Why fish at night in summer?
Why should you fish at night in the summer? There are
many good reasons, but at the top of my list would be good fishing, comfortable
temps, and less fishing pressure.
Good fishing: fishing is usually as good or better at
night, not only in the summer, but year round. During the summer, the
thermocline sets in and the fish are suspended and inactive most of the
time - making them tough to catch. At night, they will come into the shallows
to feed. So if you fish at night, you can fish for feeding fish, rather
than trying to provoke reaction strikes from inactive fish. Troy Coates,
a personal friend of mine, caught a 17.05# fish at night in February from
the bank. It was the number 5 fish in Texas when she was caught. I know
of other fish on the top 50 list that were also caught at night. The average
size of the fish we catch during the day in the summer is probably less
than half the size of the fish we catch at night. Night
time is a great time for catching big fish.
Comfortable Temps: if you have ever been to Texas during the
summer, you know how hot it gets during the day. At night, it gets so
much cooler that you may even need a jacket sometime during the night.
Less Fishing Pressure: sometimes you practically have
the lake to yourself if you fish at night. Most people don't fish at night,
so you won't see as many boats at night. The exception to that is holidays
and weekends - especially holiday weekends. Memorial Day, July 4th, and
Labor Day weekends will usually be crowded at night on a popular lake
like Lake Fork.
Many people are sceptical about going night fishing.
If you have concerns about fishing at night, take note:
1) Sleep - I do a lot of anchoring at night and it is often beneficial to stay in the same spot
for a long time. The fish will get accustomed to the boat being in their spot
and will bite better than when we first got there. So it is possible that
the fishing will improve by taking a nap with the boat anchored. So, if the bite gets slow and you get tired, you can take a nap on the deck.
2) Bugs - the bugs are only bad if it is calm and you are in a protected
area. I usually fish big water at night, so there will likely be a breeze
to keep the majority of bugs away. Even if it is calm and the bugs get
bad, they go away about an hour after dark. Most of the annoying bugs
do not bite. They just make noise and buzz around your head. I carry repellent
in the boat, but most nights I don't even use it.
3) Sight - if you are concerned about seeing visible targets, you shouldn't.
Even on the darkest nights, your eyes will adjust to the darkness. Also,
there are other lights around the lake and we have flashlights and a spotlights
to help, so sight is not much of an issue. Most of the cover I fish at
night is under water, so you couldn't even see it in the daytime. On a
full moon night, it is almost like daytime on the lake. I will often cover
more water on moonlight nights when we can hit visible targets. However,
I don't usually do any better than when I anchor up on a good spot and
wait for the fish to come to us.
4) Backlashes - if you fish with me and are concerned about picking out backlashes
all night, keep in mind that I do this for a living. I have taught many
clients how to minimize backlashes and I have picked out thousands myself.
I can strip a reel, put new line in it, and have a bait tied on it in
5 minutes. Helping you is my job. Even if you have never thrown a baitcaster,
chances are you will be making good casts before it even gets dark.
