night fishing for bass

[kt]

Has anyone tried fishing for bass at night. Also, any favorite nighttime patterns. I was thinking about trying night fishing and was just wondering if anyone could give me some tips.

thanks
kt

[Guest]

I've had some success with black spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits at night, especially with a decent moon.

[Guest]

Nightime can be a great time to catch bass, especially lately when it has been so hot and humid and when everyone is out on the lakes running around.
You want to use dark lures, black especially. Spinnerbaits, jigs, buzzbaits, or other topwaters work well. Big baits that make a lot of noise or displace a lot of water makes it easier for the bass to locate your bait. You also want to keep your retrieve simple and slow. Don't use baits that have a real erratic action, it just makes it hard for the bass to home in on it.
Give night bass fishing a try, with the hot days we have had and with the busy holiday approaching, night time may be the best time.

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Adam Johnson
www.adamjohnsonfishing.com

[musky hunter]

I was out musky hunting one late July night last year under a full moon. Couldn't get a musky, but the small mouth were everywhere! it was incredible. But they were feeding on some sort of a surace hatch, because I couldn't get them to hit a rapalla. But there is no question in my mind that bass are active at night.

[Guest]

Adam Johnson,

I just visited your HSOforum, good stuff!! I was just wondering if you are fimiliar with mantrap lake in hubbard co. I am going up there with a group of guys from work looking for muskeys and bass. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Guest]

Koz,
I fished out there a couple times last year. Your best bet for both muskies and bass would be to target Lower Mantrap on the far east side of the lake. There are good cabbage beds, weedlines, and points for the muskies (I saw some nice ones in there last year), and you should find some good smallmouth near the shores on the inside weedlines. You should also find some largemouth in some of the pads and rush beds.
Try tubes and flukes for the bass, bucktails and crankbaits for the skis.
Good luck!

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Adam Johnson
www.adamjohnsonfishing.com

[Guest]

I think it helps if you have a clear lake for night bass fishing. When my family had a cabin on Sylvia/Twin in Wright County I took up night fishing and did it a fair amount. I mostly caght fish on dark buzzbaits or black jitterbugs. I would catch fish over the weedflats or off of points. Bigger Fish came off of the points. Sylvia/Twin is so full of bass that when I would Night Troll raps for walleyes I would catch 6 bass to every one Eye. If I was catching lots of bass I knew I would get a walleye or two. I had less success with spinnerbaits and jigs, maybe I was to impatient. I wanted to hear the fish hit.

I remember one time when the wind had really come up and I thought it would make the night fishing a bust, but it put a school up and active on a point and I just hammered them. I then ran from point to point and had a blast until the wind inexplicably quit and the action slowed way down.

[This message has been edited by Basspastor (edited 07-04-2002).]

[kt]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

kt

[CANOPY SAM]

There used to be a lure on the market called a Floyd's buzzer. I haven't seen one for years, but if you can find one it is one of the best night bite topwater bass lures ever made. You can retrieve it slowly across the surface and it plops and displaces a lot of water as it gurgles along.
Used to fish one in the lakes around Walker at night and the bass would explode on it. Really a good time in the dark!! Any surface bait that makes a good commotion and doesn't move to fast will drive bass crazy after dark. Most of our area metro lakes produce the best fishing after sunset because of the high level of activity during the day. But night bite bass are almost a sure thing all summer - warm sunny days drive bass into deep cover or deeper water. In the cool low light of night they become active and feed more that any other time of day.
Good luck - bring lots of bug spray, and plenty of light sources. It's tough to fish in the dark!