More Night Fishing Questions about Bass

[Marone]

I've never really fished at night for bass before, but I had som questions about it that I hope you all can help me with.

In general, how well can bass see in the dark?
Does there need to a lot of moon light for the fishing to be productive?
Why are colors such as black suggested more over "brighter colors"?
It being winter, the water is murky and cold, can night fishing still be productive?
What affects does the full moon and new moon have on bass?

Thank you
Marone

[Steve]

I've never really fished at night for bass before, but I had som questions about it that I hope you all can help me with.

In general, how well can bass see in the dark?
Does there need to a lot of moon light for the fishing to be productive?
Why are colors such as black suggested more over "brighter colors"?
It being winter, the water is murky and cold, can night fishing still be productive?
What affects does the full moon and new moon have on bass?

Thank you
Marone

Bass can see fine at night, they have no problem finding what you are offering. But, bulking up the bait and adding rattles is standard; anything that pushes more water or is louder "supposedly" helps the bass find your offering better in low light conditions. One of my favorites is the Zorro short arm spinnerbait with a great big thumping Colorado.

Moonlight? I hate it, others love it, treat it like sunlight (ie, look for shade). On moonless nights I think the bass roam more and are easier to catch.

Supposedly darker baits provide a better silhouette at night making the bait easier to find. Not sure I believe this, but I do stick to darker baits at night. They work for me and thats where my confidence is.

In general, the clearer the water the better the night bite. Winter can be fantastic so I hear, I dont do it much; but Ive been told its not a numbers game, but a toady toad game.

My experience with the moons is I like a new moon I hate a full moon. Everybody has their own opinion, thats just mine. I think the bottom line is the best time to night fish is when you have time to night fish. Plus, in my experience, weather has a much larger effect on night fishing than the moon does.

Night fishing is still just fishing, and on any givin night you still have to adjust to the fishs behavior. If its January, cold, and muddy as heck, but the fish are biting 3 inch dropshot worms, dont ask any questions just keep doing it

[bassindon69]

You can use the same lures at night that are used in the day. Plastics, Cranks, Blades, jigs, even top water. You might try plastics with and without a rattle, same with jigs. You can work your baits slow or fast even. It depends on what you can get them to hit. I have had good nights on full or new moon. Some big ones have come on new moon for me but I have done well on any given night. Don't let the moon stop you from going LOL!
They don't need to see at all to strike. Displacing water is enough for them to know something is there.
For colors dark casts a better shadow, June bug, greenpumkin, watermelon colors are good BUT! don't just use them other colors will work also again let the fish tell you.
Sure it can and is productive. It maybe 30 degrees out side but the water is still in the 50's, there is less pressure from others and like Mc Clure I have had a 10+ and a 11+ in December at Night with some nice spots up to 5 lbs. You may find the fish right next to the bank too. The best thing you can do is to try ALWAYS to let the fish tell you what they want not me or anyone else. Then try to fine tune it.
Get yourself a head light and a spare flashlight or two with extra batteries and of coarse a spot light. PLENTY of warm clothes is a must and even a rain suit. I have had fog roll in and had to stay the night before and in the fog or even from the mist on the water everything gets wet.
I hope this helps
Good luck. Be Careful.

Don.

[Curadodude]

As far as the colors...some like white, some like black. I have heard both. BIG worms work well. Like mentioned above bulk up and add noise, as fish use their lateral line to locate baits, so sound and vibration helps.

I love to throw jigs at night. My PB came on a jig in 10 feet of water at 10:30 p.m. In the middle of summer. It was a 8.12oz Largie, and for up here at shasta, its a toad

[bassindon69]

LOL hey steve sounds the same to me LOL!
Good luck !

Don.

[Allantek]

You need to check out my web-site www.bass-tek.com

Boalites Night Vision for "big fish"

[Johnny C]

Don does great at night...I fish a lot at night too and here are a few more tips.. The best night fishing can be in the winter like Don said..Then the next best time is late spring..This is usually when the last fish are spawning and the first spawners are on a post spawn bite. Night fish at this time can be super aggressive and there are lots of giants..It can be cold but it will be worth it. Also remember the smelly jelly.

[Larry Hemphill]

Wow, one could write a book just to answer those questions -which are good ones! You might be interested in looking up the archives of Gary Yamamoto's INSIDE LINE magazine. I have written several complete articles on night fishing since I used to have to do a lot of that while I was teaching school. Didn't sleep much but I sure had fun! The main reason I like night fishing so much is that every cast you make COULD be the cast of your lifetime! That possibility doesn't exist during the day. Many times at Clear Lake I would guide a day trip, nap, and then a night trip - or visa versa. I would often fish the exact areas and the average fish would weigh 1 1/2 to 2 lb more at night than during the day, especially in summer and fall. Big bass in lakes just don't feed much during the day. This doesn't include all the trophy bass that were caught at night by clients and myself. Four of the largest bass in my Ranger at Clear Lake by my clients and me (12-1 to 13-3) were caught at night and a 12-9 client bass after sunset. Other than the spawning period, these monsters don't make many mistakes and usually can't be caught after the first hour of light. After 8 to 10 years of life underwater, they have the drill down and will feed at the quietest times or during the most horrible weather conditions. As for the moon, if you are going to fish the full moon in clear water, you must find shadows - rocks, walls, docks, overhanging trees, etc. This includes Clear Lake, even though is it usually murky. I will not fish an off-shore rock pile at Clear Lake in the summer and fall full moon. If I do, I will try to find the side of the pile with the shadows, and fish deeper. Look at the shore line and see what the moon is doing with the rock walls. The same thing is happening underwater! It is always better to look into the moon when night fishing because the shadows will be in front of you! The best time to skip night fishing is during summer or winter cold fronts - especially summer ones. Cold fronts bring in a lot of cool, moist air from the ocean and it tends to shut off bass more at night than during the day. As was mentioned, used baits that have a lot of BULK. Some of my favorites are brush hogs (large), 10" Power worms, big Rattlin' Weapon jigs with a big trailer - with lots of Smelly Jelly, big rattling black crankbaits, and black/red spinnerbaits with a big, thumping blade. Don't retrieve it with the same boring motion however. Vary it some and ever deadstick it. Colors just arn't important as long as they are dark so the bass can silhouette the bait against the night sky. Black and Junebug are excellent. Finally, if you are not going night fishing with a guide or a good friend that knows what he is doing, BE CAREFUL!! Stay in a comfortable area, not too far away from the launch ramp. Wait until spring debris clears. I would pick a small lake to start like Lake Amador, or part of a big lake, like Markley Cove at Lake Berryessa. I love the Lime Saddle area at Lake Oroville during the summer and fall because of the huge floodlights that are on all night and you have a big area to fish and wind should never be a problem. Later on, you might try the dark of the moon. That is when it gets exciting!!!! Hope this helps you a bit. Good luck.

[Marty]

Just fished reading my issue of FLW Outdoors Magazine (December 2005 issue) and it had a great article about “One angler’s research sheds light in the darkness that is big bass behaviorâ€

[Marone]

Dang! Thanks for all the information, I definitely learned a lot of tips form all you guys. If i were to have gone out night fishing before i posted this, i would have REALLY been fishing in the dark and now there's a lot more LIGHT shed for me while fishing at night!!
I'll be hittin COYOTE from the bank first as soon as I have my next day off, I'll let all of you know how I do!

Mario

[FATGUY]

morning want a great night experience .. wait til larry gets off his walker ( sorry larry the devil made me say that) actually larry had a little surgery .. anyway the first time i went at night with larry he caught a 6 an 8 and a 11 i thought wow this must be easy . even i caught a couple nice 5's or so .. all nights aren't like that ....right larry ?? but he will teach you a bunch about night fishing that you won't get by reading.. its well woth the price of a guide trip ..... want to talk more about this send me an e-mail ..bob

[FATGUY]

hey larry if he signs don't forget to send me my finders fee.. ho ho .. four more days til EL SALTO !!!!!!!!! BOB