Night fishing 101?

Let me start by saying that I've never been night fishing for crappies in a boat before...

Saturday evening I got a wild hair to give it a try. Well we got to the lake around 9:30PM and launched the boat to do some scouting. The depth finder was showing a nearly solid band of clutter at around 12 feet deep, everywhere we went on the lake. This is a very clear little lake, so I was hoping this wasn't an algae bloom but couldn't come up with a better expanation. I was switching through sonar modes later in the night and started getting fish icons showing up in the clutter. "Could the clutter really be baitfish", I thought. It would seem that way. Holy cow!! Could there really be that many baitfish in this 100 acre lake? It would seem that way.

This might explain why our best efforts of dropping a light overboard near cover only awarded us with ten crappies in the cooler. I have a floating light and we could look over into the water and see all of the minnows swimming around. As I'm an artificial bait guy, I didn't make an effort to pick up any minnows and wonder if that might have changed the game for us, as it seemed the bait and the fish were present.

Thanks for reading and please, share your night fishing experience. I am hoping to not ban myself from night fishing, as it was a very nice time to be on the water.

A "nearly solid band of clutter at around 12 feet deep" seems like it may be a thermocline, especially since you saw it everywhere on the lake. Fish won't spend much time below this level, but will hang out very close to it. If you have a throw net, you might try that to see what's making the returns at 12'

I agree with Vic N however I would also had the zooplankton go down towards the bottom in the morning and then rise again in the evening. Hence the reason fish go deep in the morning and shallow in the evening.

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

I agree with Vic N however I would also had the zooplankton go down towards the bottom in the morning and then rise again in the evening. Hence the reason fish go deep in the morning and shallow in the evening.

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X2 on the zooplankton, can hardly discern fish they are so thick!! My home lake is really clear also .

I'm pretty sure it isn't bait fish. They will show up as isolated balls, rather than a solid line.

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Originally Posted by vic n

A "nearly solid band of clutter at around 12 feet deep" seems like it may be a thermocline, especially since you saw it everywhere on the lake. Fish won't spend much time below this level, but will hang out very close to it.

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Vic is correct, and what I would tend to believe is causing the line at 12ft.

If your DNR/F&W/COE has a website for that lake, and it lists the water temps & dissolved oxygen ranges, you can quickly discern where the thermocline should be. If the oxygen content & temps drop significantly at one particular depth, then that's likely where the thermocline has set up. Any oxygen readings below 5mg/L and the fish are going to be stressed accordingly.

This link : Louisville District > Missions > Civil Works > Water Information > Updated Lake Temperatures and Dissolved Oxygen Lev > Taylorsville Profile : is to a page that shows a local lake. Scroll down to the bottom section and notice the chart for DO, and how it drops very quickly from the 9ft depth to the 15ft depth. I fished this lake prior to the date these readings were taken, and caught my fish at around 8-10ft deep over 14-20fow. The surface water temps had not gotten to the 28C/83F range when I was there ... but were in the 76-78F range. Even so, the thermocline had already set up around the depth of 10ft by the time I got there*.

(* I would have been there sooner, but the lake was flooded at over 20ft above pool during the months prior)

... cp :kewl

Hello Rwiske,
I don’t claim to be a pro at night fishing but I have night fished for nearly 20 years now in Northern California. It has its pros and cons. There is a checklist that I go through when I night fish:
1. No moon is best. The moon will provide enough light and give crappies the option to feed elsewhere.
2. For me, green LED light works best. It does a better job attracting bugs = minnows/shad/silversides = crappies.
3. Where legal, use the bait fish from that specific lake. 9 out of 10, using bait directly from the lake will out fished shiners from the local bait shop.
4. I bring at least two deep cycle battery for back up, spot light, ropes to tie off trees or anchor, propane lanterns, propane heater, pillow and sleeping bag. Plan to spend the night to make it worth it. Don’t bring children along, no bathroom on my boat.
We were out camping last Friday and I tried this method for stripers. It works just as well, just have to anchor deeper 30ft plus. Caught 8 stripers 16” plus and a few channels from 11pm-1pm when the sky was completely dark. I used light gears released and them all then headed back to campground. Here is a diagram that I made to help others enjoy night crappie fishing.
Attachment 208712

lol11 are you sinking your bobbers?

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Originally Posted by fe1

lol11 are you sinking your bobbers?

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No, I do not sink my bobbers. Sorry, poor drawing, meant to make it look 3d but did not succeed. My night crappie rigs are simple. 4 pound, adjustable bobber stopper, split shot, and minnow hook. Cheap and simple.