Anyone into night time Bass fishing?

[Harleynut]

I tried trolling for bass last night with a jitterbug and got one then fishing from shore got two more. I have fished dusk lots and a short time after but was kind of suprised they were still hitting at midnight. I could hear the jitterbug going through the water and then bang fish on.
Wondering now if top water is the only way to go at night or does all the regular stuff work the same at night too. The bad thing is you can't see them hitting the top water lures and thats the best part of top water fishing for me. Most of the time we fish late is trying for hornpout. Fun to see the lighted bobbers go under water and follow them that way.
Any tricks that work well for you?

 

[bigjim]

my favorite pond is allmost too choked with invasive weeds to fish now but i find my zara spook works good at dusk and after dark i have an old sputterbug made by the same pepole as the jitterbug that works crazy also some cabelas brand poppers that have rattles in them work great.

i prefer to stick with topwater or bait at night because i just end up looseing my stuff i was haveing good luck in the early spring before the weeds really came in with spinners at night i have some that supousedly have glow in the dark paint but its just the vibration that gets them anyway.

 

[Fixxah]

I fish the largest rubber worms I can find and rig them Texas style
Amd bounce them off of anything on the bottom.

Catch my biggest fish this way. Plus you have the pond tto yourself.
Sent from the Hyundai of the droids, the Samsung Replenish, using Tapatalk.

 

[jfcasey]

Hell yeah. Hot humid night time bass fishing is a hoot. I fish anywhere with a sandy bottom, and rapid fire rattle traps, buzzbaits, jitterbugs, spooks, frogs, or what ever else seems to be the ticket that night. If the sandy beaches aren't producing at night, then crack open a beer, and start hucking wacky rigged senkos out a bit deeper, its slower for sure, but lots of fun and gives you a chance to enjoy the night time scenery.

You also speak of not seeing the bite, well thats the best part of tossing noisy top water at night. The excitement you get from hearing that chugchugchug and then silence or an explosion will get you addicted before you even have a chance to second guess night time fishing.

 

[Cd662]

I've had some good luck with Jitterbugs. Are you adverse to using bait? I've caught nice largemouth bass on nightcrawlers on the bottom, and baitfish at various depths.

 

[Harleynut]

Lots of good tips here thanks guys!
One night I got 5 with a green hula popper then they wanted nothing to do with it. Last night after dark got 3 on a green and white jitter bug. I bought a second one just like it and trolled the pond again and tonight got 4. The biggest about 2 1/2 lbs. It was a beautiful night out there with a full moon and after a short rain the temp dropped and there was fog on the pond. Made it very spooky looking. The only noise after the birds stopped was from a beaver and musk rat other then when the bass hit the lure.
Here is a pic of a fish I caught last week that is 5 lbs + but that is the biggest I have caught on this small pond in years most of them are in the 2 to 3 lb range. I got this one on a Kelly worm that is weedless and I been using some smelly jelly on them as well. At times they really like them other times they all have lock jaw. Your comments are going to make me want to try everything at night and see what works.

 

[Harleynut]

I've had some good luck with Jitterbugs. Are you adverse to using bait? I've caught nice largemouth bass on nightcrawlers on the bottom, and baitfish at various depths.

Hello no I just want to catch fish. Tried some night crawlers last night to see if the hornpout where out or not and stopped after 2 eels. I did catch some small perch and kept them in a container in the water for bait but that hasn't produced for me yet. One of these nights going to try chicken livers for the hornpout and see how that works.

 

[Harleynut]

I fish the largest rubber worms I can find and rig them Texas style
Amd bounce them off of anything on the bottom.

Catch my biggest fish this way. Plus you have the pond tto yourself.
Sent from the Hyundai of the droids, the Samsung Replenish, using Tapatalk.

During the day every bass I have caught has been with in 3 feet of the side in the weeds and bushes. I have never caught one in the middle of the pond but really don't spend much time fishing there either maybe I am missing some because of that.
I see fish on the fish finder and have tried everything I can and never caught anything. A nice night crawler should get anything to bite even if its small.

 

[reveille]

seems like the big fish hit more at night on topwater lures, i Caught my 7.12oz bass on bill dance hulla popper just after midnight last year. I casted out cracked a beer and almost lost my pole( hit it as soon as it hit the water.) I also like to get huge shiners that I catch,sometimes its the live bait the fish like and bite. If you use a weight and a shiner blown up, (fill it with air). let it sit, i usually have luck catching some pretty big ones, this works for trout,pike,musky and bass. I've been doing more river fishing for big fish this year rather than limit myself to bass, I got a 25lb carp the other day on bread.

I would like to try the merrimack river sometime.


Nice fish. remember BIG BAIT=BIG FISH.

 

[Harleynut]

seems like the big fish hit more at night on topwater lures, i Caught my 7.12oz bass on bill dance hulla popper just after midnight last year. I casted out cracked a beer and almost lost my pole( hit it as soon as it hit the water.) I also like to get huge shiners that I catch,sometimes its the live bait the fish like and bite. If you use a weight and a shiner blown up, (fill it with air). let it sit, i usually have luck catching some pretty big ones, this works for trout,pike,musky and bass. I've been doing more river fishing for big fish this year rather than limit myself to bass, I got a 25lb carp the other day on bread.

I would like to try the merrimack river sometime.


Nice fish. remember BIG BAIT=BIG FISH.

Now just how do you fill a bait fish with air? I am guessing doing that makes it float above the sinker on the bottom. Usually once the bait fish dies I just toss it and let them have a free meal on me.
I fished the Merrimac years ago at a friends house in Groveland with my son when he was about 10. The friend was Air force and used to feed the ducks behind his house cracked corn. We went there at night and caught horn pout. Never did dare to eat them after they had spent their life feeding on that bottom mud poluted for so many years. Now I guess the water quality is much better but there are chemicals still in the mud that I didn't trust.
I had seen some government trucks and boats on the Haverhill / West Newbury bridge one time they were hanging what looked like an umbrella over the side and shocking them and other boats picking them up where they tested them and releastakingrmeasurementsasurments and relocating some others up stream. Was amazed how many big fish they were getting out of there.

 

[SKS Ray]

There were a few ponds I used to fish only at night. Clear water ponds with depths of 20-30 feet are ideal for night fishing, especially when summer time days are filled with people swimming, boating, and jet skiing.

Dark colored lures are best because they stand out against a night sky well. My favorite was a 3/8 oz spinner bait with a good sized Colorado blade painted black and black silicone skirt with a black Berkley 2" power grub for a trailer. Best when slow rolled just under the surface. These days you can get nigh time spinner baits just about at any store made by several different companies.

Black Jitterbugs like mentioned are also great because you can fish them slow and steady.

Another bait I used to have great success with was a 7" AC Plug in all black. I don't even think they still sell original AC plugs anymore.

In ponds with lit areas like sandy beaches and boat docks, bass will often move in to feed on crayfish and bait fish in the shallows. Plenty of times when we'd be leaving and using a flood light to see the beach you could see bait all over the shore line in a foot of water, especially if it was lit with street lights, etc. Plus bass are less spooked at night in the shallows because there isn't as much activity as during the day.

Sometimes though when water temp is high after a heat wave or stretch with no rain, you have to resort to what works like 10" worms crawled along the bottom or big rattle jigs tipped with hefty trailer. Bass feel the heat just like we do and when its hot they won't move too fast to chase down bait.

My best fish always came between 9:00 and 11:00 but there were times when the bite would be on all night and I'd stay till 2am or so.

 

[reveille]

there is a little eye drop looking bottle with a small metal tip needle that you shove up the shiners rear end, it stays alive for a while just flopping around floating off the bottom works rear well for smallmouth.