Night Fishing!!!

[Gary Korsgaden]

This past fall I had a taste of great night fishing. I am hooked. Does anyone care to share some times of the year and methods that work well. What about moon? Methods etc. I have put LED lights on the interior of my boat !!!! Help me out thanks

[brigeton]

Here in Michigan I troll crankbaits along sharp dropoffs in 10' to 15' 1 to 1.3 mph with the bowmount. Hold on to the rod or you'll miss light biters. A front transducer for the ff is a great help. Keep light on the water to a minimum. Thanksgiving to ice up is the best time of year.

[Yellow Fever]

Gary...Like you I am hooked on night fishing. I have been doing it for years and have a couple of things I do. I don't like having any lights on if I am shallow water casting(5-10 feet) so i painted the hoop of my net white with a touch of luminesent paint. The biggest piece of advice is to know the area where you are fishing...all the areas i fish i fish them during the days and mark "things" on my GPS. Also I always have my rods rigged ahead of time to save time. Also since i use the 3700 boxes i keep one for my "hot lures" so i don't have to open multiple boxes looking for lures. I don't think you can use to big a lure at night either so don't be afraid to try your larger baits hope these ideas help

[dan or]

1. Fish 3 days before thru 3 days after a full moon
2. Scout all the places you want to fish during the day. Lay in gps points and trails. Especially how to get home
3. Fish and move until you find fish. Make a note.
4. When you net a fish use as little light as possible. Red or green light not white
5. Keep a clean boat. Know where everything is located. Camera, extra batteries, extra net, per rigged rods
6. When you get tired. Quit. You make mistakes when you are tired.


Dan or

Out in Oregon land where the walleyes grow bigger and the really big ones are netted and sold by the pound

[capnlee]

You need light, but use as little as possible. Get a black light (I like the "Night Stalker" from Bass Pro) and some clear blue fluorescent line. Any tick on the line will be amplified visually. When the weather warms up light attracts bugs. Wear dark clothes and they won't swarm you as bad. If you anchor up, a green float light out a bit away from the boat will attract bugs, which will attract fish.

[Gary Korsgaden]

All very good stuff, what kind of blue fl line do you use? Thanks

Originally Posted by capnlee

You need light, but use as little as possible. Get a black light (I like the "Night Stalker" from Bass Pro) and some clear blue fluorescent line. Any tick on the line will be amplified visually. When the weather warms up light attracts bugs. Wear dark clothes and they won't swarm you as bad. If you anchor up, a green float light out a bit away from the boat will attract bugs, which will attract fish.

[Mpower]

For me, night fishing is actually early morning fishing. I try to be on the water with wet lines by 3AM. The window between 3AM and sunrise is killer on many of the lakes I fish (clear water). I don't fish at night on stained lakes, not that you can't, but I've just had better luck at dawn and dusk. I've also find the bugs are not as bad during this time for whatever reason. Plus, being on the water to watch the sun slowly rise during those mid summer months...other than sex, I'd be hard pressed to find anything better.

Season dictates my lure size and speed more so than time of day.

Get a good headlamp with LED lights and only use when needed. Wear a life jacket. DRIVE SLOW.

[capnlee]

I like the good old fashioned Stren clear blue fluoro. It's truly amazing how well you can see it under a black light. If the fish are biting light, you will see the hit well before you feel it.

Originally Posted by Gary Korsgaden

All very good stuff, what kind of blue fl line do you use? Thanks

[Dabluz]

I've tried night fishing for walleye and have had terrible luck. At the end of an evening of fishing, I often scan the bottom as I approach the shore with my boat or canoe. I often see walleye with my spotlight but for the life of me, I can't get them to bite on bait or lures. I'm hardheaded though and will try again because I know they are there because I can here fish splashing in the shallow water close to shore.

[1625rebel]

I have had pretty good luck trolling cranks along the breaks from mid summer right on up to ice up. Most consistent time of year is always September full moon. If I find a cloudless night with glass calm water and a full moon, it's ON! October full moon is almost as good, and this past year I finally hit the November full moon. Less fish, but they were bigger.

I usually troll with my electric at 1.5-1.8 mph when the water is fairly warm. Down to around 1.4-1.5 in November. Any lower and I can't seem to get enough action on lures to trigger strikes. Best lures to use varies by the year (probably affected by the food availability).

I use a headlamp and usually use red as it does not affect your night vision as much. I turn the backlight on my HDS almost all of the way down. Agree on keeping the boat tidy at night so you're not tripping on things. Keep the net and pliers in a handy spot if you are fishing alone. And most importantly WEAR a lifejacket (even if you're a good swimmer).