Night Fishing

[Fish Sticks]

I have been night fishing for about the past 6 years, avg 30-50 trips over four seasons a year in that time. I first got into it because of work/family responsibilities giving time the choice to sacrifice sleep for fishing or not fish. But I really have grown to enjoy it, made some screwy patterns, and spend a lot of my time tying the roughly 5 different fly styles I use at night. I fish for mostly trout at night but have done a lot of warm water at night too in large shallow slow moving rivers.

I was curious how many people out there there are doing it, for what species, and how their doing it fishing style wise. I have read pretty much all the stuff out there that is easily and not so easily found on it and wondered if there is anyone doing anything weird /breaking “the rules”who’s having success too. I know there are no “rules” but I’m just wonder if anyone fishing much differently that the classical teachings like: focusing on upstream presentations instead of the tried and true downstream, nymphing with a dead drift instead of nymphing with a little action/drag, focusing bottom to top instead of the opposite ect?

I am assuming most of this is gonna be about brown trout which is the majority of what I catch but I’d love to hear about if people are going after other species after dark too? I’ve caught rock bass, fall fish, and more on oddly ginormous wets in trout streams and warm water streams. I’ve tried for musky like 10 times where I know they are and not had success but that’s not uncommon in the day time for them too.

 

[tomgamber]

There was a particularly ornery brown trout in one of the side channels around Eagle Island in Boise. Having no luck in the daylight I went after him one night. Intentionally plopping my casts in places I had seem him approach and turn me down during the day, when he hit my unweighted bugger I nearly had a heart attack at 27. Always said I would do it again but never did. Others have told me Brown trout are specifically targeted in this manner.

Lefty or someone like that had a night fly. Never tried one but it looked like it would make quite a commotion.

 

[Fish Sticks]

There was a particularly ornery brown trout in one of the side channels around Eagle Island in Boise. Having no luck in the daylight I went after him one night. Intentionally plopping my casts in places I had seem him approach and turn me down during the day, when he hit my unweighted bugger I nearly had a heart attack at 27. Always said I would do it again but never did. Others have told me Brown trout are specifically targeted in this manner.

Lefty or someone like that had a night fly. Never tried one but it looked like it would make quite a commotion.

Yea unweighted bugger is a killer at night or a teeny tiny shot 6” up just to break the surface tension. The night fly(Harvey pusher)was created by George Harvey. It’s one of my favorites and have tied many variations of it. I have tied musky style “BUFORD” fly heads on Harvey pushers. I’ve put washers from the hardware store behind the materials that “push” to make them push more. Lots of stuff.I have used foam discs as well. I use an exaggerated english “boobie” fly I’ve made with a long black mop fly tail as a wet. Sometimes I put a wiggle disc on the line in front of the fly that pushes massive amount of water. Got a 22-24” female doing that in a larger river this February. Joe Humphreys state record came on this fly size 2/0 I believe up in the narrows on fishing creek.

You should give it a try again it’s fun. Saftey most important thing. Go with a friend and I have a rule that I never go in over ankle deep in fast water because after having an underwater tree trunk silently come down stream and almost take me out while knee deep I learned my lesson. And most importantly know the stream cold so you don’t risk stepping into a hole you won’t come out of. I like to get there at evening hatch and take day time photos of the specific stretches I’m going to hit and walk the beat so I know what stone I’m standing on how far will be from the spots casting wise.

 

[Chaz]

Have you read Jim Bashline’s “Night Fishing for Trout?” If not try to find it, it’s out of print.
When fishing during evening I often end up fishing in the dark after everyone’s gone home. I’ve caught a lot of big fish in the dark.
I’ll add that you want to fish the stream in the daylight hours so you know it well. I recommend fishing at night and taking another fisherman with you.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Have you read Jim Bashline’s “Night Fishing for Trout?” If not try to find it, it’s out of print.
When fishing during evening I often end up fishing in the dark after everyone’s gone home. I’ve caught a lot of big fish in the dark.

Baseline is what I consider the only text ever completely dedicated to night fishing. When you drive through coudersport there is a feeling that as far as fly fishing your are somewhere special. Like the primordial ooze of American night time flyfishing. Ashame the good sell hole got filled in with concrete. That man fought for his country and came home from the war only to find they destroyed and perverted his happy place. My biggest fish have been at night as well it’s so much fun. I’m doing it for warm water species now too.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Baseline is what I consider the only text ever completely dedicated to night fishing. When you drive through coudersport there is a feeling that as far as fly fishing your are somewhere special. Like the primordial ooze of American night time flyfishing. Ashame the good sell hole got filled in with concrete. That man fought for his country and came home from the war only to find they destroyed and perverted his happy place. My biggest fish have been at night as well it’s so much fun. I’m doing it for warm water species now too.

I guess with one caveat that Dom Swentosky’s articles collectively on night fishing contain a lot

 

[JeffK]

Few tips. One: cut your leader back to 3X - you never know what will attack at night and 6X may not cut it. I have learned this the hard way BTW. The very hard way.

I have size 12 Catskill dry flies in all white for regular night fishing. I find them easier to spot, especially with a nice round hackle sticking up. No flat wing spinners for me from dusk on past. No need to match colors in the dark. Spotting your fly is more important. Can go even bigger than a 12, which I sometimes do. If coffin flies have been around I go to a size 6 even. Some days yellow/light chartreuse is easier to see; if there are reflections of the moon on the water then black may show up better against the glare. (BTW, black flies or indicators may be seen better in surface glare. Simple theory is to get either the most light reflection - white - or the most shadow/light absorption - black - to stand out).

Mouse fishing at night is really cool. Regular options are a deer hair mouse or the Master Splinter fly. However, one acquaintance of mine thinks any fly that creates a commotion will work and does just fine with cheap panfish poppers from Walmart. I would imagine a Gurgler would work just as well, as would most of the popular bass bugs.

My most common advice that I started with smallmouth that now goes with trout is notice which shallows you wade through during the day that have an abundance of minnows. Come back at night with a pencil popper (or most any surface fly - I started doing this as a kid using spinning tackle with a black Jitterbug). Large predators use the cover of darkness to hunt shallows they would never approach during the day.

Of course, stay safe out there. It is amazing how different even familiar places are in the dark.

 

[silverfox]

I know master splinters are good for hooking muskrats at night on spring creek.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Few tips. One: cut your leader back to 3X - you never know what will attack at night and 6X may not cut it. I have learned this the hard way BTW. The very hard way.

I have size 12 Catskill dry flies in all white for regular night fishing. I find them easier to spot, especially with a nice round hackle sticking up. No flat wing spinners for me from dusk on past. No need to match colors in the dark. Spotting your fly is more important. Can go even bigger than a 12, which I sometimes do. If coffin flies have been around I go to a size 6 even. Some days yellow/light chartreuse is easier to see; if there are reflections of the moon on the water then black may show up better against the glare. (BTW, black flies or indicators may be seen better in surface glare. Simple theory is to get either the most light reflection - white - or the most shadow/light absorption - black - to stand out).

Mouse fishing at night is really cool. Regular options are a deer hair mouse or the Master Splinter fly. However, one acquaintance of mine thinks any fly that creates a commotion will work and does just fine with cheap panfish poppers from Walmart. I would imagine a Gurgler would work just as well, as would most of the popular bass bugs.

My most common advice that I started with smallmouth that now goes with trout is notice which shallows you wade through during the day that have an abundance of minnows. Come back at night with a pencil popper (or most any surface fly - I started doing this as a kid using spinning tackle with a black Jitterbug). Large predators use the cover of darkness to hunt shallows they would never approach during the day.

Of course, stay safe out there. It is amazing how different even familiar places are in the dark.

I tie a white comparadun with cartoonish deer hair wing and glow in dark synthetic fibers tied in. I will fish that on 2x when fishing dries.

Master splinter is my go to when mousing largest brown at night I ever caught at night on a master splinter and I am starting to toe some larger jointed articulated ones. Mousing you get a lot of near misses and blow ups from the little trout, the big ones don’t really miss as much. If your getting alot of missed blow ups switch to a weightless Wooly bugger tandem rig. One night got skunked the whole night and then around midnight moon went away a bit and got one fish that didn’t fit nearly straight in a 20” wooden net frame.

If I am fishing anything besides dries it’s 12lb or heavier. I walk the flats big time during the day like you mentioned and for browns it’s cray fish in the summer around the time of the molt. I’m looking for 6” to 18” with diversity of rocks and good cray fish habitat then slow strong long Harvey pusher strips through it in the evening.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I know master splinters are good for hooking muskrats at night on spring creek.

I have caught some really weird crap at night. Silver fox was nice enough to grab that sucker when it tried to make a run between his legs and unhook the poor SOB. Thought I had the next state record lol

 

[silverfox]

I have caught some really weird crap at night. Silver fox was nice enough to grab that sucker when it tried to make a run between his legs and unhook the poor SOB. Thought I had the next state record lol

That was one for the books! First (and hopefully the last) time I have to unhook a large angry rodent!