Barren Night Stalking

Barren night fishing turned out a lot like Nolin night fishing- just replace the white bass with catfish. And barren has a lot more gar. Probably hooked at least a dozen big gar. Had to retie several hooks. Anchored in 20 fow. Baits 10-12 ft deep was the magic depth. Water was a smoking 92 degrees when started. Cooled off to 90.5 by 1:30 a.m. when I left. Of the 20 crappie, 19 were blacks with only 1 white crappie. Seems like I usually catch mainly black crappie when night fishing.

The method I use is green L.E.D. lights to draw in baitfish, and a black light to illuminate my fishing line. Use fluorescent mono in 8 lb test. I like 8 for the catfish, white bass, hybrids, etc. The black light will make the line look purple and really easy to see. I also spray paint the tips of my rods with fluorescent green paint. A lot of times the crappie will just make the line go sideways when they bite & not even bend the pole, so the fluorescent line helps a bunch in my opinion.

I tie a 1/2 oz sinker on the bottom of the line, come up about 18 inches and tie a hook on with about a 6" loop knot. Then go up another 18" and repeat. The loop knots let the minnows swim more freely & I think is important. Hope this helps a little with anyone that is interested in doing some night fishing while it's so dang hot during the days.

Awesome job! You're killing them


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Great tips and results. Thanks!

Good catch !

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Great looking mess of fish. Thanks for the report, pics and tips.

Nice post with a lot of information. I personally like night fishing, just makes for a rough day the next day.

Love to learn how to do some night fishin!!!

Great info. Congrats

What exactly do you look for when night fishing as far as picking a location to anchor?
Anyone do any night fishing on KY Lake?


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For picking a location, I like 20-25 fow. The edge of the main channel, a hump or point near the main channel. Lots of folks like to night fish around bridges. I think the pylons grow algae on them, which will help attract baitfish naturally. The other night on barren, I was fishing a long point that tapered off toward the main channel. It started in 9 fow, and I followed it down to 20 fow. One direction was the channel & deep water, the other direction the point got shallower and I was in between. Make sure that if you have a thermocline, that you're fishing above it!

I'll post a screenshot I took from one of my Nolin night trips as I was idling out to my spot. Note that it's in 27 fow, but that around 18 ft deep a purple line starts to form. From ~18-20 ft is purple, then under 20 ft its orange/yellow to the bottom. A person wouldn't want to fish under 20 ft deep here because they'd be fishing under the thermocline in un-oxygenated water. I anchored in 25 fow that night and caught crappie ~12 ft deep and white bass ~16-18 ft deep. Hope this helps and good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HitTheClicka

For picking a location, I like 20-25 fow. The edge of the main channel, a hump or point near the main channel. Lots of folks like to night fish around bridges. I think the pylons grow algae on them, which will help attract baitfish naturally. The other night on barren, I was fishing a long point that tapered off toward the main channel. It started in 9 fow, and I followed it down to 20 fow. One direction was the channel & deep water, the other direction the point got shallower and I was in between. Make sure that if you have a thermocline, that you're fishing above it!

I'll post a screenshot I took from one of my Nolin night trips as I was idling out to my spot. Note that it's in 27 fow, but that around 18 ft deep a purple line starts to form. From ~18-20 ft is purple, then under 20 ft its orange/yellow to the bottom. A person wouldn't want to fish under 20 ft deep here because they'd be fishing under the thermocline in un-oxygenated water. I anchored in 25 fow that night and caught crappie ~12 ft deep and white bass ~16-18 ft deep. Hope this helps and good luck.

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Great info! Thanks for sharing!


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Do the anchor ropes ever get in the way of your lines?


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