Fish bite at night?

Before I sell all my fishing gear and take up video games I think I may start fishing at night or in extremely low light conditions. Does anybody fish at night for panfish, bass or walleyes? Is there anything I’ll need to do differently or any tips I need to know to do it right and keep it safe? Yeah, I just found out I have skin cancer but caught it very early. It’s uncomfortable enough to get tiny moles removed so don’t wait to see a doctor if you have moles too, especially if you get any new ones or they change! Once I get really good at night fishing maybe I’ll do something positive about this and organize a night tourney for cancer research.

Generally speaking find a clear water lake, early ice search out green weed edges in bays / back water during the day. Fish any edges of those bays leading towards deep water. The fish could be anywhere from 1′ to 20′ so set your “gauntlet” of tipups and have extra holes at each depth to adjust as you locate the proper depth. Its best to have a few buddys so you can maximize your coverage. Good luck and I hope and pray you have a full recovery from that cancer…

Databoy,

I don’t have any tips for but I do wish you a full and speedy recovery.

It is usually the lowlight or night that produces the best. With that being said, go out during the day first and Know where you are going at night…be safe!

Good to hear they caught it early Data. Yes i fish crappies at night time to time.i always laugh,as i will go out onto a lake about noon(fish gills crappie deeper),watch as 99 percent of the guys leave as the sun just starts to drop,i will move in shallower,and if in right area just club em from sunset,for about an hour into dark.key is to fish shallow weeds,and i will get most my bites foot or less under the ice.hole hop alot,no electronics needed,and as always,i use my madison chain combo that seems to never let me down(1/64 or 1/32 gold jig w/purple plastic tails,may tip with spike if the being picky) . i know alot of guys that do very well fishing walleys at night on koshkonong,but i stick to the madison chain.

Dont be afraid to fish real shallow,we spent all last winter fishing on waubesa for gills and crappies,and never once fished in water over 3ft deep,we found weeds that stayed all winter.gills were in 8 to 9 in range,crappies 11 to 13in.i would usually bring my portable,and watch as they came in. only draw back is a sore neck by end of day fromlooking down the hole

I have tried some after dark fishing on the ice with some success, I wonder if that’s the same for open water. It’ll be interesting to revisit this topic in the spring. Right now everybody has ice on their minds, and for good reason. I’m ready for my share of the fish. Anyway, thanks for the well wishes.

Hey Big Pike and 85Lund, by son is a UWEC student and has been asking me to take him and his friends fishing in your area. If I can ever put that trip together I may come back asking for your advice on places to start. How’s that river for vertical jigging walleye?

Databoy, sorry to hear about your skin cancer my prayers are with you.

Now you know why I have a canopy on my boat, looks like you will be using it when we are fishing together this spring.

Thanks Jeff. I just needed a reason to get you back out on the trolling motor so you get back to your old form of slamming the big ones. Heck, when we fish it’s mostly raining anyway so I have nothing to worry about. I’m still waiting for more test results, it’s likely my skin cancer might not be from the sun anyway. So far the only cancer isn’t in areas where the sun would shine.

Data,

Sorry to hear about that diagnosis. The catfish here are large and wild and bite best after dark all summer long. You’d be welcome to tag along anytime you like. Get some bullfrog sun block for your daytime activities. That stuff is like a heavy sweatshirt witout the sweat.

Gregg, sorry to hear about the daignosis, Hope you have a full and speedy recovery.

I ice fish at night for walleyes on Pewaukee and Wind lakes. Pretty much the same set-up as I use during the day, except I come into the weedy shallows. For bait I use a gold hook tipped with a medium golden shiner. I clip tip-up lights on my flag rods and wait. Nothing like seeing that red light glowing in the dark. I actually prefer it at night due to the lack of fishing pressure. It can be quite surreal with a full moon and ice fog. Have fun and be safe..