Night fishing for bass is probably one of my favorite ways to go fishing. Not only can you expect to get more bites, but you can also expect to catch bigger fish.
However,don’t expect to use the same techniques you would during the day and expect to catch fish. Night time fishing calls for different techniques. For that reason, in this post we are going to talk about some tips that are going to help you catch more fish when fishing at night.
Night Fishing For Bass 9 Tips To Catch More Fish
Fish Shallow Waters. During the day you will find bass in the deeps waters, off points, or hanging out around underwater ledges. These are perfect locations as it allows them to ambush anything that swims their way.
To have a successful night fishing for bass you need to fish shallow waters. At night, bass will move up and feed on bait fish. This is a great opportunity to throw topwater lures that are loud and attract the fish to them. One of the best lures to throw when fishing for bass at night is a buzzbait.
Buzzbaits create a lot of noise, they displace a lot of water and they get attention. Throw them up in the shallows and you almost guarantee yourself a bite.
Choose Your Colors Wisely. You might be thinking why is the color selection important when fishing at night. It is important for two reasons. First, dark colors help to create a darker silhouette. True, bass don’t just rely on sight for searching for food they also rely on their lateral lines, but a darker silhouette will generate more strikes.
Next, you have to think about the moon. If it is a full moon, this will affect how much the fish can see. For that reason, when a full moon I would recommend using those bright and loud colors. Such as bright, yellow, orange or red.
Water clarity. The water clarity is another important aspect to consider when night fishing for bass. If the water is clear and you have a full moon the bass can see your lure. Under these circumstances it may be beneficial to try a more subtle approach. However, if you are fishing very dirty water and the there is no moon. The fish are going to have a more difficult time locating your lure. So you need to fish something that is loud and will get their attention.
Think Vibration: As we mentioned earlier, at night bass aren’t going to be relying on their sight as much as their other senses. Specifically their lateral line. For that reason, when selecting the right lure, choose a lure that is going to give off a lot of vibration. This vibration will give the fish the opportunity to hone onto your bait.
Buzzbaits, crankbaits, poppers, big swimbaits are all good selections when night fishing for bass. Another thing to keep in mind is that a bigger profile bait is going to give off more vibration as well. So fish big when nighttime fishing.
Fish Slow: When fishing at night it is important to slow things down. Allow the bass the opportunity to come up and get it. Many bass are actively feeding at night. They are constantly moving around looking for food. The longer your lure is in the water the better chances of it getting hit.
Stay in one place: During the day many bass like to stay in one location, but at night they are active. So rather than searching for bass at night. It is best to stay in one place and allow the fish to come to you.
Limited Visibility: Not only is the fish’s visions limited, but so is ours (unless you have a fishing headlamp). This is important when choosing the correct lure. If there is no moon and it is completely dark. I would recommend that you fish with a weedless lure or a hollow body frog. It will allow you to fish those hard to reach areas such as: around cover, under docks or without spending the majority of your time with a snagged lure.
If there is a moon and you can see where you are casting, under these circumstances you can fish with exposed hooks such as: crankbaits or buzzbaits.
Fish lighted areas: One of the best places to start fishing when fishing at night is in lighted areas. More oftentimes than not you will find fish in these light areas. Keep in mind it doesn’t have to be tons of light, it could just be a dock light, or the reflection of the house light. Any kind of lighted areas are good places to start fishing.
Setting the hook at night: One of the biggest difficulties when fishing at night is setting the hook. The reason for this is because during the day we rely on your sight to tell us when to set the hook. For example, we may begin to see our line go out or our rod bend. These are signs that it is a good time to set the hook. However, at night we can’t rely on our sight, but we have to rely more on what we feel.
Here are two quick tips to better your hook sets at night. The first tip is when fishing with either a baitcasting reel or spinning reel to keep one or two fingers on the line. This will enhance your ability to feel a bite and set the hook.
Next, use sharp hooks. At night fish are going to be picky about the presentation because they can’t see the bait. They are dependent on what they feel by their lateral lines. So don’t get caught up on how your lures looks. Instead focus on having good hooks that will ‘almost’ set themselves.
There you have it! A few tips that we hope will you to catch more fish when night fishing for bass.
Are there any tips that you would like to share? Please feel free to share with us your thoughts in the section below.
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