How To Fish For Bass At Night? (7 Effective Tips)

How To Fish For Bass At Night? (7 Effective Tips)

Bass fishing lakes always seem to turn into a complete mess during the hot and muggy summer months when there are tons of supersized cabin cruisers, runabouts, and jet skis clogging up the impoundments. Though not many people go night fishing after the sun goes down. In general, the crowds thin out, and bass that had been dormant start feeding heavily again.

All it takes is a few tweaks to your tackle and equipment to get things running from dusk until dawn. Turn on the lights after sunset to participate in the best bass fishing of the summer.

When To Go Bass Fishing At Night

Although warm climates like Florida or the Gulf of Mexico don’t really care about the season, summer is the typical time of year for bass fishing. Also, useful information is the fact that bass can be found in both shallow and deep water during the hot months. You can always fish from the banks if you’re unsure about taking out a boat at night.

Some fishermen assert that there are three “best” times of the night to catch large bass: dusk, midnight, and just prior to dawn. If the big bass is biting, you might want to try a few times a day for a few hours.

Full moon nights are thought to be the best times to go bass fishing. During moonlit nights with a bright moon, the bass often feeds more. Another benefit of a full moon is that you don’t need to use running lights or flashlights as much. For moonlight, you might need to modify your lures, but we’ll cover that soon.

The moon is full, and the boat is loaded, but what’s on the other end of your fishing line? For some incredibly seductive advice, keep reading.

Bass Fishing: Is The Moon A Factor?

I’ve discussed this with a few different people, and each one has a different viewpoint. Contrary to what some people say, some bass is said to only bite during a full moon. When it comes to the moon, I have absolutely no personal experience.

I don’t think the moon phase has anything to do with it because there are so many other things to consider when bass fishing at night. 

There isn’t any deeper significance to why you had a great night with a waning crescent moon (or whatever); it’s just that the moon will affect the amount of light you have, which will affect the color and size of the lure you use. 

The time of year, the climate, and the water are important considerations. Because the water temperature stays warm all night long, night fishing is best during the warmest months of the year. The bass won’t move no matter what you do when it gets below freezing outside, so it will be difficult to catch anything at night. 

Going out in the months of June, July, and August, when nighttime temperatures typically don’t drop below 60 degrees, is your best bet for nighttime fishing. 

Equipment For Bass Fishing At Night

Let’s discuss some equipment changes. You become accustomed to a particular type of equipment during the day, but as night falls, the game changes slightly. The following items are necessary when bass fishing at night.

Black Light

Purchase some blue fluorescent monofilament, and on your boat, combine it with a black light. This combination is genius because it makes the line stand out like a laser in the water. The likelihood of hooking a bass increases with the clarity of your line visibility. 

Many of these black lights are directly attached to your boat, so you never even notice them during the day. They shine from all casting angles and some are even dim so you can turn it down if there is a lot of moonlight or turn it up if the moonlight isn’t bright enough for you. 

Headlamp

When I go night fishing, I always bring some kind of headlight, usually a combination of a flashlight and a headlamp. These are great because I can take the light off and use it in my hand while also using it on my head when I need both hands free. 

This equipment is crucial because you will require it when attempting to pull the hook from a bass that has been hooked up to the side of the boat, net the fish, or take a quick nighttime photo of your catch. It won’t do you any good to hold a flashlight because you’ll need both hands free to function properly. 

Pliers/Scissors

Regardless of the time of day or night, you should have these two pieces of gear, but I thought it was important to include them nonetheless. When you hook a bass, the pliers will assist you in shaping the hook properly and removing it from the mouth. If you choose to use a braided line, scissors are for cutting it. 

Bug Spray

Mosquitos, a new source of disaster, is introduced when bass fishing at night. You won’t need to worry about the other pieces of equipment if you forget the bug spray because you won’t be able to catch anything. You’ll spend the entire night swatting and slapping yourself in the face because you’ll be too busy! 

Bring a lot of bug spray with you at all times. I’ve also bought citronella bracelets in the past, and you can also get pins to wear on your hat to deter insects. There are some excellent alternatives, though it was uncertain whether or not they would be successful. 

Extra Batteries

Nighttime bass fishing adds a slight element of danger, so I always advise being well-prepared. To avoid finding yourself in a sticky situation, you must have everything planned out. When you need to find something in the boat, having a few extra batteries will prevent you from being stuck in the dark. 

Bring Someone

Even though this isn’t exactly a piece of equipment, it’s still very important to keep in mind. If you’re going somewhere, you must absolutely let someone know. If you are a single person, find someone to tell or casually bring up the subject at work or elsewhere. If you’re going fishing tonight, let someone know.

I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve heard of elderly or older anglers going night fishing and then seeing their deaths on the local news after they fell out of their boat and drowned. Please, if you must fish alone, arrange for someone to be responsible for your return for the sake of you and your family. 

Just let them know you’ll send them a quick text when you get home and that you’re doing your best to stay wise and safe.

Lures For Bass Fishing At Night

­Many fishermen have discovered that dark lures work best for night fishing, despite the fact that this seems counterintuitive. Keep in mind that bass doesn’t have a human-like vision. [source: Bass Fishing.org] It turns out that since the dark lures are illuminated by the sky, the bass can see them more readily. The silhouette that dark hues like black, purple, deep blue, brown, and burgundy create on the water is visible to the bass. 

A second suggestion is to employ a black, short-arm spinner bait with a single, sizable Colorado blade. Even from a distance, the bass is drawn to the sound produced by the blade and short arm working together. The combination is crucial because bass are attracted to vibrations as well as sound and color. Bass that feed at night relies more on feel than sight to find their prey. The lure’s thump at night should worry you just as much as its flash does during the day.  Use a stronger thump than you would if the bass were primarily feeding on shad and less if they were primarily feeding on bream. The Colorado blade’s size can also be changed to see what works best. 

The traditional black jitterbug, which makes a lot of noise, is a good choice if you’re fishing in smaller lakes, streams, or even farm ponds. The use of rattles on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or inside of plastic worms is another tactic for creating noise. You should have large soft plastic lizards, skirted double-tailed grubs, and plastic worms measuring 7 to 10 inches, as well as other accessories. 

What are some of the unique techniques for bass fishing at night? To the next area, cast a line outward.

Seven Tips For Bass Fishing At Night

Bring Along Plenty Of Safety Gear

It’s great to catch the big fish, but not so great if you put your life in danger in the process. You should bring along additional safety equipment if you plan to go night fishing to make sure nothing bad happens. The most crucial thing you can do, as I previously stated, is bringing someone with you. Make sure someone is aware of where you are if you can’t. 

A first aid kit is the first item you should pack. You never know when something will go wrong, and working in low light puts you at risk of cutting yourself, being poked, or even worse. Bring along a first aid kit that is of the highest caliber; many of them are compact enough to fit in your tackle box. 

When you’re night fishing, life preservers are a must. Although I’m not advocating wearing it constantly, you should always keep it in your boat. It would be nice to have a life preserver because you never know how far you’ll have to swim. I told you the story about how I almost got hung up on a stump. If I had to jump out and loosen up the boat or swim to shore.

Even the thought of having an emergency blanket in the boat appeals to me. Having that blanket to keep you warm until you reach land is a nice luxury that many people might overlook if you do need to jump into the water at some point. It’s wise to have a backup plan, even if you just leave it in your car.  

Rig Up Before You Go

I haven’t seen this great advice anywhere else, so I’ll share it now. Before the sun sets and you arrive at the lake, finish all the hard work. Make sure your rod is fully prepared before heading out, including the hooks and lure, so you won’t have to fuss with it.

The last thing you want to do is lose your equipment or waste valuable fishing time tying knots in the dark. 

Whether you have a headlamp or not, it’s always a good idea to be ready in advance. If you have more than one rod, you can rig each one with the two lures you anticipate using so you can easily switch between them. 

Keep The Lure Active

The presentation should be slowed down, but you should still keep it lively. Because visibility isn’t as good in low light, the noise will be more useful to you than color. Stopping excessively will prevent you from attracting enough attention and, as a result, won’t help you succeed very much. 

You must cast and retrieve steadily when night fishing, and this is especially important when the bass are active. The sonar senses of bass are not as strong as those of other fish, so they won’t be able to detect minute movements. Use a loud spinner or popper and keep it moving to make your presence known in the water.

Scope The Area Out

My father always gave me advice like this, and it is very helpful. Never go somewhere you haven’t been before if you’re going night fishing, he advised.”

There are some locations where fishing at night is prohibited by the Department of Conservation of Natural Resources. Fishing is still permitted from the shore, though. 

There are places where you can sneak on, of course, but if you get caught, all you’ll get is a fine. 

Anyway, if this is your first time fishing the location, I would suggest visiting during the day to get a feel for it. Pay attention to things like power lines, low-hanging trees, stumps, rocks, a lot of weeds in the shallow water, etc. Get to the lake at 8 and take a look around since it doesn’t get completely dark until 9 pm during the summer. 

Slow Down Your Presentation

You should slow down a little when fishing topwater lures, crankbaits, or jigs. Big bass isn’t nearly as active at night, so if you’re fishing dense cover, you’ll need to slow down if you want to draw them out.

You must think like a fish because their metabolism slows down at night as well. You must keep in mind that smallmouth that feeds on shad may only bite if you aggravate them to the point of biting. 

Bass are opportunistic feeders, which means they’ll take whatever they can get, but they won’t bite at night if they think it will be too difficult. Utilize the proper color lure, slow it down to make yourself appear weak, and make it simple for them. 

Be Patient

Don’t count on the night to draw large crowds. Instead, exercise patience and recognize that you’ll likely have to compromise quantity for quality. There will be a feeding window where the fish will bite if you maintain a low profile and keep your bait moist. Even if it’s only for an hour, magic can happen in that hour.

Don’t Overdo It

Use vibration-producing baits and try to work them as little as possible in addition. Keeping the extra jerks or pops to a minimum will typically result in more bites because bass has a tendency to miss baits at night as it is. The rule of thumb for nighttime racing is slow and steady.

Conclusion

The fishing doesn’t have to end there, though. Some of the biggest basses I’ve ever caught have come just as the sun is setting. Everybody should occasionally try their hand at night fishing because it is such a unique experience. 

Keep in mind the safety advice in this article, pack lightly, pay attention to the weather, and use the appropriate lures for the situation.