Bass fishing at night is peaceful and calming sometimes. If you have never lit into a lunker largemouth bass at night your are missing out! Excitement is everywhere! If you catch a 5lb or bigger large mouth bass at night you will be hooked for life! There is nothing like it! Fishing at night for largemouth bass offers some opportunities that you don’t get fishing during the day. It is flat out fact that you won’t have the fishing pressure you get during the day, and the larger bass will be feeding aggressively at night. Most bass fisherman do not go bass fishing at night because it can be a hassle. Also there is a lot of night fishing preparation and planning that needs to be done before you can go out. If you are just out to catch fish , but targeting largemouth bass, you will be in for a pleasant surprise when you start catching other species of fish too! Today I want to give you some simple night fishing for bass tips that will help you to become a better night fisherman.
The very first thing I would like to talk about is what night fishing equipment is best to have when you plan your next night fishing trip. After our night fishing equipment discussion we will talk about some bass slam’in baits we have used to catch fish. Our identification of night fishing equipment will be based on what we feel has the most importance to catching fish, and is based on our past experiences. | We have identified some important night fishing equipment that you need to have on every night fishing trip, to catch fish and be SAFE! Most of this equipment can really juice up your bass fishing at night fishing trip and make it very enjoyable and productive. We want you to be safe and have the chance to catch that lunker bass everyone talks about when they go bass fishing at night.
#1 Underwater fishing lights
A lot of bass fisherman may disagree with me here but from my experiences I have had the best results when using underwater fishing lights. And folks, don’t go cheap when you look at underwater light sources, you need a good florescent light that generates a minimum of 25-40watts of power, and that will emit 1000 to 3000 lumens per tube. I use underwater fishing lights no matter what species of fish I am night fishing for because to cut to the chase that flat ass attract zoo plankton and bait fish. When bait fish start swarming around your underwater fishing light they attract great numbers of game fish that are looking at an easy meal!
I need to re-address that you do not want to go out and pick up the first underwater fishing light that you find. You need a good florescent light that generates a minimum of 25-40watts of power, and that will emit 1000 to 3000 lumens per tube if you want to attract plankton in numbers. I recommend you sign up for my night fishing tips newsletter to get some more detailed information about a quality underwater fishing light. You Will also get some great night fishing tips to help you catch any species of fish at night here’s the link: Bass Fishing At Night
Attracting plankton with underwater lighting is not new the science has been around for years. What is amazing that not that many night fisherman use them, especially with the new technology that has made these lights incredibly powerful. Small bait fish feed mostly on plankton as a food source. And when you can get a concentration of plankton going bait fish will come by the hundreds. If you want to attract game fish like the largemouth bass to your fishing area you need to be able to attract bait fish to your fishing location. Just remember that submerged fishing lights absolutely are useful in attracting plankton which will attract plankton, which will bring in the game fish such as bass to your night fishing location. Just cast out near the edges of the beam of your submerged lighting and get ready for an exciting evening of night fishing for bass. Amazing and exciting fishing things can happen when you get those bait fish swarming near your fishing rigs so get ready for some exciting bass fishing at night.
#2 Surface night fishing lights.
Surface lighting is very important not only for fishing but for your safety. I want to identify two primary areas that surface lighting will help you. The number one reason for surface lighting is for your safety. Make sure your running lights are working properly before going night fishing, because you need to identify yourself to other night fisherman and recreational boaters. There have been a a lot of watercraft accidents because did not do this very simple step of identification.
When your bass fishing at night fish will often hit insects close to the surface. This is the second reason that surface lights are important. If you don’t a bug swarm all over you , just make sure you hand your surface out away from the boat and as far from you as you can.
#3 Pre-Planning is important!
Before you decide to go night fishing it is very important to do some preplanning. Make a check list of all the items that will be essential after nightfall. Also get out and scout the areas you want to night fish for the evening. If you have a GPS to mark them that would be great. If you do not have a GPS identify land marks that you will be able to identify after night fall. Do not overlook finding out where the bass are feeding at on any body of water you plan to fish when you decide to go bass fishing at night, this is very important if you want to catch any fish.Don’t get discouraged and move on if you don’t catch anything in the first hour. The bass species eyes take about 1 hour to adjust after darkness so they can see colors at night.
Live Baits to use For Bass Fishing At Night
It always amazes me that not many bass fisherman use live bait to catch largemouth bass. |I have always wondered why the majority of bass anglers never use live bait to catch bass. if you are just starting out in bass fishing and you do not have a lot of money then fishing for bass with live baits may be the way to go for you. You do not need and expensive bass fishing rod and reels and tackle a solid medium rod and middle of the pack reel will do just fine. All you need for tackle is any of the standard live bait fishing rigs which are inexpensive to make. What is great about fishing with live baits for bass is the limited fishing pressure. Like said before not a lot of bass fisherman use live baits. | I am going to give you a couple tips on two live baits that I have had great luck with catching bass.
Whether you are going to go bass fishing at night or during the day golden or striped shiners make a excellent live bait for bass. I would recommend that you use golden shiners which are often also called striped shiners , 3 to 6 inches in length. If you have the time wild shiners are the preference because they are part of the bass’s natural food chain work best, but if you can purchase shiners from a local bait shop they will work too.
Golden shiners are found throughout the eastern states but they also have migrated to some southern , Midwest and northern states. Bait shops will have golden shiners normally between 3 to 5 inches in length. In the wild golden shiners can grow to 12 inches in length but most wild shiners that you can catch will be 3 to 6 inches in length.The body is laterally compressed (deep-bodied). The back is dark green or olive, and the belly is a silvery white. The sides are silver in smaller individuals, but golden in larger ones. There can be a faint dusky stripe along the sides. The anal fin is large and has 8-19 rays, while the dorsal fin comprises almost always 8 rays.
There many more great baits that work well for bass fishing at night that we will go into more detail on a separate page at a later date.