THE BASS COLLEGE

I used to fish a lot from dinner time to dusk, caught a lot of fish during that time. Since i have a new work schedule this summer that limits me from fish during the day. I was thinking about fishing at night? Anyone have any tips/techniques/suggestions

I don't know if this is a good idea or not?

on ponds/lakes with lilly pads or across open water i love to skip a weedless frog and you will get BIG bites!  great on those summer nights when the weather cools just a bit but still warm out.  im also like to throw my buzzbaits at night as well.  sometimes its hit or miss, other times it is on FIRE!

Go At Night: 

I know you heard this before, but this is the time for trophy bass!  

Now, when I say go at night, I mean that you should arrive at the lake about two hours after sunset, and you should be leaving when the first boats start to arrive in the morning. When I first started doing this there was never another boat fishing for bass on either of these lakes, nor was there anyone on any of the public ponds either. After the word got out in a years time there would be three to five boats on all these waters every time I arrived afterwards. 

You should keep all the noise to an absolute minimum, as these bass are really used to hearing trolling motors, oars, objects banging on the bottom of boats, and even loud conversation and radios. Remember, this is their "Front Room". If somebody came into your house you would know they were there! Even once the other anglers started to come they didn't do what I am going to tell you now. They made a lot of noise and had lights on all the time. They smoked and used a lot of bug spray and touched gasoline, etc. which was on their hands. I believe this deters the bass even if it is to a small degree. Remember, we are talking about a trophy bass, not just three to five pounders. I believe there is a difference when fishing for these bass. 

I don't use lights at all! I only turn on a light when it is absolutely necessary and I never shine it on the water. You can debate forever whether this is necessary to do or not, but I believe that the proof is in the pudding as they say. When I see other anglers catching the same or larger bass than I do without following these rules, then I will admit that it doesn't matter, but until that happens I will continue to employ these tactics for trophy bass. 

One last thing I will tell you about baits is that I generally use the largest bait available when trophy hunting to avoid the smaller fish.

I make the profile of the buzzbait larger by adding a long trailer like a worm or swimbait to the body, and  I use a big saltwater type topwater at times, or even 10 inch worms and big jigs.

 It is not just the type of baits either but how they are worked. One example is the buzzbait. I not only vary the retrieves until I see what they want that day or night, but I also make repeated casts to the same area. I don't mean repeated in the manner you think. I will make fifty casts at times from every possible angle to the same piece of cover or same area of water. Many times on cast number thirty or forty a bass has exploded on the bait! 

Using these tactics I have described I managed to catch more than 568 trophy class bass in five years and was inducted into the NAFC Hall Of Fame in 2003. One of these bass was just ounces off the Delaware state record at 10.16 pounds. It was featured in all of Bass Pro Shops master catalogs and in the News Journal paper, as well as Bassmaster magazine Lunker Club and other publications.  

Of the 568 trophy class fish I caught using these methods, over 100 of them were over six pounds, ten were over seven pounds, three were over eight pounds, and two were over nine pounds. These bass all came from public waters in Delaware and Maryland, except for two of them, which were caught in the private lakes I mentioned in Delaware.

If you follow these tactics you may just catch that fish of a lifetime, but even if you don't, I guarantee you will catch more and bigger bass than you ever had before.

and i was there for a handful of them  with you. we did -we left at night from the dock and came back in when most anglers were headed out - i will admit this was done early to late summer on most occasions. Mostly topwater baits and steve sr is right its casting in a particular spot - no joke over and over again until u think you have lost your mind

LOL That about says it right? lol:lol:

My number one bait at night is a 10" power worm in black or black/chatreuse. Except at Haven they seem to like craws better for me. Nothing like hearing them blow up on topwater though! That gets the ol' heart pumping! Biggest problem I have had is people messing with my truck in the parking lots at night. I cannot believe how many people pull into the ponds at night up to no good. 

  I also try not use any lights here on the ponds except a black light to see some of the light biters. But on a reservoir you better have at least one light on or you will get your ass ran over. Seen it happen a few times in Az and Tx. Turns a fun night into a living nightmare real quick. The night time is the right time! Oh, and watch out for them damn Bats! 

Fishing at night is alwesome.  Invest in a QUALITY black light and use flourescent line.  You will be amazed how it will glow in the dark.  You will also be surpirsed at how well the fish can see and find your bait.  Spinner baits, texas rigged worms(dark colors), and buzz baits all work well.  Just be careful and have fun.  Have fun this summer and let us know how you do.

Night fishing is probably the easiest way for your average guy to catch the biggest bass of his or her life. You cant catch them if your not there. So just buy going you've got a leg up on the 70 percent of fisherman who don't even go at night. Now when you get there as far as baits go keep it simple. Throw Clacker buzzbaits,Colorado spinnerbaits,10 inch worms,Jigs with the biggest trailer you can find andTournament frogs. You can throw these baits in any color you like as long as its BLACK!:tongue:. I hate to even admit to this but over the past 2 years our hottest two night baits have been a chatterbait and Rattle trap. They've been killing night bass up to 9 pounds for us with so many in the 5 pound class we've lost count. The chatterbait in my opinion is the finest night bait in my arsenal and the rattletrap was something I stumbled upon a few years back. Id never read any articles or seen any shows where guys were using  them at night but I happened to have one tied on a pole in my rod locker and we weren't catching squat so i gave it a try and I stroked them. 15 bass on 20 casts. Since then I always try it. The trap I admit is more hit or miss than other baits but when theyre on it theyre on it. Its not a bait you'll catch 2 or 3 on. You'll get none or you'll load the boat. So add these two baits to the lures above and don't even bother to bring anything else.

Now like steve said its where and how you throw these baits thats really important. Every lake is different and it takes alot of trial and error but I will say repetition is paramount at night. We used to pull up to a magic flat about 2 or 300 yards long  on a lake we fish and make about 200 casts each in this area before moving on. Sometimes theyd hit on the first few casts but more often than not it was on cast 50,80 100 or even cast 200 before boom a 7 pound bass exploded. In Delaware this is a big fish potentially one of the biggest in the lake. So in other parts od the country or world instead of 7,8,or9 this could be 12,13 or even18 pounds. Trust me this technique works. I can tell you that while I have caught big bass fishing along and casting  to the shore at night, most of the pigs came from open water shallow flats. These big bass cruise these flats at night pulling up on clumps of grass,isolated stumps,pads or brushpiles or even little depressions or ditches to feed. So find these types of areas on your local lake get youre big black baits,be patient and cast til your arms fall off and hang on because you can and will get a fish of a lifetime

well said my bas man

 U taught me a thing or two bout that open water buzzin

yes i did and u know hows its it done - hey if i could get a boat out here or go out with a couple of people in a boat wow - couldnt imagine the results id havve

Lol, not allowed to go out at night on my bike, so haven't had the experience yet. Are bass more likely to hit topwater lures, swimbaits, or jigs?

topwater, spinnerbaits,chatterbaits and jigs.

Night fishing is a great idea, on a familiar lake.  Sometimes not such a good idea on a brand new lake, unless you've gotten very reliable information on it.

I have been once for a couple of hours but the mosquitoes tried to carry me away. I recommend going with a fishing partner, stuff happens and it's nice to have someone with you to help out.