OH night fishing

[Jim]

Hi all,

I just rigged my boat with lights for night fishing on Old Hickory. My boat now looks like a UFO with all the different colored LED lights on it The first couple test out trips went well and it is pretty fun. I plan to typically go for a few hours after my young son goes to bed around 8:30pm, so 9 to 11 or so.

I caught a few bass throwing spinnerbaits to grass patches, but was wondering what are good lures and patterns at night. Is it just the same areas as the daytime or do you always fish shallow? How about live bait? Does anyone fish that at night or is it too much trouble? I kind of think slow trolling with big shiners would be a fun way to catch a variety as I learn the night patterns on OH.

Any tips?

Jim

PS - Travis, I read your night fishing safety notes and will definitely follow them. One thing I notice already about the LED lights is other boaters can easily see me and that is a big plus.

[Travis C.]

Jim, I really got thrusted into night fishing as an option to get more time on the water while my little ones were asleep. I definitely know where your coming from there.

You want to pick lures based on vibration. They will use the lateral line a bunch more at night and dark colors to get better visuals. I like single blade spinnerbaits, lipless cranks, diving crankbaits and rattlin jigs. But my go to big bass bait at night is a 10.5 worm with a bullet sinker, glass bead, 6/0 hook texas style.

Colors I tend to stick with crayfish patterns or blue/black. Under full moons late spring on thru summer crayfish molt/hatch and fish notice. A burnt orange jig w/olive craw trailer has been real good for me this year on Old Hick.

Live bait is real hit or miss due to the fish can't see them. But...they eat the real things at night when your not fishing for them.

Fish anywhere with an access to deep water or along deepwater points with cover. Keep an eye on moon phases. Moonset/rise will have same effect on fish as sun especially on big moon night due to angles of light penetration.

Good luck be safe, Jim.

[thehick176]

I also fish a ton a night this time of year. Dont rule out humps and ledges at night too! I spend just as much time if not more out deep than I do up shallow. I tend to throw blue/black jig, 10 inch worm, or black/purple/or red spinnerbaits at night. I can usually catch them on one of the three.

[Travis C.]

That is so true Hick.

I have caught a lot on ledges as well at night.

Jim, I focus my main night fishing from Cages Bend to the Dam. All the places on a map you think has fish will at night.

[bd-]

Jim, forget the fishing tips! How do you get your kids to go to sleep at 8:30???

bd

[Jim]

Originally Posted by bd-

Jim, forget the fishing tips! How do you get your kids to go to sleep at 8:30???

bd

Ha Ha!

He is only 2 and gets up early! So 8:30 is late for him. He was passed out in my wife's arms for the 4th of July fireworks by 9:15.

Best thing is he already loves fishing and knows how to cast and retrieve. He has caught a bunch of sunfish and he first largemouth and smallmouth bass last week when we were fishing in the creek. Biggest bass was a 14 inch smallmouth and it fought him pretty good. He was yelling "I got the big one!" the whole time. Super cute.

I will probably introduce him to the boat this fall when the temps cool. He spends a lot of time sitting in it practice casting right now, but getting him to stay in one spot for more than a minute is tough.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by thehick176

I also fish a ton a night this time of year. Dont rule out humps and ledges at night too! I spend just as much time if not more out deep than I do up shallow. I tend to throw blue/black jig, 10 inch worm, or black/purple/or red spinnerbaits at night. I can usually catch them on one of the three.

Are you using a heavy spinnerbait or just waiting for it to get down? I have trouble fishing spinnerbaits deep as I always seem to go too fast and they get off the bottom. Doesn't matter much shallow, but it does deep.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by Travis C.

Jim, I really got thrusted into night fishing as an option to get more time on the water while my little ones were asleep. I definitely know where your coming from there.

You want to pick lures based on vibration. They will use the lateral line a bunch more at night and dark colors to get better visuals. I like single blade spinnerbaits, lipless cranks, diving crankbaits and rattlin jigs. But my go to big bass bait at night is a 10.5 worm with a bullet sinker, glass bead, 6/0 hook texas style.

Colors I tend to stick with crayfish patterns or blue/black. Under full moons late spring on thru summer crayfish molt/hatch and fish notice. A burnt orange jig w/olive craw trailer has been real good for me this year on Old Hick.

Live bait is real hit or miss due to the fish can't see them. But...they eat the real things at night when your not fishing for them.

Fish anywhere with an access to deep water or along deepwater points with cover. Keep an eye on moon phases. Moonset/rise will have same effect on fish as sun especially on big moon night due to angles of light penetration.

Good luck be safe, Jim.

I just bought some 10 inch worms to try out. I am thinking one rod with the big worm, one with a spinnerbait, and one with a buzzbait. I will hit the obvious shallow spots and then move to the channel breaks if they are not shallow.

Do you have much trouble with other boats when one the main channel at night?

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Jim

Do you have much trouble with other boats when one the main channel at night?

I do have some in the places I like to fish. The Marina at Rockland has live music, drinks and they cut loose around midnight or so on Friday/Saturday nights. You have to watch out for them. One last time I was out just kept heading for me until they were close enough that I could hear one of his buddy's say "are you gonna go around that guy."

I would say not all the time but they are out there and just as drunk as the daytime in some cases.

The spinnerbaits I tend to favor are the blue/black Strike King rattlin midnight special. I think they only come in one weight but could be wrong. Never have as much luck on them steady cranking though, reel then let it fall then repeat. They hit it as soon as it falls for me.

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Jim

He is only 2 and gets up early! So 8:30 is late for him.

My 3 year old girl goes to sleep by 9pm and the 1 year old she is out by 8pm. But they are both up by 7am sometimes by 6am. I stay at home with them so some mornings is a lot of coffee.

That is awesome he likes fishing. My oldest loves to fish and ever since she was little played in my fly box. Probably the only girl her age that can tell the difference in a caddis and a pheasant tail.

What about lights at night, I mean submersible fishing lights. Do they pan out, are they legal?

[Jim]

Originally Posted by RiverShoes

What about lights at night, I mean submersible fishing lights. Do they pan out, are they legal?

I have a bunch of different lights I just added to the boat and have used many different ones in the past. Submersible lights work well in some situations. I currently have two green lights to attract fish when anchored. This works well when you know the fish are in a small area like around boat docks or brush piles. Sometimes if you anchor on the end of a point roaming schools of fish will find you. Basically, the light attracts bugs and small fish and then the bigger fish. On Old Hickory you get lots of fish fry right now and some huge shad schools under the light. Crappie are usually my main target although many other species can be caught. This method works great anywhere the fish are concentrated. But like any method, it is hit or miss. You need to stay in one spot for a while for it to work and if you pick the wrong spot it can be very slow. I like to do this while catfishing so if the crappie don't bite I usually find some action on the cats.

There are two other types of lights I use. First, red and amber lights in the boat for safety. I leave the red on all the time and it doesn't hurt your night vision. I turn the amber on when I need to rig up. The red lights just give enough light to see the floor of the boat so you don't trip, fall or step on something. Neither of these colors attract bugs. It is amazing to see a million bugs in the other lights and have none in the boat. I rarely have to use bug spray. If I turn on my white light headlamp in the boat, I am covered in bugs in about 10 seconds.

The second type are blue and UV lights. The blue (called moonlight by some companies) is used to light up the shoreline when casting. It provides enough light to see the shore and casting targets. it kind of looks like you are in a light fog or bright moon as nothing is very clear, but you can see the main features. It is also very visible to other boaters so I think it is a safety feature and have them on all sides of the boat. The UV lights make your fishing line glow if you use fluorescent mono. It makes if much easier to see strikes and follow your cast. I use two UV spot lights off the side I am fishing. The UV light is kind of purple, but does not give off much light to see by, but it really helps for seeing your line. Both blue and UV will attract bugs so they need to be aimed out of the boat. The blue light will make your line glow a little like the UV so the combo is really great.

I just got the full color LED set (red, amber, blue, and UV) on my boat. I ordered all the LED lights online and wired everything myself for about the same price a single UV night light at Bass Pro. It is really something to see and fishing with the lights is almost as easy as daytime fishing. I can easily cast to shoreline cover with very good accuracy and you can see following fish as they get close to the boat. I have no doubt it will spook some fish, but I have had several bass follow the bait right to the boat and strike when clearly in the lights so it doesn't scare them all.

Now that I have all the lights, I need to get out and learn the night fishing patterns on Old Hickory. That is what the rest of the summer is for

Jim

PS - As far as I know, they are all legal to use for fishing.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by Travis C.

My 3 year old girl goes to sleep by 9pm and the 1 year old she is out by 8pm. But they are both up by 7am sometimes by 6am. I stay at home with them so some mornings is a lot of coffee.

That is awesome he likes fishing. My oldest loves to fish and ever since she was little played in my fly box. Probably the only girl her age that can tell the difference in a caddis and a pheasant tail.

You should join me on some Friday morning and bring the girls along to the creek with us. It is a blast and really safe as the deep water is far from where the kids play. And there are lots of crayfish to catch under almost every rock. My son's attention span for fishing is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours max so 9 to 11am is great. Then it is off to get some lunch and then a long nap Fun times!

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Jim

You should join me on some Friday morning and bring the girls along to the creek with us. It is a blast and really safe as the deep water is far from where the kids play. And there are lots of crayfish to catch under almost every rock. My son's attention span for fishing is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours max so 9 to 11am is great. Then it is off to get some lunch and then a long nap Fun times!

That sounds fun, I will see what all is goin on in coming weeks. Have to schedule around free days at the park, tap/ballet class, lunch with mom and grandparent visits. I know she'll be a go. She love the crawdaddys and manders in the creek.

It would fit our naps too....lunch 11-12 then naps by 12-1230 til 3-330

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Jim

There are two other types of lights I use. First, red and amber lights in the boat for safety. I leave the red on all the time and it doesn't hurt your night vision. I turn the amber on when I need to rig up. The red lights just give enough light to see the floor of the boat so you don't trip, fall or step on something. Neither of these colors attract bugs. It is amazing to see a million bugs in the other lights and have none in the boat. I rarely have to use bug spray. If I turn on my white light headlamp in the boat, I am covered in bugs in about 10 seconds.

The second type are blue and UV lights. The blue (called moonlight by some companies) is used to light up the shoreline when casting. It provides enough light to see the shore and casting targets. it kind of looks like you are in a light fog or bright moon as nothing is very clear, but you can see the main features. It is also very visible to other boaters so I think it is a safety feature and have them on all sides of the boat. The UV lights make your fishing line glow if you use fluorescent mono. It makes if much easier to see strikes and follow your cast. I use two UV spot lights off the side I am fishing. The UV light is kind of purple, but does not give off much light to see by, but it really helps for seeing your line. Both blue and UV will attract bugs so they need to be aimed out of the boat. The blue light will make your line glow a little like the UV so the combo is really great.

I just got the full color LED set (red, amber, blue, and UV) on my boat. I ordered all the LED lights online and wired everything myself for about the same price a single UV night light at Bass Pro. It is really something to see and fishing with the lights is almost as easy as daytime fishing. I can easily cast to shoreline cover with very good accuracy and you can see following fish as they get close to the boat. I have no doubt it will spook some fish, but I have had several bass follow the bait right to the boat and strike when clearly in the lights so it doesn't scare them all.

Now that I have all the lights, I need to get out and learn the night fishing patterns on Old Hickory. That is what the rest of the summer is for

Jim

PS - As far as I know, they are all legal to use for fishing.

All this time I have been puttin a mtn dew bottle over the rear running light so it isnt' so bright. I usually use no light except for when I'm looking for something. Only tried it a few times with the lights maybe I'm missing out. We could exchange night trips to see.

Be very careful if you do spray bug spray around mono lines. If the spray has DEET it will break down the line and screw up your resin on your rods. We had a lab guy at Ft Campbell test out the line part and my uncle could see the difference before and after spraying the line under a microscope.

Rivershoes- I don't know about the submersible light on Old hick but on Dale Hollow it is almost a given for people in the summer time to free float or anchor above the Dam and use those light to catch monster rainbows on worms.