Night fishing for bass

It's actually not that long ago that I also went fishing for sea bass at night. Night fishing for sea bass gives a more intense experience and has a magical atmosphere. The silence, the flashing light of the lighthouses and the lights of the passing vessels. You fish in a completely different world. In general, bigger fish also come closer to shore in the dark, so the chance of a large fish increases.

Night fishing for sea bass is not without risks so if you are going to do it be well prepared. Take a spot that you know well from daytime, make sure you have a good headlamp with a charged battery and be even more alert to passing vessels than you already do during the day. And if possible, don't go alone, bring a wingman.

The first few times I went after the bass at night were unsuccessful. I also had to get used to the conditions a lot. After a few blanks, the confidence was also gone and I left night fishing for a while.

Until I got a good look at someone catching nice sea bass in the middle of the night. There were a few things that immediately struck me.

1. Slowly introduce the lure
In contrast to during the day, you have to take into account that it is also more difficult for a sea bass to see in the dark. He will hunt less by sight and more with the other senses that he has as a hunter. So adjust your overtaking speed. Go from 3/3 to an overtaking speed of maximum 2/3 and minimum 1/3.

By keeping your lure in the zone a little longer, you give the bass more time to locate your lure. Sea bass can smell, see and lastly feel vibrations thanks to their "lateral lines.

2. Lure color
This is an interesting one. In the beginning I just continued to fish with the colors that I also used during the day and on which I caught beautiful fish. In the end I have experienced that at night other colors rule the roost.
White and Fluo yellow just don't do it for me. Pink and dark blue, for example. Dark contrasts with glitter have proven to be the most successful night colors for me, even when the water was murky.

3. Shallow and very close to the edge
Something I have been able to observe a few times is that several larger bass came hunting on half a meter of water very close to the shore. So don't be surprised that they dare to get really shallow and close to the shore in the dark.

4. UV Theory
Something I have yet to test. I have also seen shrimps that emit blue light in the dark several times. This is because they eat algae, the so-called Dinoflagellates, which provide this glow in the dark effect. Bass came to hunt these shrimp very shallow. So lures that emit light ( UV lures ) will certainly be seen as natural baits. Will put it to the test next season. Maybe we'll crack a code ;-)

As I write this blog it is mid-February. The new sea bass season is still far away. In the meantime I'm working on a new sea bass video with material from last season. When this video is finished I will post it in a next blog.

The nice thing is that this is a video with footage shot during a night session. I think 1 of the most memorable sessions I've ever filmed.

So be sure to check it out ;-)