# Night Wading



## RiparianRanger

Anyone ever do it? 

Have fished lakes with topwater in the summer before but never had the stones to wade out in a flow at night. Am I nuts to try this? And is it likely to be effective this time of year with air temps and water temps where they currently are?

Yesterday was a full moon. Tonight is a little overcast but tomorrow is supposed to be clear. Thinking I may bring an arsenal of spinner baits and other vibration sending lures and give it a go tomorrow.


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## Deazl666

I do it all the time. Only wade water you know very well; don't take unnecessary risks; tell someone where you are going; wear a headlamp. Baits that make a lot of noise work well as does anything painted black. The topwater night bite is typically very good and exciting as all get out.


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## Big Joshy

Deazl666 said:


> I do it all the time. Only wade water you know very well; don't take unnecessary risks; tell someone where you are going; wear a headlamp. Baits that make a lot of noise work well as does anything painted black. The topwater night bite is typically very good and exciting as all get out.


Until Bigfoot comes for you!


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## greatmiami

One of my favorite things to do, do it all winter long. Like deaz said, know the area, and obviously never Wade high water. Big foots don't normally like wet feet, it takes forever for them to dry, so as long as you are out away from the bank and large overhanging trees you should be OK, but of course don't ever mess with one!


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## wallen34

Love night wading! I do it in the summer all the time for smallies. Generally I fish top water baits for them and it's a blast, not to mention it's a great way to catch a big one. I have also caught quite a few eyes on top water fishing after dark in the summer.


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## nitefisher

I was out fishing a lake last night and saw an incredible amount of topwater action. I saw one go by 10 yards in front of me like a jet ski from left to right... came out of the water 3 times about a foot high chasing after something moving fast. It looked at least as big as the 5.5 lber I got a few weeks ago.


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## Photog

Colorado bladed baits are a great night time treat for bass!


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## flytyer

Big Joshy said:


> Until Bigfoot comes for you!


Well, Deazl did say use anything black! I think bigfoot would qualify!


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## RiparianRanger

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## fishslim

I will tell you also a 3.25 lime Big Joshy on a 1/8th ounce jig orange or pink. Is killer after dark in the Scioto I fish night a ton and while fishing for eyes the smallies say hello. Had a beast on last night over 20" she hit in a slick off main current and jumped 3 times before tearing off in the fast current. What a rush at night.


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## Redoctober

I've caught some big saugeye night wading on spinnerbaits


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## Deazl666

Big Joshy said:


> Until Bigfoot comes for you!


...which reminds me, one last tip when night fishing, always be aware of your surroundings.


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## reyangelo

Nice catches. I wade nights plenty throughout the year. One thing I do is wade ONLY waters I've been to many times during the day and felt comfortable/knowledgeable.

I make sure to carry backup headlamps, last thing you want is no lighting available at pitch dark nights. I tend to wade slower in the nights to avoid taking a spill. There is extra activity at night compared to the day dependent where you go too. I have encountered beavers, snapping turtles, bucks, fox, etc at various locations. Beavers are by far the most surprising at night; at one instance it is very quiet and dark....then, Bam - loud crack in the water which happen to be a beaver smacking his tail on the water.

Be safe and careful.

Just a sidenote. I always send my family gps tracking via mobile app, they can view my position from the moment I leave home until I get back home. Mainly for safety reason, but in case of any emergency they know where I am at all the time.


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## cbutz

Just take your gun too


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## percidaeben

Looks like a big red horse sucker. Nice catch.


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## RiparianRanger

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## Deazl666

BronzebackFanatic said:


> Thanks for the ID. Might have to start targeting these things. A damn strong fish. A quick web search reveals some folks eat these things. Anyone ever give it a go?
> 
> Some info:
> 
> http://www.in-fisherman.com/other-fish/suckers/slipfloating-suckers-‘horses/
> 
> http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/fish/river-redhorse


I caught a river redhorse a few years ago on a live crawdad. That thing put up one helluva fight. They're an indicator of a healthy stream.


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## afellure12

What is the advantage of getting in the water rather than walking along the bank?


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## afellure12

Do you only wade fish shallow water to be safe?


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## RiparianRanger

afellure12 said:


> What is the advantage of getting in the water rather than walking along the bank?


In some instances the bank is inaccessible either due to terrain (steepness) or vegetation. With wading I'm also better able to get the right angle on my presentation. If I want to place a lure right in a current seam I can better do so when I don't have to contend with limitations found standing at water's edge. So access is the primary benefit. An added bonus in many cases to wading is less overhead tree cover. You can stand in the middle of the stream and fan cast at leisure with little fear of having your line wrapped around a honeysuckle. Personally, I prefer wading because it allows me to feel the streambed. I can more accurately gauge depth and bottom substrate by walking it rather than inferring based on sight combined with lure depth and feel. This most often comes in handy upon return visits. And lastly, if I do get hung up, which is nearly a certainty river fishing, I am inclined to go in after the damn thing and manually remove the snag. I lose a lot fewer lures wading than fishing from the bank.


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## RiparianRanger

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## reyangelo

afellure12 said:


> What is the advantage of getting in the water rather than walking along the bank?


There are many good areas which are only accessible wading. I was just out wading and bank fishing today. Hiked plenty thru some woods and waded some coves which are primariIy available going thru water. These coves resulted in 24 Crappie, 35 White Bass, and 12 Catfish (kept 1 White Bass @ 14" and 1 Catfish @ 24"....remainder released and gave 1 Catfish to someone). Without the waders I would not have had the oppoortunity to get to these coves and catch some of these fish.

Additionally, like Bronze mentioned earlier...there are plenty obstacles to overcome from certain banks including overhead trees. Plus in the past 4 weeks I've scored 1 nice lure each week (3 Rapalas and 1 Storm) from trees; only accessible wading and using certain MacGyver creativity. The good weather is coming so I'm sure to find more gear in trees. I know I left 1 of my own Rapala's which at this time is unattainable in a tree.

One more plus on wading in this season is feeling water temps. Last week, on one day I caught ~36 Crappie, next day I felt the water colder and it took much longer to catch 24. I knew it had to do with the colder water temps. I could keep going but will just end by saying wading (if possible) provides more opportunity in certain restricted/inaccessible (by bank) areas.


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## dre

I have a spot on the Scioto that a buddy and I fished two years in a row at night and would have 30+ Smallie nights all on Black Buzzbait. It was an absolute blast. Thing is, I rarely ever caught anything in this spot during the day. But on these warm summer nights, they were there for some reason. We figured out we didn't even need to start fishing until 10:30pm. That was the magic time they started hitting the buzz at this spot. I don't hang out with that guy anymore and haven't tried the night Buzzbait there for 2 years. Anyone want to partner up some night and see if those Smallies still stack up in that spot at night, let me know? Btw they were mainly all 14-17 inch Smallies with the occasional 18.


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## RiparianRanger

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## dre

We'll have to get out there soon. This spot of the Scioto is best for this night time top water when the flow is a little low and slow. Not sure what it is looking like right now.



BronzebackFanatic said:


> ^Yes!


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## Smallmouth Crazy

I have waded at night but as you said only in normal to low water, I get there just before dark so I can actually get a look at the water, also I only wade stretches that I know well, I don't even get close to chest deep water, I have pretty good luck with black jitterbugs.


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## dre

This is pretty much spot on with what I do. I've never night waded unfamiliar spots, just a lot of danger in doing that, for obvious reasons. I'll either get out top water river/creek fishing an hour before dark or at 10:30 after its been dark for a bit. Bite seems to pick back up after the 'right before/at dark bite' in the spot I go to on the Scioto around 10:30-11:00.



Smallmouth Crazy said:


> I have waded at night but as you said only in normal to low water, I get there just before dark so I can actually get a look at the water, also I only wade stretches that I know well, I don't even get close to chest deep water, I have pretty good luck with black jitterbugs.


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## fishintechnician

txt me dre, we can hit it up


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## Smallmouth Crazy

I also walk very very slow, feel my way along, I have night waded alone but it doesn't hurt to have someone with you, the only negative I have found to night wading is on a rare occasion I will have a carp take off from my feet when that happens in the dead of night you will get in touch with your feminine side lol.


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## reyangelo

Smallmouth Crazy said:


> I also walk very very slow, feel my way along, I have night waded alone but it doesn't hurt to have someone with you, the only negative I have found to night wading is on a rare occasion I will have a carp take off from my feet when that happens in the dead of night you will get in touch with your feminine side lol.


LOL...I've had beavers sneak in close (recon style) and smack their tails in the water. Basically, it is very quiet and peaceful with only the sounds of nature/Water flow/etc...then BAM!!! One of these days I am going to develop an appetite for beaver and take up trapping


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## eyes1501

I plan on wading some alum coves tonight. Weather permitting. It will be a first for me on alum in the dark. I can't wait. Hopefully the twisters will bring some fat saugeye in.


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## dre

Please be careful wading in a lake. The depth can drastically change faster and deeper in a lake as opposed to a river/creek. Good luck!



eyes1501 said:


> I plan on wading some alum coves tonight. Weather permitting. It will be a first for me on alum in the dark. I can't wait. Hopefully the twisters will bring some fat saugeye in.


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## eyes1501

Thanks. I know the cove bottoms well enouph that I m going to. I haven't had any day lightuck recently so I'm going to try when the sun goes down.


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## RiparianRanger

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## dre

Hahaha not a master, but hoping this top water luck continues!



BronzebackFanatic said:


> Just ask Dre for pointers. He's the nocturnal smallie master.


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## RiparianRanger

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## Smallmouth Crazy

I was out the other night and only caught one and missed another, luckily the one I caught was a nice fat 17-18" fish, noticed a couple guys walking out as I was headed in so they might have spooked things a bit, my main night time lure for smallies is a jitterbug, I fish ponds at night for LM though and open things up a bit, I use Senkos, Lizards, Brush hogs, some cranks, spinnerbaits, Berkley Power Worms.


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## OnTheFly

BronzebackFanatic said:


> Curious what everyones' preferred lure selection at night is. Often hear that top water is good for night fishing. Rattle traps, and spinners also get a lot of mentions. Presumably because of the audible nature of these baits or high level of water movement. I hear less about swim baits and jigs as well as t-rig worms and wacky rig worms. Would an angler be wasting his or her time tossing a tube or craw or any of the aforementioned soft plastics at night?


I have caught plenty of fish on t-rigged plastics after dark. My biggest alum smallmouth from last year was caught on a tube after dark. that is when the crayfish really like to come out!


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## ttipul

BronzebackFanatic said:


> Got out from 10:30 to about 12:30. Rode my bike to a familiar couple holes and realized I forgot my phone half way there. Sorry no pictures. Had I been driving I might have turned around but given the weather I wasn't expecting much anyway.
> 
> My expectations quickly changed for the better when on about the sixth cast into the headwaters of a pool bringing the prop bait up into a mid-calf deep riffle I was standing in, a solid 14" smallie smacked the lure. Beautiful marks on the fish made me regret not having a means to photograph it. Feisty too and bringing it against a reasonably stiff current only added to the challenge. Shortly thereafter I moved upstream about 50 yards to another hole. This time using a buzz bait casting perpendicular with the stream and retrieving about 45 degrees up stream another 14, er call it 15 incher with a good stretch, came up and whacked the lure. Feel kind of bad about this one. She got such a good bite on the lure the hook came in through the eye socket. I was able to minimize the trauma by carefully removing the hook but I'm uncertain if any permanent damage was inflicted. It did not look as though the hook went through the pupil but the barb made extraction a bit of a challenge. I felt better when after nursing her back to her senses she shot away back into the pool.
> 
> Sprinkle in a couple rock bass and a missed strike from a gar three feet from where I was standing and it was an OK outing, despite the drizzling rain and the nearly dead battery (another thing I forgot - a spare battery) in my head lamp that relegated me to lighting my activity via the lowest amber light only. So much for that lunar cycle.


can I direct message you?


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## yugrac

almost everywhere I wade has no or very little bank to fish from, heavy under growth, and most of the ground around it is private property. I dont fish in the city, where I am at there is nothing but farm ground and woods on both sides of the river. Mostly straight up on both sides and nearly impossible to even get up the bank, I use a rope tied to the bumper of my truck to get down to and back up the bank in one spot I go, the best places are where no one can easily get to.


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## yugrac

Leaky waders are the pits!


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## percidaeben

It's August! No need for waders!!!!


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## HappySnag

RiparianRanger said:


> Is this fish full of eggs or just full after a heck of a meal?


I would say full of eggs.


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

Interesting take on September smallmouth top water night bite

http://www.fieldandstream.com/pull-late-season-bronzebacks-after-dark?dom=flipboard&src=syn&?ads=off


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

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## dre

I been catching a couple at night here and there at night. Just slowly working swimbaits and twisters off rocks. This picture was actually about a month ago at dark, 9:17pm to be exact. But it has been sllloowww for me so far man. My cousin did something on his phone to lighten the picture, hence why it’s somewhat blurry. I think you probably know where this is too!



RiparianRanger said:


> Curious what the OGF membership thinks the probability of success would be night fishing for smallmouth this early in the season _this year_.
> 
> Looking back at this thread it’s possible to hook a few after dark as early as April. However it goes without saying this is no ordinary year with overnight lows still dipping into the 30s as recently as last night. I’m curious if the resultant cooler water temperature would translate into inactivity and fish that simply won’t chase a moving lure like a thumping spinner or wobbling crank.
> 
> What say you, OGF, yay or nay to a night wade this week?


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## RiparianRanger

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## RiparianRanger

Well, it's possible to find them at night under current conditions. 

Got stuck staying late at work with my gear in the car which ruined my plan to wet a line before going home. Had a few items to attend to before I could head out and see if the night bite was on. Grabbed the boots and waders and hit the hole around 9. Tried a spot that had a good mix of faster flow and deeper slack areas. Seeing as Deazl took a twenty on a hard bait a few days before I tied on a shallow shad rap and began fan casting. Got hung up and proceeded with a few tugs to free the lure. Made another cast and thought “huh” not much resistance; did I break the lip on this thing? Reeled in. Yep. Sure did. Going to have to stop by F&S tomorrow for an SSR07 in silver. All the literature and myriad posts on OGF say white or chartreuse spinner baits are deadly in spring so I next tied on a medium size white double willow spinner with a twin tail grub trailer. Flung that around for about 40 minutes leaving no spot ignored. Slow rolled, fast, hopping, you name it, nothing. Up until this point I hadn’t paid much attention to the color of the water. Upon inspection it appeared stained but not heavy with suspended particles. Thought to myself I better appeal to their lateral lines and give it one last shot with something with some thump. Out came a small wide wobble crankbait that was worked perpendicular to the flow standing on the edge of swifter current casting across to a deeper eddy. About five casts in the line goes heavy and I think I’m hung up until it starts moving. Finally fish on! And it’s a decent one too. No jumps but she gave a few solid head shakes. Lipping her was a bit precarious with the swift current at my feet. A quick photo, measurement and check on the scale revealed a respectable 16” fish weighing in at 2 lbs with nice marks. OK. Now I know they can be caught at night during pre-spawn. Back to see if there’s more. Not ten casts later same deal. Bringing the lure out of the eddy up into the seam of the knee-deep run another smallmouth smacks it. This one feels better. Not wanting to risk losing her in the current I wade out to meet her and have my second nocturnal smallmouth of the year. Again, quick measure and weight to accompany the photo. She checks in at 17” and 2.45lbs. Alright now I’m sensing a pattern. Ditto a few casts later and it’s fish on again only this time it’s a dink largemouth. That was the last fish of the night. All fish came within thirty minutes of each other. Stuck around maybe another twenty minutes and called it a night. 

Mostly clear ~50 degrees. Water 52F.


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## Saugeyefisher

RiparianRanger said:


> Well, it's possible to find them at night under current conditions.
> 
> Got stuck staying late at work with my gear in the car which ruined my plan to wet a line before going home. Had a few items to attend to before I could head out and see if the night bite was on. Grabbed the boots and waders and hit the hole around 9. Tried a spot that had a good mix of faster flow and deeper slack areas. Seeing as Deazl took a twenty on a hard bait a few days before I tied on a shallow shad rap and began fan casting. Got hung up and proceeded with a few tugs to free the lure. Made another cast and thought “huh” not much resistance; did I break the lip on this thing? Reeled in. Yep. Sure did. Going to have to stop by F&S tomorrow for an SSR07 in silver. All the literature and myriad posts on OGF say white or chartreuse spinner baits are deadly in spring so I next tied on a medium size white double willow spinner with a twin tail grub trailer. Flung that around for about 40 minutes leaving no spot ignored. Slow rolled, fast, hopping, you name it, nothing. Up until this point I hadn’t paid much attention to the color of the water. Upon inspection it appeared stained but not heavy with suspended particles. Thought to myself I better appeal to their lateral lines and give it one last shot with something with some thump. Out came a small wide wobble crankbait that was worked perpendicular to the flow standing on the edge of swifter current casting across to a deeper eddy. About five casts in the line goes heavy and I think I’m hung up until it starts moving. Finally fish on! And it’s a decent one too. No jumps but she gave a few solid head shakes. Lipping her was a bit precarious with the swift current at my feet. A quick photo, measurement and check on the scale revealed a respectable 16” fish weighing in at 2 lbs with nice marks. OK. Now I know they can be caught at night during pre-spawn. Back to see if there’s more. Not ten casts later same deal. Bringing the lure out of the eddy up into the seam of the knee-deep run another smallmouth smacks it. This one feels better. Not wanting to risk losing her in the current I wade out to meet her and have my second nocturnal smallmouth of the year. Again, quick measure and weight to accompany the photo. She checks in at 17” and 2.45lbs. Alright now I’m sensing a pattern. Ditto a few casts later and it’s fish on again only this time it’s a dink largemouth. That was the last fish of the night. All fish came within thirty minutes of each other. Stuck around maybe another twenty minutes and called it a night.
> 
> Mostly clear ~50 degrees. Water 52F.


Well-done!


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## Tinknocker1

welcome to the dark side RR nice report !


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## RiparianRanger

Tonight's lesson was... _slow down_.

I arrived to the hole just before 9 and started out with a chartreuse square bill. I was working it pretty quick deflecting it off rock trying to elicit a reaction strike. That muscle memory must've stuck with me because when that didn't work I swapped it out for a slush Josh minnow and in hindsight I probably worked it too fast. When that didn't work I moved further down the finesse spectrum and went with a wacky rigged senko. Found the current too swift to keep it in the strike zone and abandoned that approach. After nearly 90 minutes of nothing I tried another go with a shallow running crank bait. This time slowing the retrieve. And finally(!) my quarry (that I knew was in the hole) took the bait. On the other end was a respectable 16.25" well patterned smallmouth weighing in at 2 lbs on the dot. It was getting late and I had to be up early so I quit while I was ahead. 

52 degrees and clear. Water 56 degrees.


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## RiparianRanger

Another lesson learned. This time around it was _always check the drag_. 

Got out tonight just as the sun was setting. Moderate current. Stained water. A muddy creek was emptying into the primary flow. Threw josh swims and caught a pair of smallmouth in the 14-15” range. With the sun set and water muddying up I opted for something louder and swapped for a red eye shad. Got a dink largemouth and in about my fifteenth last cast to an obvious seam something hit on the fall and felt like I hooked a tractor. It swam right toward me, then across current, and away from me. About a rods length away it made one last surge and “pop” went my line and sayonara to my red eye shad. Guessing a shovel head. 

An autopsy of the big one that got away revealed that the drag on the reel was set to the max from a previous outing where I cleared a backlash (see link below if unfamiliar with this trick). Had the drag been set properly I think the beast could’ve been worked to give me a shot at landing her. The frustrating part is this is far from the first fish lost to improper drag settings. I store my reels with the drag turned way low if they’re going to be inactive for anymore than a couple of weeks. On many an occasion I’ve grabbed a combo from the rack only to set the hook on a strike and realize the drag is virtually free spooling. Needless to say many a fish has spit the lure with too loose of drag settings. But tonight it was too tight and a snapped line. Always. Check. The drag.


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## RiparianRanger

For my nocturnal angling brethren... stumbled upon the below. Thought worth sharing. 

http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/tips-for-bass-fishing-at-night/


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## RiparianRanger

2018 has thus far been an odd year. Smallmouth numbers are down. Meanwhile, the frequency of encounters with green bass during daytime outings is way up, and nocturnal wades have yielded a sizeable uptick in the numbers of saugeye, and good size too. I’ve landed three Fish Ohio saugeye this year, and this is coming from an angler that does not target the darn things. Add to that haul a good number of 18-20” fish that have been caught incidentally as well. 

Again, I'm far from a saugeye expert, in fact the species is more of a nuisance to me necessitating I use the lip grips in lieu of a thumb to avoid teeth, but the one constant seems to be they are more frequented at night. So, for those bitten by the saugeye bug can you all confirm the nocturnal tendencies of this species? Are they known for feeding after dark?

Two more - a 19" and a 20.5" - were landed on a recent night time outing. All released to wind up on the stringer of somebody else, as always.


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## fishslim

well yes ssugeyes are busy at night but also get busy in thr heat of the summer day. and shallow at that. type in saugeye on UTUBE or nighttime saugeye. I have some saugeye seminars that talk about where when why what to use. Think they might give you some other pointers


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## RiparianRanger

Got out this week for the first time in too long. The last few sporadic, short trips have been uncharacteristically slow for the summer season. Still, I couldn't let a clear, late-July evening in the upper 60s go to waste so I packed everything up and hit a stretch I hadn't probed in at least two seasons. Following the advice of andyman I tied on a WP and waded a long section of laminar flow ranging from knee to waist deep in search of smallmouth. What little cover existed was comprised of weeds and this is where I encountered a few bass, along the weed lines. Starting out at ~8:45 and enjoying the aid of a clear sky and nearly full moon I had little need for the headlamp unless unhooking a fish. Think I caught four in the 13-15" range with another coming unbuttoned. 

On the ride home I made a pit stop at another spot and experienced a first - saugeye on top water. I knew something was up when retrieving downstream and 45 degrees across a knee deep riffle the line went heavy but I did not see/feel any jumps. I thought for a moment I hooked a floating stick until it started pulling back. Kicking on the headlamp revealed those familiar glowing eyes and on the line was a (guessing) 19" saugeye.

While far from a saugeye specialist there are a few things I've learned over the years 1) where there's one there are usually more, and 2) they are suckers for chartreuse. Having struck out with my primary quarry I figured it worth seeing if there were more saug fish in the area. I swapped out the top water presentation for a chartreuse square bill. Employing a twisting/swinging rod action to get the lure down in the swift flow, on the first cast into the abyss of darkness the retrieve was met with a virtual halt of the lure; a peculiar feel indeed in water flowing quickly in my direction leading me to think it may have snagged on grass. The sensation promptly shifted from snag to fish on when it began thrashing and shaking its head in the seam. A decent fight for a saugeye but ultimately landed and a welcome sight for sure - what I would guess is close to a 24" saugeye. 

I've lost count, but this year has been accompanied by more big saugeye than all my prior years of angling combined. If only the master angler award could be achieved via a single species 2018 would be the year I’d finally earn the pin.


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## RiparianRanger

Got out for a couple hours after nightfall. Slow going. Lipped three with a fourth, a solid perhaps 17" smallmouth, coming unbuttoned. Water was very low with one foot visibility. All catches appeared well fed. The biggest of the night was a 19" bucket mouth. The trick seemed to be slow-to-medium retrieve speed perpendicular to the current. They'd hit the suspending stick bait on the pause in the seam near deeper water. Guessing that's been what was missing from my earlier outings this month, the patience to let it sit for a couple seconds.

By the way, does it look like that bass has cataracts? Both eyes looked kind of frosted over.


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## RiparianRanger

Tried my luck once more with the stick bait. This time three saugeye over 18" with the largest a FO qualifier checking in at 24.5". Water was up slightly with the steady rain from earlier and quite a bit more murky, although it was far from clear the prior outing. One crappie to add to the roster. No bass though something tested my drag before spitting the slim's bait Joshy; guessing catfish.


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## RiparianRanger

May have finally cracked the code this season. After a long drought of minimal smallmouth (and coincidentally a lot of big saugeye and more largemouth than past years) the last outing was overwhelmingly smallmouth. Hit a stretch of river after 9 PM. Tied on a Joshy craw and got a dink smallmouth. Not much after that so moved to a different stretch. Tried a trusty tube and promptly hooked two decent bronzebacks. Opted for something with more search capability and got another on the slim's bait Joshy swim. All in landed seven between a foot long and perhaps 16". Best three are shown below (notice the first one is missing a pectoral fin; sure didn't hinder it from fighting). Hooked what sure felt like and looked close to an FO smallmouth on the swim bait but she freed herself at my ankles as I was reaching for her. And hooked a saugeye on top water for the second time this week (and 2nd time ever). This time it was on a buzzbait in knee deep water. Decent fight but no pic. Shook off the stinger hook as I was holding it up by the lure trying to grab my lip grips to avoid the fangs.


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## RiparianRanger

Was out recently and found the bite slow going. Handful of smallmouth, the largest being around 15". Hooked and on find for this flow. Guessing a white bass. Can anyone confirm? Joshy swims seemed to be the ticket.


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## Brahmabull71

RiparianRanger said:


> Was out recently and found the bite slow going. Handful of smallmouth, the largest being around 15". Hooked and on find for this flow. Guessing a white bass. Can anyone confirm? Joshy swims seemed to be the ticket.


Yep...white bass.


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## RiparianRanger

Recent rainfall brought a local flow up a few feet so headed out to a confluence and tried my luck. No smallmouth but did land a few trash fish. First one was taken on a square bill and I swear I wanted to murder this fish. The damn thing hit ten feet away from me and I didn't have the lip grips easily accessible. Fumbling around trying to keep it at bay for a second it makes a run right into my leg and buries a hook in my waders right at the knee. So there I am in swift current me and this damn fish connected by a pair of hooks on a lure. That was fun trying to unhook the thing. I eventually freed it and snapped a photo before making my way back to shore to cut the hook shank rather than make the hole worse by trying to back the hook out. Second saug-fish came on an x-rap. This one actually put up a pretty good fight for a saug-fish. Made a few runs into the current. If it wasn't for the lack of jumping I thought for a second it was a smallie. Estimating both were in the 20" range. Nothing else to show for a couple hours of passing time.


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## RiparianRanger

Curious if flows have warmed up enough for the night bite to be in play or if it’s still more of a day bite.


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## percidaeben

There’s always a night bite. Just know the area you plan on wading and have a reliable lamp!


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## RiparianRanger

percidaeben said:


> There’s always a night bite. Just know the area you plan on wading and have a reliable lamp!


Maybe so from a technical perspective, although I don't hear many stories about guys landing smallmouth after dark in February. I was inquiring more about the practical extent of a night bite, particularly in regards to smallmouth. I have not been out in a while and this Spring seems to be a touch on the cool side compared to history. Was just curious whether or not water temps have gotten up to the point where even in the absence of the sun's warming rays the fish are out cruising for a meal.


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## Athens_Smallmouth

Yes. They are biting at night right now. I have caught a few bass in the past couple of weeks well after sunset. Smallmouth, white bass and Largemouth all making appearances. Jerkbaits and 1/8 oz jigs with a small plastic like a joshy or twister tail grub worked for me.


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## Mr. Basskisser

I would wait til summmertime.


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## Saugeyefisher

Getting closer to spawn,they wont turn down any opportunity to feed,even after dark.


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## Morrowtucky Mike

RiparianRanger said:


> Maybe so from a technical perspective, although I don't hear many stories about guys landing smallmouth after dark in February. I was inquiring more about the practical extent of a night bite, particularly in regards to smallmouth. I have not been out in a while and this Spring seems to be a touch on the cool side compared to history. Was just curious whether or not water temps have gotten up to the point where even in the absence of the sun's warming rays the fish are out cruising for a meal.


There is ALWAYS a night bite. Maybe not every nite but if you go out on nites that should produce there is always a good bite somewhere. Doesn’t matter the water temp or the conditions above water. I’ve jumped from reservoirs and found a night bite that wasn’t happening on the first one I tried. Just get out and do it instead of waiting on a hot report! It’s time!!


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## Craw-dad

Theres nothing better than a dark creek with a top water explosion and a spool unspooling. Its coming!


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