Bass fishing at night is something that I accidentally got started doing. After catching only a few fish on a long canoe trip, one of my fishing buddies went on a mile or so walk to get his car while I waited with the canoe. Knowing that the trip was mainly uphill and that it would take him awhile to get to the car, I started to fool around fishing alongside the boat ramp where many others had probably already fished that day. Not wanting to get snagged and lose yet another lure, I tied on a hook and Texas Rigged a creature bait onto the hook. The large creature bait would give the hook some weight to cast and would stay on top and not get snagged. The first cast resulted in the largest fish of the day! Knowing that my fishing buddy would not believe it I put the bass on a stringer. By the time he returned with the car I had four bass on the stringer and a goofy smile on my face. My night fishing career for bass had begun! Here are 10 tips that I have picked up for bass fishing at night.
I have had best results with using a dark lure on top of the water. I suppose that the dark color stands out better against the sky for bass looking upward at it.
While I have successfully caught bass with various top water lures at night, frog patterns seem to work the best.
Just as in the daytime, fishing seems to be the best near cover. Bass feed on smaller fish that stay near the cover for protection.
Bass will come into the shallows to feed at night. Look for small creeks and other shallow areas around larger bodies of water to fish at night.
Lures with contrasting colors, such as the standard Daredevle red and white spoon seem to work best at night in attracting bass.
The edges of areas illuminated with artificial light seem to be bass hotspots at night as well. Many boat ramps have lights that can be fished near as well as bridges and roads near the water.
Fishing with nightcrawlers and other natural baits works well at night for bass and other game fish. Placing the bait on the bottom or suspended under a bobber each work well at night.
In general, when bass fishing at night the bigger the lure the better. Perhaps the big lures are easier to find for the fish, I don’t know but they seem to work better.
Bass aren’t the only thing to feed at night, especially near weeds. Be ready with plenty of bug spray to make your bass fishing more enjoyable.
One of the most important tips is to have a battery powered lantern and extra batteries. Tying on lures at night can be an adventure, you’ll need some light! A headlamp is a great addition to your night fishing tackle as well.
