Ask anyone who knows their stuff and they’ll tell you fishing for bass at night is a thrill like no other. The hotness and humidity of the day are replaced by stillness and silence that brings out the excitement in you, and the bass out to feed.
Sadly, while it offers the best conditions for seasoned fishermen, fishing for bass at night can be quite intimidating to a lot of anglers who don’t necessarily have the skills for it yet.
If you happen to fall into this category, you don’t have to worry. Below are some night bass fishing tips that will leave you feeling like a pro in no time.
Add a Black Light to Your Boat
Before you even start to fish, one of the first steps you should take for extremely smooth bass fishing at night is to add a black light to your boat. Fitting any black light system to your boat’s rub rail illuminates every casting angle. This, along with a clear blue, fluorescent monofilament line, gives you clear visibility and serves as a much bigger appeal to the fishes.
Keep it Simple
While the darkness may cause some anxiety in you while fishing for bass at night, what you really want to do is stay calm and keep things simple. This means no messing with numerous rods you can’t keep track of or trying different complicated presentations.
A clear boat deck, one combination at a time, and simple presentations all go a long way in making sure you enjoy a successful bass fishing night every time.
Vibration Without Exaggeration
Thanks to the cooler temperature at night, bass tend to move into the shallow waters for their feeding. Now what you want to do is to ensure you make use of baits that put out a lot of vibration but take note that you don’t work them too much.
By working them too much, we mean putting in too many extra jerks and pops. Doing this may inadvertently cause the bass to miss the bait.
The original vibration of your bait, especially at night, is more than enough.
Patience
Fishing for bass at night is usually seen as an avenue to score big. The expectation, more often than not, makes inexperienced anglers overly anxious. This is a recipe for missing out on a lot of good catches.
Instead of focusing on quantity, you should pay more attention to quality. In the end you may end up not catching too many, but you will be getting some magical catch at the right time.
Match Lure to Moonlight
Moonlight plays a huge role in night fishing, and ideally you should strive to ensure that your lure color selection matches the moonlight color. For instance, on pitch-black nights with little to no moonlight, your lure should be solid black or brown.
Under a bright moonlit night, vibrant colors like green, red, and even orange should do.
For days where the moonlight is somewhere in the middle, you may want to try a red-black, green-black, or blue-black combination.
Final Thoughts
Fishing for bass at night offers great potential, but it has to be done right. Keeping things simple, using the right combinations, using vibrant baits, and adding a touch of light to your boat can all go a long way in making your night bass fishing session an absolute success.