Author Topic: Night Fishing  (Read 5926 times)

Offline acrawfor

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Night Fishing
« on: Dec 05, 2011, 04:34 PM »
When I fish in the lower peninsula I can catch crappie at night with no problem. I probably do better at night than in the day actually. In the upper peninsula where I'm going to school there is a good crappie lake that you can catch good numbers of good fish during the day. Once night hits there is very very little activity. So little that the couple of times I tried at night, not a single other person was out. When I did go I marked quite a few fish, but only had a couple bites and only managed to catch 1 total.

Anyone have experience with lakes like this? I should also mention that this lake has a good walleye population that nobody fishes for at night either. Seems nothing likes to bite at night. Any ideas for catching crappie?

Offline Swift

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #1 on: Dec 05, 2011, 06:20 PM »
There are lakes like that,,,,,but. Have a couple lakes over the years where they would stage in an area before moving someplace else to actually feed. They were easy to find, a fairly obvious place but would not eat there during the winter, probably a lack of a food concentration. They'd move up a cut on to a flat maybe 3' shallower and only 25yds away then pig out. Finding the feed bag they're looking for might be the answer, or it's just one of those lakes

Offline KeystoneICE

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #2 on: Dec 05, 2011, 11:00 PM »
Has anyone ever used a light down the hole? 
Time to fish.

Offline acrawfor

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #3 on: Dec 06, 2011, 05:30 AM »
Not sure on that one, I know I haven't up here. Seems like someone would have tried it, unless everyone has just thought for so long that there is no point to going out at night that no one has bothered. I'll ask around a bit on that.

Offline chfishon

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #4 on: Dec 06, 2011, 12:08 PM »
I agree u just need to find them and there feeding spots in the winter..They will also sometimes feed in a deferent spot at night than during the day
FISH ON

Offline slipperybob

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #5 on: Dec 06, 2011, 01:38 PM »
Sometimes it's just a day bite or just a night bite.
For more information read my MN nice journal

Offline nodak

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #6 on: Dec 07, 2011, 06:22 PM »
In my experience, for walleye, the day bite or night bite is directly related to the water clarity.  Clear water will have an almost nonexistent day bite with a great sunset bite (hungry from not eating all day) and then a decent night bite. Murky water will have a great morning bite (hungry from not eating all night) with a decent day bite, a little flurry at sunset, and a nonexistent night bite.  The lake I fish normally is extremely clear.  Experience has taught me to not even target walleye until about an hour before sunset.  I may be off base and missing out but I stopped fishing for walleye during the day and fish other species (pike) or surrounding smaller lakes morning and midday (perch, pike, and eyes).  Too many hours of trying to force fish to bite that have no interest in biting lead me to this routine.
Big pike thru a hole are fun!

Offline RIVERRAT2

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #7 on: Jan 14, 2012, 10:28 AM »
I use white gas lamp on the ice[clear ice works best] it looks like the lamp draws in the small fish which pulls in
the crappies,donot know where or not they can see at night???
 ;D ;D ;D ;D
RAT
I LOVE FISHING.IT IS A FULLTIME JOB

Offline Dull Hooks

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #8 on: Jan 16, 2012, 07:57 AM »
Up until last week we had no snow cover on the ice , found a willing school to play in the middle of the day in 25 fow and within a foot 2 off bottom.Now we have some snow cover , and now the bite is at dusk until about 6-630pm and suspended 3-5 off 20 fow  ??? Vex still marking fish , but just shut right off , switched and switched but nothing. Seems to be a silty flat they move up on , after fileting some I inspected what they could be eating and found no bait fish , but what looks like insects of some sort. Where would I try to find them again during the day like before? I've fished that area of 25 fow before finding them for the late afternoon early night bite.Just wondering what to look for on the flasher or if one of my friends bring a camera out?? And the water is tea colored.

Thanks for any insight.

Offline chfishon

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #9 on: Jan 16, 2012, 08:33 AM »
I went out to a lake last night that i usually get crappie and walked all over and didn't mark no fish and i even sat out there for a couple hours just to see if they would start moving but nothing so i don't know what the deal is ??? ???
FISH ON

Offline oldbuck

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #10 on: Jan 16, 2012, 03:57 PM »
My experience has been clear water means a better night bite. Lakes with dirty, cloudy, or colored water they bite during  daylight or lowlight.

Offline Paul D.

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #11 on: Jan 16, 2012, 07:03 PM »
Up until last week we had no snow cover on the ice , found a willing school to play in the middle of the day in 25 fow and within a foot 2 off bottom.Now we have some snow cover , and now the bite is at dusk until about 6-630pm and suspended 3-5 off 20 fow  ??? Vex still marking fish , but just shut right off , switched and switched but nothing. Seems to be a slity flat they move up on , after fileting some I inspected what they could be eating and found no bait fish , but what looks like insects of some sort. Where would I try to find them again during the day like before? I've fished that area of 25 fow before finding them for the late afternoon early night bite.Just wondering what to look for on the flasher or if one of my friends bring a camera out?? And the water is tea colored.

Thanks for any insight.

Sounds like you may be intercepting a daily movement and not necessarily a major feeding area. The bite probably  happens as the school moves thru.
If you pulled your baits away from the few remaining nonbiters, they will leave.  Sounds like you may have figured out where/ how they are feeding and just don't realize it yet. That evening bite should last at least 3 hours or more after dark if you find where the main school is.
As far as the day location, hard to say, here in the N.E. we find the fish on our night bite lakes drop to the bottom, spread out and become neutral to negative. We have confirmed this with cameras just before ice up.  Look further up on that flat in the evening , try to find a bottom composition change with your sonar, use that as an edge and try to find out where they are crossing that line ( dip, steep drop, turn, point); the change should be near the base of the drop off, but it depends on the lake. . You seem to be very close to hitting the mother load.

Offline Dull Hooks

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #12 on: Jan 17, 2012, 12:27 AM »
Sounds like you may be intercepting a daily movement and not necessarily a major feeding area. The bite probably  happens as the school moves thru.
If you pulled your baits away from the few remaining nonbiters, they will leave.  Sounds like you may have figured out where/ how they are feeding and just don't realize it yet. That evening bite should last at least 3 hours or more after dark if you find where the main school is.
As far as the day location, hard to say, here in the N.E. we find the fish on our night bite lakes drop to the bottom, spread out and become neutral to negative. We have confirmed this with cameras just before ice up.  Look further up on that flat in the evening , try to find a bottom composition change with your sonar, use that as an edge and try to find out where they are crossing that line ( dip, steep drop, turn, point); the change should be near the base of the drop off, but it depends on the lake. . You seem to be very close to hitting the mother load.

That's what I was discussing today with my friend who has been out there with me each time we've run into them.On this lake at each side of this flat is a boulder sticking through the ice and on the other it looks like weeds or thin brush sticking out of the ice from an island.By the sounds of it they're probably on the edge of the flat during the day.Only thing to do is punch a bunch of holes and try to find them.Sunday night they just showed up and bit really good til about 6 pm,I was still marking fish just not cooperating after that.And if I missed a fish on the hook set ,the flasher would go blank for a few seconds and they showed back up again.Back at again this weekend

Offline Paul D.

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #13 on: Jan 17, 2012, 09:56 PM »
Sounds more like a neck down between two shallow areas. Check which ever side is nearer the deeper water, look for them to be just off the edge out in the deeper water for a day bite.

Offline Zugunruhe

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #14 on: Jan 24, 2012, 09:22 AM »
Dull Hooks-

I fish a lake with similar frustrations to yours, we mark a lot of fish on the night bite and they will stay in your holes, sniff, chase etc. for several minutes but seldom make an honest effort at taking a lure.  Last year, my brother stumbled onto one lure that would work in that situation- a red glow Genz bug tipped with a single maggot.  I tried other red glow lures, but they simply didn't show the interest they did in the Genz bug.  All I can say is glow them up good (and regularly) and be prepared for a very light bite.  If you're marking fish, you're in the right area, just have to find what trips their trigger and make those bites count.  Once we figured this out, four of us limited on crappies in that spot for three straight nights.  Peak activity was from about 6-7:00 p.m. with another flurry usually between 10-11.  After that things got pretty slow.  Good luck!

Offline Dull Hooks

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #15 on: Jan 24, 2012, 11:11 PM »
Fished Sunday during the day in the area where I got into them before in slightly deeper water.Took a skunk on crappie. Fished marked coming out of weeds, all lookers and they'd leave come back after I switched jigs still no biters.A friend of mine got into them Saturday night. I got nothing on minnows on tip ups except small perch and a couple very small pickeral.Basically threw the kitchen sink at them.I also noticed the increase in pressure from other anglers on Sunday.More shanty's out and other anglers as well.Alot of our bigger lakes just haven't quite got safe enough ice yet to spread people out.With this up and down weather it'll get tougher if we don't get some serious cold. ;D


Zugunrhue -
The only color I haven't tried yet is red glow.The nights I've found them they've wanted a green glow demon.Will try some red glow next time out and see what happens.

Offline Zugunruhe

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #16 on: Jan 25, 2012, 02:23 PM »
Red glow is my "go to" color for nighttime crappies!  It glows brighter than any other color but the glow doesn't last as long as some others.  Best thing I have found is to use a UV (blacklight) to glow the lure up and do it often.  If the crappies are a little more agressive, I switch to a small red glow Lindy Frostee Jig with a maggot on each hook of the treble and make them chase it up, slowly raising as they come up to check it out.  Have fun!

I bought some blue and purple glow lures late last year to try out but we just got fishable ice here in the last two weeks so I haven't put them to the test.  While they don't glow as bright as red, they glow for 2X or 3X as long.

Offline Dull Hooks

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #17 on: Jan 26, 2012, 12:25 AM »
I'll have to give it a shot with red  @) .. After looking through my jigs I have only 1 red glow jig..lol.. Hmmm guess I need to place an order perhaps with Jammin Jigs ;D.. And having to stay within the regs of my state I cannot put bait on trebles can only use single hook points. And the times I've run into to them all the bites have been super light.

Offline UFCreel

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #18 on: Jan 26, 2012, 08:49 AM »
Went out yesterday afternoon 2:00pm till 10:00pm. Found crappie right away got them on a jigging rap, gold frosty spoon and on the Hex fly.  As 5:30 approached i switched out to a green glow jig and a red glow jig made by Bartness industries. Called the perch eye jig size 6. Put on a minnow and away we went 47 crappies. Ended with 12 gill from earlier in the day and my limit of 15 crappie from 9inches to 14 inches. Its a must to keep charging them glow jigs!
Flags up! Bobbers down!

Offline river_scum

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #19 on: Jan 31, 2012, 07:28 PM »
i use submersible lights under the ice, works great! some pictures on my photo bucket -> http://s264.photobucket.com/albums/ii171/river_scum/
real fishermen don't ask "where you catch those"

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Offline bearbgone

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #20 on: Feb 04, 2012, 01:17 PM »
In my experience, for walleye, the day bite or night bite is directly related to the water clarity.
  Yep, my favorite crappie night fishing spot has clear water. I have also tried an underwater light and it didn't seem to help. Maybe I gave up on it too soon?




Offline Dull Hooks

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #21 on: Feb 06, 2012, 08:24 AM »
Both lakes I've fished have a dark tea colored water and only once this season so far have I caught them during day, other than that it's been a early morning or just at dusk to early evening bite.Found some yesterday during the day but all small ones. They were mixed with small bluegills in 23 fow just off bottom. The hunt continues ;)

Offline chez

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Re: Night Fishing
« Reply #22 on: Dec 18, 2012, 11:44 AM »
In my experience, for walleye, the day bite or night bite is directly related to the water clarity.  Clear water will have an almost nonexistent day bite with a great sunset bite (hungry from not eating all day) and then a decent night bite. Murky water will have a great morning bite (hungry from not eating all night) with a decent day bite, a little flurry at sunset, and a nonexistent night bite.  The lake I fish normally is extremely clear.  Experience has taught me to not even target walleye until about an hour before sunset.  I may be off base and missing out but I stopped fishing for walleye during the day and fish other species (pike) or surrounding smaller lakes morning and midday (perch, pike, and eyes).  Too many hours of trying to force fish to bite that have no interest in biting lead me to this routine.
I COULDNT OF SAID IT ANY BETTER BROTHER.

 



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