Night Fishing 2025
fisher21342 reply :
Do bass bite at night? If they do what lures do you guys use?
A-Jay reply :
Here's some info ~
A-Jay
Mobasser reply :
Yes, bass bite at night. I've night fished a fair amount myself, and done good on some nights. You can use many of the same lures you use for daytime fishing. Lots of good night fisherman on this site, I'm sure they'll be glad to help you with some tips. Type in night fishing in the search bar also. Good info there too
scaleface reply :
I like to use buzzbaits , spinnerbaits , crankbaits , Texas rigs and jigs but any lures work .
JediAmoeba reply :
Fishing at night really ups your fishing game.
Some of my best fishing trips have been at night!
WRB reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 2:36 AM, fisher21342 said:Do bass bite at night? If they do what lures do you guys use?
Welcome to BR!
Try using the search tool located in the upper right corner of this page; "night".
Should keep you busy reading for awhile.
Tom
Harold Scoggins reply :
Make sure you know the water you're fishing at night, running over a submerged tree/stump or boulder at night can ruin an evening of fishing. Between June and August I'd say 95% of my fishing is done at night and it never ceases to amaze me how active the wildlife becomes once the sun goes down. A concerto performed by the coyotes and wolves while a hawg blows up on your top water frog is always a bonus.
Bird reply :
I prefer bright nights and top water......caught my biggest on Buzzbaits , Jitterbugs and whopper ploppers.
When the sun goes down, I'm usually indulgent of spirits, can be quite comical on a boat but fun nonetheless.
Jonas Staggs reply :
theres a ton of info online and youtube about bass fishing at night......That being said, the local lake I would regularly fish during the day...on a good day, maybe i catch 5 decent bass...on a bad day, sometimes 1....or rarely skunked......that being said, that same body of water, I tried for several months regularly fishing at night.......i only caught 1.......despite doing everything all the videos say to do. the one i did catch was a dink on a crankbait........anyways, i think my problem was not just that it was night........but the time of night, which is something to take into consideration as well. Just like the time of day for example. I know not much help but pretty much to sum up all the info your gonna find online......use a black worm......or something that causes a lot of vibration for them to hone in on. I think a lot of it depends on the body of water your fishing.
WRB reply :
To quote Catt use the same lures you use during day at night, bass don't morph into a different fish when it's dark.
When I started to night fish for bass my choice was noisy surface lures and they worked.
When I started to fish night tournaments for bass I soon learned to use jigs and worms, the lures I caught bass during the day at night if I wanted to earn a check.
I am not nearly as knowledgable or experienced as Catt is regarding night bass fishing, listen to ole Catt.
Tom
Michigander reply :
On some lakes it feels like there aren't any fish in it until the sun goes down.
soflabasser reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 2:36 AM, fisher21342 said:Do bass bite at night? If they do what lures do you guys use?
Yes bass bite at night. They will hit the same lures that you use during the day but I prefer using topwaters at nighttime since topwater hits often catch you by surprise.
DitchPanda reply :
I haven't fished for bass much at night but I can tell you a story that may let you in on how in tune to the environment they are at all times.. I was catfishing one night late maybe like 2am with a buddy and I heard a fish bust down the shore just outside of lantern light range... as a joke I threw a ribbed stinkbait worm in the direction of the blow up and swam it on top..about 3 cranks in a 3lb largemouth murdered it
Catt reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 2:36 AM, fisher21342 said:Do bass bite at night? If they do what lures do you guys use?
When a bass decides to actively feel is not based of a clock, it's based on its metabolism.
Before they have completley digested their last meal they start looking to eat. If it's 2 °clock in the morning they don't say, "oh well breakfast ain't till 6 guess I'm gonna have to wait!".
Now just like during the day you can get a reaction stike from em.
Many anglers assume when talking night fishing its shallow water & topwater lures their obvious choice.
I can assure you there's a deep water bit going on.
walt-14 reply :
Does everyone on here tend to see bass located in the same areas they would be during the morning/evening time or would you tend to find them in more open water, roaming in search of food? For example: would I want to spend time flipping laydowns/brush piles from shore or spend time throwing a crankbait/spinnerbait/chatterbait in more open water in the middle of the nigh?
dgkasper58 reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 11:50 PM, walt-14 said:Does everyone on here tend to see bass located in the same areas they would be during the morning/evening time or would you tend to find them in more open water, roaming in search of food? For example: would I want to spend time flipping laydowns/brush piles from shore or spend time throwing a crankbait/spinnerbait/chatterbait in more open water in the middle of the nigh?
I would say overall fish are in the same spots at night, but from my experience some times it takes them a little longer to locate the bait (I catch a ton of fish near the boat on topwater or even bringing my jigs back in) or they just do not see the boat as easily and that makes this phenomenon happen. Either way, it's fun. Get out there and see what works for you.
I have my best luck at twilight, then an hour or two lull, then its good again. No idea why it is like that.
WRB reply :
Both largemouth and smallmouth bass locate in areas where their prey source is abundant....day or night.
Day time more small baitfish are availble and tend to hide in cover at night.
Night time more nocturnal critters are active and terrestrial critters like mice and rats tend to be close to shoreline cover. Crawdads are active at night in all depths and both LMB and SMB eat them. Find the abundant prey source and the bass will be close day or night.
Tom
PhishLI reply :
The lake I fish the most holds big Bass, big Pickerel, and big Perch. If you fish this place during the daytime, except Sunday afternoons, you might come away believing it's sterile. During the week and Saturdays it seems almost impossible to catch anything except carp and bluegill. It's not impossible of course, but very close. Fish at at dusk and into the night and your reward might be great. It comes alive. You can absolutely hammer them. My group of hardcores that fish here consistently have been skunked and stumped as to why the daytime bite is so tough. We know better but still try. I've met so many daytime fisherman there who are not in my group that are totally frustrated. They're positive the lake is fished out. I thought about this subject for quite a while and have come to a conclusion: There's a major roadway that runs parallel to the length of the lake just outside the tree line. The traffic on this highway is non stop. There's an endless drumbeat of tires clipping expansion joints. You can feel it if you're on that side. This slows down dramatically at 7:30 pm. This also coincides with the bite turning on, for the most part, depending on a number of other factors. One night it could be 8:00 pm and the the next might be 9:10, and so on. Maybe this environmental noise factor represents one element of pressure the fish here have adapted to and shut down until it passes? But if you can put in those later hours, and are not spooked by being in the woods at night, the catch rate is great. The bite window shifts, but the bite can be awesome. If you catch one you'll probably catch more. They "seem" to come in and feed in waves, then recede in unison. There also "seems" to be a hot 40 minute window, then poof, they're gone. Please note the quotes around "seems", especially Tom(WRB). The other night my buddy had a gut feeling and hit it at 3:45 am and had a bonanza. This never happens during the day there for any of us and others AFAIK.
BTW, vibrating baits work great at night. Ribbon tail worms, paddletail swimmers, and chatterbaits do the best. Wakes and glides work too
Catt reply :
Bass do not morph into a new creature just because the sun set!
Their food source doesn't morph into a new creature either!
I fish the same structure, with the same techniques as I do during the daytime.
If I'm on a productive pattern right around dark thirty that includes a Redbug worm you can bet your sweet bippy that I'll be throwing that worm after the sun sets!
Day or night they setup on specific structure & move according to their metabolism. This movement to feed can be at anytime day or night.
Mr. Aquarium reply :
I use big swimbaitss at night in most ponds. Some ponds they don’t want big bait or topwater so I use a jig, spinner bait, Texas rig, and chatter baits. Just crawl on bottom.
Jermination reply :
As with everything, lure depends on what lake. Some of the ones around here you'd be foolish to throw anything other than a jig, big thumping spinnerbait, or plum worm on a carolina rig. One of my favorite memories of growing up were going to the mountain lakes(hiwassee, fontana, chilhowee) with my pappaw throwing jitterbugs parallel to the bank in the pitch dark all night long. No black lights, he preferred no running lights(sketched me out as a kid), and BE QUIET. Had some of the best bags i've ever been a part of doing that. For some reason Jitterbugs don't really work on the lakes around here that aren't in the mountains. Fish do seem to be less skiddish at night and the shoreline bite typically gets better after dark
Mobasser reply :
One thing is for certain about night fishing: It's an excellent way to improve your feel for plastics, and jigs or other slow moving bottom hopping baits. The fish won't always hit topwaters or spinnerbaits. Just like in daytime fishing, I've had to fish slower sometimes. For the most part your fishing by feel alone. Your senses get tuned in good at night. Fishing at night can improve your daylight fishing also.
NorthernBasser reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 8:04 PM, Catt said:Before they have completley digested their last meal they start looking to eat. If it's 2 °clock in the morning they don't say, "oh well breakfast ain't till 6 guess I'm gonna have to wait!".
Wait, are you talking about me or the bass here?? 
Bluebasser86 reply :
Nothing much better than night fishing on a warm summer night.
Revival reply :
Short arm single Colorado blade spinnerbait and senkos were my go to when fishing at night.
N Florida Mike reply :
I haven’t done well at night so don’t have much to contribute. But since I primarily fish afternoons until shortly after dark it’s probably that I don’t go at night enough to judge it.
What seems to happen every time, (talking hundreds of times) is that they can be biting great but as soon as it gets dark, they stop. I mean completely stop. I suspect that they start again later in the night but it just gets so dead I go home.
I have done best at night ( which isn’t saying much) with a hollow body frog. I have also caught some using a stop and go retrieve with a dark colored worm.
OkobojiEagle reply :
On 2/10/2020 at 2:36 AM, fisher21342 said:Do bass bite at night?
Yes they do... and so do the bugs!
oe
Catt reply :
On 2/12/2020 at 6:47 AM, N Florida Mike said:What seems to happen every time, (talking hundreds of times) is that they can be biting great but as soon as it gets dark, they stop. I mean completely stop. I suspect that they start again later in the night but it just gets so dead I go home.
The eyes of a bass go through a night adaptation cycle beginning at twilight and are usually adapted for black, white, and all shades of gray within an hour after darkness.
During this adaptation period the feeding slows down until vision returns.
N Florida Mike reply :
How could I have bass fished all these years and never heard that?!
That explains a lot!
Thanks, Catt !
PhishLI reply :
This afternoon was perfect. Overcast. Mild wind. Slight ripple. ZilchO. Tonight: Darkness. The Mattlures 6" Hardgill. Boom.
whitwolf reply :
When I reply to night threads it is usually to say this: if you go at night know your water well. I refuse to night fish unless I have fished it dozens of times during the day. There are the few times that it wasn't an option, usually tournaments. In those few cases I take a couple of days off and run the lake to become comfortable. I can't say it enough, know your water well. Your life could depend on that.
As for baits and times. I used to get caught up in the "right" baits to fish at night and for several years bought into that. I found through the years that I caught fish on the same baits and locations day or night. A spicy Beaver, jig, magnum finesse worm, a topwater of some sort, and a big paddle tail swimbait are what I throw most. The best time to fish during the darkness seems to be, for me, between 10 pm and 5 am. That's not to say earlier or later are a waste of time but again, for me, I have caught more and bigger fish in that time frame.
A good head lamp is a must, bug spray if they bother you, and plenty of water and sports drinks. I usually bring an apple if I get hungry.
Also, ALWAYS wear you PFD, day or night.
bazzelite19 reply :
Definitely ive caught a lot of fish at night on a chatterbait, popping frog, and a buzzbait. Squarebill cranks work too something big like a manns c-4. Another good bait is a texas rigged rage craw or rage lobster. Something with flapper claws like that. They've bitten chartreuse, white, black, black and blue, even firetiger for me at night. The important part is a slow, steady cadence so the bass can track it. Also consider scented gel and rattles. The gel or jelly types act like a lube so baits slip through cover. In stained water at night lots of bass like to root around the bank line in really shallow water sometimes with their fins sticking out. In really clear water you can keep fishing just like you would in the day. The warmer it gets the better the night bite. Most bass, around 80% feed after dark once water temps exceed 80f. This reduces stress from lowering oxygen levels in warming water.
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