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- Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2008
Night Fishing for Bass - Part 2 Lures by Carlton "Doc" Holliday
The summertime is the ideal time for beginning to fish at night for bass. The large lakes and reservoirs are packed with campers and visitors from Memorial Day until Labor Day every year. These folks have ski boats, jet skis and runabouts for running all over the lake and bugging bass fishermen. You have a choice, fish from daylight until breakfast time and then wait until 5:00 or 6:00 o'clock in the evening and fishing until dark or you could just wait and go out at sunset and fish as long as you want with little or no disturbances whatsoever.
Night fishing is generally peaceful and calm and, in many cases, you may not see another boat anywhere you fish. You must have a plan and prepare for night fishing.
During the day, make sure your batteries are fully charged and you have gas in the boat. Check your running lights to ensure they are operating properly. Check your flashlight and high intensity spotlight to make sure they are also working properly. If you plan on using a light for fishing, check it to make sure it is working and plugged in before you get on the water. Check your life jackets to make sure you have one for everyone and that they fit. Be sure and check the weather reports for potential bad weather in the evening or night. Make sure your cell phone is charged.
Organize your tackle in a way that it won't be in your way or under foot. Choose a couple of rods to fish with and place them in a place that won't be under foot. Stow your net in a place you won't be tripping over it. Organize your lures in a small bag or tackle box for easy access. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to look into a dark compartment at midnight trying to find a hook and a weight to rig up for worm fishing.
Pick the baits you are going to fish with. Most night fishing is going to be done with plastic worms or lizards, jigs and spinnerbaits or some top water plugs. Your experience on a lake should give you some idea of what to use as far as type of bait.
Most night fishing requires dark lures. The traditional bait is the plastic worm in some combination of black and red: Black / Firetail, Black Ruby (black worm / red metal flake), Red Shad, Black / Blue tail and occasionally a Black / Chartreuse tail. Other colors, depending on conditions, are camouflage, Tequilla sunrise and purple / firetail.
Other baits that will also produce bass are jig and pig combinations, spinnerbaits and some top water baits. A lost art that began 30+ years ago is the jig and eel. I can remember bass fishing at night with my father on Bull Shoals Lake with the jig and eel when I was a kid. We caught several bass in the 8+ pound class and enjoyed it immensely. The bait consisted of a ½ to 5/8 ounce black jig fitted with a 6 inch Uncle Josh pork eel. We fished points and worked the bait very slowly. By the way, it still works at times today.
Several spinnerbait manufacturers produce baits especially made for night fishing. Most of these baits are a combination of black and red and usually have one big or a combination of Colorado blades. These baits are extremely effective for fishing around bluffs at night.
Some of the top water baits used are the old reliable black jitterbug, black hula popper, and a black tiny torpedo. Most top water baits that cause a lot of commotion on top of the water will work as long as they are in dark colors.
The third part of this article will look at where and how to fish the various baits we have just discussed.
Source:
Carlton "Doc" Holliday is a retired Professional Fisherman and businessman. The fishing career lasted 20 years interlaced with 30+ years of industrial management, teaching and consulting work. For more information on bass fishing go to: http://www.bassfishinglakeouachita.com
