Night fishing

[ruthven78]

At night I mostly just still fish myself, I was going to go out tonight but I didnt get off work till 11:30p and have a thing against going night fishing from shore by myself lol.....that paranoia all stems from going night fishing on the Pend Oreille River in high school with a buddy of mine....we were below a road and could hear a bear huffing as it walked down the road.....was just glad it didnt decide to come down the bank and check us out

[BassinBomber]

Hey gian,..I think by using darker baits the Bass see a silouette rather than a full color spectrum,..I think it's best because the Bass can't see all of our imperfections in our presentation,..unlike the day when they can,..stealth is the key too,..maybe the light would cause the Bass to flee also,..so I'd stay with darker baits,..maybe scents would help too,..!

[Anglinarcher]

When I fish at night for bass and for trout, I rely mostly on noise, a steady retrieve, a large profile, scent, and lastly, color.

For example, a Buzz Bait is a great choice. It makes a ton of noise, has the steady retrieve necessary for helping a fish locate and hit, has the large profile, and it comes in a lot of colors, so a black, and black mixes, is easy to locate.

I also like spinner baits, with single oversize Colorado blades. A number 6 or 7 deep cupped Colorado blade on a 3/8 oz short arm spinner bait, black or black and anything else, provides the thump, the steady retrieve, the large profile, and can be scented.

Of course crank baits can be used, and the baits with rattles work great.

The thing about night fishing is that it is not a numbers game, but mostly a size game. The biggest game in town usually come out at night to play, but because even they see less at night, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to find your offerings.

So, a rubber worm or Jig is not a good option. Drop shotting at night is pretty much a waste of time. Bait fishing with live bait, not legal in Washington "for the most part", works because of the movement and natural scent. Bait fishing with dead bait works less well because you loose the noise, and often the profile as the bait is profiled against a dark bottom, but, as Catfish prove, it does work.

Look at the triggers I mentioned in the first line and up your odds by using as many of them as you can. And above all, remember that this is a new skill to be learned, and learning takes time.