


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## madcrappiekids (Mar 11, 2006)

thanks, all good info. I have fished crappie at night plenty over the years but that is a little different. Deep water and bobbers! 

OSU - the light on a pole is what we used to do to keep the bugs at bay, but i understand your point. The one thing I am wondering is how much affect (if any) would a spot light have on the banks? 


This is all in prep for the all night tournament out here in Lakengren so if we fish I want to be prepared....have two extra batteries for nav lights and livewell just in case - won't need em but..... 

noticed last night was a half moon....need to check moon chart and see if they planned it around a full moon or not?!?!?! hope so!


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## BASmead (Jan 11, 2008)

Night fishing in the summer is one of my favorite things to do. Bats love cast and retrieve. I've done well on chatterbaits and big colorado spinnerbaits in dark colors, particularly when there's a breeze. Of course jitterbugs and hula poppers work well still, though i don't like dealing with trebles at night. If it's glass calm though i like to fish lizards on the surface. The bigger the better, i like the Zoom magnum or even the 10 inch Madman in black. It's a simple method, just turn your troll on low and cover as much water as you can. Drag the lizard on top, it results in some thrilling explosions. It's strange, the lizard is a popular shape, but in everything ive seen or read about it nobody has ever mentioned this presentation. It's highly effective in the right conditions. I bet i've caught more fish on the topwater lizard than i have on any other bait, percentage wise. It can be a real numbers bait at times. Anybody else ever fish them on the top?


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## peteavsurace (May 15, 2008)

i night fish a 4 acre lake near my house at least 5 times a week, so i've read up on the best tactics for pulling bass in these conditions. apparently at night bass use only the sky above them and the ground below them as references for looking at stuff in the water (ie they can see things above them and below them easily but it is a struggle to see anything moving along side of them when there is no light). both of these reference points appear gray to them at night. as a result, it is hard for them to see many colors that work during the day. everything i've read has said that black lures are the only way to go at night because they contrast with gray the most. i've read that shaking plastic worms and lizards on the bottom is effective. i always go topwater though. my best lure this summer has BY FAR been a black hula popper. i retrieve it differently though: i keep my rod tip high and reel in at a medium speed while quickly twitching the tip up and down (giving it an effect of a frog skittering across the surface). i do this for 15 to 20 feet and then let it sit for maybe 3-4 seconds before doing it again. you can cover more ground this way than with a traditional hula popper retrieve, and it seems to be great at the lake where i fish.


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## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

I have used black jitterbug, black buzzbaits and a rebel pop-r with good luck, as for lighting I usually just take along a small maglite.


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## BassCrazy (Oct 11, 2007)

Black Buzzbait
Black Zara Spook
Pop-R
Hula Popper
Black Jitterbug

If there's some chop on the lake or they're squeamish about taking topwaters that night, you CANNOT BEAT a black long arm single spin (colorado blade) spinnerbait.

After it's been dark for a few hours and the activity on top has slowed, back off a bit and throw a crankbait that roots around on the bottom, especially if there's a good bullhead population in the lake.

Good Fishin'


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## madcrappiekids (Mar 11, 2006)

seems black is the color of choice, and I can go with that, going to BPS sunday night for the "special event" so I will be picking up some floating lizzards and a jitterbug or two. I have everything else mentioned. 

I did check and there is a full moon on the 19th so that is good! I think after reading the latest "Bassin" and from what everyone here has said I should be well prepared for it. 

One thing i am interested in is a frog....I have used them in heavy cover on ponds and they work well, there are a few arms that look like a frog should be common prey for a bass so I am interested to see how it works.


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## fish4life (Jun 27, 2004)

I woulddefinately have a Carolina adn Texas rig handy with a worm tied on. I prefer the Black Power worm in 7 and 10 inch lengths. I mainly fish these and a midnight special spinnerbait in Black/Blue. Ater dark I use teh Black Buzz bait aroud woo cover as well. Good Luck.


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## fish4life (Jun 27, 2004)

Sorry bout the typo's, I was rushing at work to get the post done.


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## madcrappiekids (Mar 11, 2006)

no problem....unfortunatly the trip got scrubbed....but i'll get out there soon!


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

i have had my most consistant luck at night on swimbaits, the 4in storm has been the best choice until they came out with the new types like the money minnow. go big and go slow and steady, they need to find that bait and a jerky retrieve will cause them to miss a bait. buzzbaits, double colorada spinnerbaits and rattletraps will also take fish. other bait i have done very well on in recent years is a 5in grub, #1 color clear, i have no idea why but it is the best nighttime bait i have used, i dont target largemouth with it btw they just keep eating it, as well as the smallies and the eyes. fish shallow, i have seen many fish so shallow that they're backs are within inches of the surface, but they are often very close some form of cover as wel as deeper water. also fish on the darkest nights you can find, low clouds and windy summer cold fronts are prime. as always never fish for bass without a jignpig ready for heavy cover if it is slow.
goodluck


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