Questions on night Muskie Hunting???

[sdpikehntr]

Ok, I am new to this, I have been fishing muskies for a little over a year, but all of the fishing has been during daylight hours. NOW... last night I tried the night fishing, and there are a couple of things I have questions on, and wondering if any of you could give some pointers on what to do and how to do it?

1st: What do you do for light? Head lamp, light over the boat edge or none?

2nd: Does light over the water effect the fish bite closer to the boat (figure 8"s)?

3rd What type of baits work better at night, I used a Bucktail last night with no luck.

These are just a few questions to start with. The tough thing I run into is that the area I fish, there are little to no muskie fishermen. Most of the boats on the water are looking for walleye and are off the water by 9:00. This part is ok, but I don't really have anyone to get tips from locally (I guess this has advantages and disadvantages less pressure). So any advice would be a welcome piece of information.

Thanks

[Shoot2Kill]

Hey man - I'm by no means an expert, just got into this a little over a year ago, but have done okay for myself and here are my night fishing thoughts.

1. Headlamp, yes, a must - especially when you get one on the line. I don't use the white light at all until I have a fish on. Mine has a red light on it that I sometimes turn on when it's really dark out so I don't run my leader up into my eye - the red works really well and picks up any shine coming off the bait depending what color you are using. Otherwise I let my eyes adjust and pay really close attention as the bait gets close to the boat so I know when to start my 8.

2. I don't know about the light affecting the fish - I've seen it talked about here before but I don't turn it on because of the million miserable bugs that gather in front of your face. (for the bugs I just started wearing a boonie hat and a full head net when they get really bad, the boonie hat keeps the net away from my face and the mosquitos can't touch me).

3. Baits at night - I'd guess most would say big blades slow rolled at night, top waters, and bulldawgs on the breaks. I've become a bright color blade guy at night, have had great success with bright colors, zero success with dark colors (others may say exactly the opposite). Also, I'd do 2 full figure 8s every single cast at night and speed up your 8s to get them to commit harder (just learned that). We had a night 2 weeks ago where we had 5 fish hit on the 8 in 45 minutes and 2 of the fish hit on the 2nd figure 8. IMO, there is NO bigger rush on the water than getting a boatside blow up in the total darkness. I think my knees were shaking for an hour after that window of action we had.

Enjoy having that lake to yourself when the walleye guys go home!

[JimBuck]

Good advice Shoot2Kill, the only other things I can add is stay organized. Keep the boat tidy and know exactly where everything is at when you need it. I've got 2 magnetic tool holders (1 in front, 1 in back) that carry all the necessary tools I need when the time comes. Reflective tape on the net handle or tools isn't a bad idea for quick reference. Also, try throwing a lighter colored bead in front of your leader to resolve the issue of reeling in to far and having the leader go through the tip.

Lastly, invest in a spotlight or something to light your way when going from spot to spot. Never over run your lights either. I've had a few close calls with morons who don't put the lights on at night and it's just asking for trouble. Good luck out there.

[RK]

Hiya -

I don't night fish a ton these days, but did quite a bit in the past... So a couple thoughts.

1 & 2. LED head lamps. I know guys that are hardcore night guys who have flood lights they turn on when they hook a fish, but for occasional night shifts, a head lamp is enough. Leave it off until you hook a fish. As long as your boat lights are on (a must for multiple reasons not the least of which is safety) you'll be amazed at how well you can see follows. Even with a little light they show up pretty well.

3. Bucktails and spinnerbaits are pretty hard to beat. A lot of guys use topwaters, but I rarely do. Muskies have a hard enough time hitting them during the day... Crankbaits can do well too. A big Believer slowly cranked in is a pretty good night bait.

When you night fish, keep your boat clean, put all your stuff away and have your release tools, etc., out and ready. In the dark with a hooked fish is not the time to be tripping over lures and rods on the deck. If you can, a partner is nice to have along too.

Night fishing isn't magic or a guaranteed success. It's still muskie fishing, and you can fry just as badly in the dark as you can in the daytime. But on certain lakes at times you can really have some good results, and it's a pretty neat experience.

Good luck and be safe.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Zelmsdawg]

I'm by no means a night fishing expert myself but you might want to try trolling too. Had some fun nights using the trolling motor to pull hawg wobblers. The biggest thing I've heard is to slow everything way down

Zelmsdawg

[Zelmsdawg]

Oh and I don't think night fishing works well for tigers so hopefully these are pures?

Zelmsdawg

[50inchpig]

only things i'll add to already sound advice here is that i use blades 90% of the time at night, and figure 8s are so much more important after dark than ever. i do a minimum of 3 and lots of times 5-6 and it'll be the difference between a 3 fish night and getting skunked.

speed on the figure 8 is your best friend when it comes to hooking fish.

a rubber bead above you leader, bright blades, and feeling your levelwind on the reel when the bait gets close will help you stay in touch with it and make a smooth transition into your boatside moves.

[RuKiddingMe]

i do a minimum of 3 and lots of times 5-6 and it'll be the difference between a 3 fish night and getting skunked.

Yeah that and keeping them pinned once they hit... haha

mattb

[Shoot2Kill]

i do a minimum of 3 and lots of times 5-6 and it'll be the difference between a 3 fish night and getting skunked.

Good to know as well - just last night I caught myself wondering if 2 was enough.

[50inchpig]

Yeah that and keeping them pinned once they hit... haha

mattb

Touche, however, to have hooked and lost fish is better than never hooking one at all. SSSSsssssssssssnap! Tonight will be better!

[JRedig]

Oh and I don't think night fishing works well for tigers so hopefully these are pures?

Zelmsdawg

I've caught muskie and pike at night...never tried tigers but don't see why not...

Marc, sounds like your reflex's are waning, the youth have proven it!

[RuKiddingMe]

Touche, however, to have hooked and lost fish is better than never hooking one at all. SSSSsssssssssssnap! Tonight will be better!

I don't know about that 50, I didn't have to go through the mental beatup for having Hooked and Lost, all I had to go through is never hooking one, and these days that's pretty easy for me...

[smeese]

Green LED headlamps should have little to no affect on fishing at night, try this sometime

[BrianLucky13]

Keep boat clean, have a headlamp, have all tools ready to go, sssslllooowww down lures, and have a good netman. I catch 75 percent of my fish after dark. Hang on!!!

[brad coin]

make sure to have a few rods rigged to go

sorting out backlashes at night is a B###H!!! regardless of how good a headlight you have

[gooty]

the guys at thorne bros told me a neat little trick, put a glow bead in front of your leader(on your line). that way you dont have to have a light on, and won't run your leader into your eye!

[50inchpig]

the glow beads won't actually glow enough to see but they are rubber so they'll save your rod tip and prevent you from spooking fish if you lose track of your bait. owner makes them.

[sdpikehntr]

make sure to have a few rods rigged to go

sorting out backlashes at night is a B###H!!! regardless of how good a headlight you have

Yes this is the other thing I found out last night. What a pain it is to see and fix it!

The information is great, on my head lamp I have a red, blue and flood light...How well does the blue light work?

[RuKiddingMe]

I hear purple lights will make the chart. blades glow, maybe the blue light will have a similar effect.

[hunterjoe]

Tonight will be better!

Better be!!! I bet Tucker's getting [PoorWordUsage] at you.

[JRedig]

You guys get backlashes?

[Esox_Magnum]

You guys get backlashes?

Professional Overruns

[bronzeback]

I've had more luck bringing blades back fast at night than slow rolling them. Not necessarily burning but maybe 4-5 inches under the surface at a good clip has caught me most of my night fish. Haven't caught anything after dark on anything other than blades though i've moved plenty of fish past dark on raiders. Awesome to see a wake pop up in the moonlight.

[Zelmsdawg]

I've heard all glow at night is too bright for the fish, anyone else hear anything like?

Zelmsdawg

[RK]

I've heard all glow at night is too bright for the fish, anyone else hear anything like?

Zelmsdawg

Never done well at all with glow blades or glow lures at night. A spot or two so you can see it a little bit is fine but all glow has never worked for me. (Although oddly enough a glow blade on a really bright sunny day can be a different story.)

A few years ago a friend of mine got a spinnerbait with glow blades he was all excited to try out at night. I said "Hmmm... let me know how it goes." So I talked to him the next day and said "catch a few bass did ya?" He said "Oh my God... I couldn't keep them off me. I had to change lures..." Bass love glow blades for some reason... Muskies not so much. In my experience at least...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm