When the subject on night fishing comes up, I would say 85% of anglers will think Walleye, 10% think Muskie (MUSKIE NEXT WEEKS TOPIC) and 5% won’t have an opinion, but why not Bass after the sun drops? You got me, because big Bass get bigger for a reason and that’s because they hang out in deeper water during the day, but when the sun goes down, these big boys and girls move up into shallow water to eat and ARE catchable at night. Before we get into the where and how, check the rating for Bass on the lake you’re going to fish. If Bass are rated as (abundant) OMG good. If the rating is (common) that’s awesome, but if the rating is (present), don’t waste your time, try for Walleye or go for a beer instead. If you didn’t read last week’s topic on night fishing, here are things you need to consider. 1) Be familiar with the lake you’re fishing. 2) Make sure your boat has enough gas for that night. 3) Make sure all the lights on your boat are operational, and 4) Clear the boat of everything that won’t be used.

Now for finding and catching night Bass. During the day, bigger Bass can relate to deeper structure like drop-offs, suspended over rocks, off points, humps and old river channels, so when the sun is high, take a boat ride and mark some (WAY-POINTS) like edges of weeds or the beginning of weed flats, outside of lily pads or shoreline rocks that are related to deeper water, because Bass will use transition routes to move up from their day locations to these shallow areas to chow at night. But if you can find an area that has lights near any of these locations, this could be the best fishing spot you will ever find on that lake at night.

Boathouses or docks with lights will attract more baitfish than other areas and predators will stay in the darkness of that light to ambush prey. Casting live bait under a float or casting lures to the edge, just outside where the light extends will get you the action you showed up for.  But remember, being stealth is the important part of night fishing as is boat placement. When arriving to a spot like this, you should position your boat (USING A TROLLING MOTOR WILL HELP TREMENDOUSLY) knowing your casting range from the edge of the light.

For lures, (THIS IS WHERE WATER CLARITY COMES IN) in clear water, those soft plastic worms and lizards you use during the day near weed flats or lily pads will work, but use darker (BLACK, BROWN, PURPLE OR DARK BLUE) colors, because the dark colors create a silhouette against the water’s surface/sky, BUT ask any old timer and they will tell you, at night Bass use their lateral lines more than sight to locate prey, but like Walleye, have great vision come dark to attack those smaller fish. So, to make some noise you might want to try a topwater lure.

In stained water a spinnerbait with a good size blade and because of the light, spinnerbaits with gold, copper or silver blade that reflects light could be a great lure.

That’s all I got on BASS’N under the moon, but you might not catch a lot of bass that night, but don’t be surprised if you catch your biggest bass.