Night fishing for fresh water bass

Tips on night fishing for freshwater bass;

I guided for years for trophy large and small mouth at night and was able to guarantee a 5 lb LM or a 3lb SM or better or the next trip was free and I never gave away a trip. Many fish were 7, 8 and 9 lbs LM. This was in MA, but the top water night fishing works everywhere. Some things that worked for me;

• The darker the night the better, I could get fish on a full moon, but I always did better when it wasn’t. If I was out on a full moon night, I could do better by fishing in the shade of a hill or line of trees.
• The first hour of the night was OK, but improved as the night went on and if you waited to go out around 10:00 to 10:30 you missed most of the bugs.
• The color of the jitterbug did not matter much, but the size made a big difference and a 5/8 broken back proved to be the best choice. The 1 ounce Musky’s with their hooks to the side, work, but not as well.
• I put a small dot of “glow in the dark tape” on the belly of the jitterbug and if the fish keep missing that night or are just not hitting I will hit it with a light and often that would get me some fish. I did not use it often, but it did make a difference from time to time.
• Don’t shine your light in the water and if you can don’t have any lights on at all!
• Top water at night “season” is much wider than many anglers think. I have caught fish in early April to the 1st week of December in NH!

Hope this helps and most important is to get out, let’s face it, there nothing on the TV as good as fishing and we can sleep when we are dead!