The Night Life

 Considering this is becoming my preferred time to fish I thought I might share my take on night fishing. I doubt I'm going to cover anything that hasn't been covered before but maybe I can put some info out there that helps somebody put some fish in the boat and go home in one piece all at the same time.

Five pounder caught on a jig.

  Before we get started lets talk about what it takes to get home safely. This is the most important part of the whole deal, none of this is worth getting hurt or dead over so use your brain and a little common sense when on the water.

-The first thing to do before you go out at night is to let somebody know where you are going to be that way if something happen they know where to start looking if the worst comes to pass.

-Second, don't be an idiot, you need to know the water you are going to be on. After dark is not the time to try to learn new waters, fish it during the day several times before you attempt to solo fish a place after hours. Although it's probably best to fish with a partner I generally end up fishing alone most of the time. I never fish a place for the first time by myself at night.

-Third, be prepared for emergencies have a way to mend small wounds and remove hooks from yourself or your fishing buddy. Also be prepared to deal with the really bad things that can happen when the lights go out. We have some really big toothy critters in these parts and a carbon fiber paddle is no match for a 500 lb. alligator and Heaven forbid you ever have to defend yourself out there but it can happen and you need to know how to deal with any situation that arrises.

Only carry if you are willing to deal with the consequences of your actions.

Having the tools to remove hooks and to cut rope and fishing line is a necessity. Don't leave home without the tools to do the job.

  As the adage goes "Two is one and one is none". When it comes to lights at night you need a minimum of two sources of light and they need to be in good working order. I like to wear a ball cap when I fish so a clip on light seems to be the handiest thing for me to use personally. Just find something you can get used to that will keep you hands free. A handheld flashlight just doesn't really cut it. Also having red lights will help to preserve your night vision. Last but not least if you are fishing public waters have a white light that is visible for all 360 degrees that way any boaters out there can see you.

My light pole is an old Mag Light stuck in a piece of 3/4" PVC and the end cap is a protein drink tube. You don't need to spend tons of money on this stuff, it just needs to work.

   A few last house keeping items before we go fishing and they both have to do with being comfortable on the water.
1. Wear your PFD.
2. Dress to be comfortable. Don't forget rain gear getting drenched sucks but wearing comfortable clothes is just as important at night as it is during the day. Also having a jacket can be nice.
3. Bring food and water.
4. Bug control. I use a spray and a ThermaCELL.
5. Keep the cockpit of your kayak clear of clutter only use one rod at a time and keep all tackle and gear stowed and out of the way.

I leave my ThermaCELL burning until I have my kayak tied down and I'm ready to go home.

Now lets go fishing!

 I see on fishing forums all the time, questions posted about night fishing and it is almost totally predictable that they are going to ask the same three questions every time.

What baits to use?

What areas do you target at night?

What time of night?

What bait to use?

 The same baits you use during the day. I will fish black or darker colors at night the more often than not but the truth is black and dark colored baits are more of a confidence thing for me. Shad, lizards, crawfish or any other prey item don't magically turn black once the sun goes down BUT knowing when to use darker baits can lead to success. I have found that dark baits are not an automatic at night, I take water clarity and ambient light into consideration for bait choice. If the water is clear and I have good ambient light like a full moon or plenty of street light or dock lights I will fish light colors. If the water is murky or there is little ambient light I will lean towards dark colors. Bass have excellent night vision, along with their lateral lines to sense movement and pressure changes in the water and a good sense of hearing, they have no problem locating prey. I think we as humans don't give them enough credit in their abilities in that department. They are the apex predatory fish in many bodies of water for a reason.

A good sample of the baits I use at night.

What areas do you target at night?

 I fish the same areas at night as I do during the day although I tend to focus heavily on flats and dock lights at night. A flat that has a distinct ledge can be a gold mine. Also anywhere creeks feed into the main body of a lake or cove. Fishing from a kayak forces you to break down a body of water into bite sized chunks. A cove on a lake might be all you can fish in a few hours of work so you need to fish that cove as if it is it's own body of water. Analyze that cove. Is there a feeder creek coming into it? Does it have a flat or flats to fish? Shear walls? Drop offs, humps, holes or an old roadbed? Day or night I like to fish creeks and flats it just fits how I prefer to fish for the most part. One thing that I have found is bass will still orient towards ambush points even at night. Logs, clumps of grass and small holes are spots to target even when the lights go out.

 All three of the fish pictured above were caught in the same lake but the under the water is different from spot to spot where they were each caught. The top fish was caught on the outside edge of a cove next to a drop off in about six feet of water. The center fish was caught next to the bank along a channel ledge (the channel being about 9'-10'  deep in that area) and the bottom fish was caught right in the middle of a flat in about 3 feet of water.

What time of night do you fish?

 This goes back to one of my first statements about being safe on the water and knowing the water your on. You also need to learn the feeding patterns of the fish in the place you are fishing. For my main honey hole I have found the fish like to feed just before sundown and the hour just after that and they will pick up again about every two to three hours for twenty minutes or so in each of those windows so I need to be in place and ready when they start feeding because I will miss out if I'm not ready when they are.

 Ultimately success night fishing comes down to location, preparedness and knowing your home waters . You can't catch big fish if there are none where you fish. You can't have success if you are unprepared both mentally and physically. Lastly know thy waters. The only way to know your waters is to put the time in. Go put in the time, experiment and have fun with it, lose some sleep and hopefully catch a new Personal Best!

Tight Lines

H