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Greetings..I live and fish in South-East Louisiana. I also work the night shift for local water treatment facility which means I sleep most of the day. I have tried fishing at night over the years without major success. I am in the possession of the necessary boat and tackle along with a hydroglow light. Would anyone offer suggestions on artificial lure colors, time of night to try, moon phases, etc.
Thank you.
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I like to fish during the dark of the moon. Hot pink is my go to color. Good luck
When we go for crappie, we troll jigs like an Northland gypsy jig with a minnow because the skirt glows that's my favorite. And to charge the jig we use a light from Venom floats. As for time off evening we start bout 7 to 8 pm because the we have the lake to ourselves and have stayed out till sun up. The next day can be tough. With the moon I know when there was a super moon the fishing was great but any time fishing is better than not going
Well...I'm no night time crappie expert,but I have caught a few.
I have always done good with these tubes called scale heads. They sort of reflect light a little. And two contrasting colors help.I usually use purple and chartreuse and red and chartreuse but sure other colors work.
Scale Head Lit'l Hustler 1.5" :: Southern Pro Tackle
I use chromaglow chartreuse crappie nibbles. I think it helps the fish to see them and leaves a scent trail they can find too. Use them on any color jig.
You may not want to always fish vertical right under the boat. Sometimes yes but you experiment.
You need to look for where the baitfish are hanging out. Find them. And then try to figure out if they are moving in or out from where they are holding . But they are generally going to move during the night.
Some nights the fish are right against the bank and shallow. Especially a bank that the wind has been blowing in too.It blows the plankton in and the baitfish go in to feed on it, crappie chase them up against the bank to catch them.
I use a bobber that when I hit it with my head lamp set on blue or red light it pops good so I can see it and my night vision is not effected that much. I throw to the fish.
Man I have fished many nights for catfish and snagging paddlefish. And those fish just have some triggers to determine when they feed and how long. Sometimes fishing all night they just have a period or two and that's all. I do sort of believe in the moon overhead and the moon underfoot thing. Regardless of the phase the moon exerts a force that moves the oceans,I think it does something that wildlife and fish can sense somehow.
https://www.usprimetimes.com/solunartable.html
Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by J.M.
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Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rink
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Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by doggone
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Take some minnows
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Thank you! I might try to catch some of the indigenous species around here since shiners in South Louisiana go for 10 to 15 cents a piece (lol).[emoji6]Quote:
Originally Posted by mighty
[emoji6]
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Around here we have Threadfin & Gizzard Shad in many of our waters. They can be caught with cast nets, dip nets, and some people even rig up a weighted line with 1-3 small treble hooks & jerk them thru the Shad school circling under the lights ... then transfer them over to their regular hooks or jigs & fish with them.
Others use a seine net and wade the local creeks for various types of "minnows" or "fry" and use them ... but, one has to be careful as to what species of fish they use, so as to not introduce an invading species into their waters, and also not to take a protected species from its natural habitat. Creek Chubs & Suckers are the species sought after. Sticklebacks, on the other hand, would be thrown out.
And don't feel too bad about the price of minnows down there .... depending on how many you buy around here or where you buy them, the price can be much the same, or higher. They are "cheaper" by the pound (1/4lb - 1/2lb - 1lb), if you have a place that sells them that way. Bagged with oxygen blown into the bag, they will keep for many hours (kept in a cooler) ... or even several days (in a refrigerator). And of course the price per dozen minnows at a marina is likely to be even higher :Doh:
I've tried this with pretty good success:
1. Buy a 20 Watt bug zapper and make a harness to hang it horizontally.
2. Hook it up to a 12 VDC power inverter (at least 50W).
3. Hang it 2 feet above the water on a dark night (no moon).
4. Fish near the light. I perfer shiners.
The light attracts bugs and mosquitoes and zapps them. They fall into the water and attract bait fish. They in turn attract BIG fish.
Good luck and be sure to bring protection from the mosquitoes!
Thank you! I felt the mosquitos bitting as I read your reply (lol)Quote:
Originally Posted by cajun
Ouch!!! Dadgum squitos!
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Here is a Richard Gene video on night crappie fishing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=std1zjJ7DfY
If you have docks with low lights under water lights, I would focus around them. Using jigs, spoons or possibly live bait. Deeper water this time of year will probably produce better. That is what I do when night fishing this time of year. Good luck.
Thank you!!Quote:
Originally Posted by flintcreek
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on norfork about 20 years ago we used some nets that hung over the side About 3 feet wide and 6 or 7 feet long and made of fine mono. . They were weighted on the bottom end with a support rod on the top. They hung over the sides and every once in a while 3 or 4 of the circling mass would get stuck in the net. you would pull them up and toss them in the minnow bucket. We needed a few minnows to get started but soon had plenty of shad. Haven't seen any lately buy I bet somebody around the lake still has some. I would like a pair.
Thank you very much!!?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gomer Snerd
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Check your state laws using nets cast or other nets after dark or even in the day time. If I am not mistaken you can't use nets at night in Ar. or Mo.
Some people use Sabiki Rigs to catch Shad, but they're generally looking to catch those 4" & over sized Shad. One "could" probably make a Sabiki Rig with much smaller jigs and use them for smaller Shad, but unless you have a big circular tank setup ... the Shad aren't going to live very long.
What some people around here do is to tie on a couple of small treble hooks & a small weight on the bottom of the line .... then when you get a good concentration of Shad circling under the lights, jerk the treble hooks up thru the school & snag a Shad, then transfer the Shad over to one of your other rods. You just have to be careful and gentle when transferring the Shad. You don't want to handle the Shad any more than necessary, as you will de-scale them with your fingers and they'll die a lot faster. Best to hook them with the regular hook (thru the lips, nose, or eye sockets) before you remove the treble. Then grab the treble & gently shake the (hooked) Shad off the treble hook (or gently nudge it off). Unless you tear the Shad real bad snagging them, they'll survive long enough for a hungry fish to smell the wound or sense the damaged (wounded/crippled) Shad's erratic behavior.
If you have Brook Silversides in your waters, they're even better bait than Shad or minners, just a little more cumbersome to catch. What my Grandparents & I used to do is take a home made net and hang a lantern over the side of the boat, then ease around the banks until some Silversides were following along with the light. We'd dip them up and put them in a 5gal bucket full of lake water. After catching a few dozen, we'd go tie up to our favorite tree or brushpile & fish with them just like with minners (but, you have to hook them thru the eye sockets due to their pencil shaped body). The "net" was a square shaped deal on a 10ft handle and the "netting" was wire weaved screen. The "screen" was like window screen, but the holes were 2-3 times larger. They have to be, because you have to be able to pull the net thru the water pretty fast or the Silversides will just swim out of the way.
I tried that technique with a landing net with fabric mesh netting & it didn't work. It took too long & was too hard to pull the net thru the water due to the tiny holes of that type of mesh netting. (just some FYI for those thinking to use that type of netting)
Here's what a Silverside looks like :
Attachment 310811
Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
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Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by J.M.
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Is it not just casting nets that are illegal after dark?
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I bought a 1000 lumen green LED light and I have taken it out on 3 all night trips. I would try to drop this light beside some of my crappie hotels that I have built. In my limited experience, I have found that the first and 3rd night provided quite a few minnows, but the light wasn't attracting as much bait fish as I was expecting. The second trip produced massive schools of shad moving in and out of the light, but that night I didn't catch a single crappie.
I had done a lot of research on it and was fishing at variable depths with minnows on a bobber and jigs on the outside edges of the light. I was in about 15-18ft of water close to structure that I would fish at during the daytime. I am not sure if that is recommended.
I am looking for advise as well, but I thought I would throw in what little I have learned from my three night trips. Anyways, out of 3 trips, I have only caught 3 crappie total and none of them were big enough to keep.
I am also looking for some tips.
Thanks.
Thank you!!!
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Doggone, I like that prime time link. Is there a way to input a different location so as to see my specific lake location? I tried playing with it and didn't see a way.
Free Solunar Tables, Calendars, Graphs, Tides, and WeatherQuote:
Originally Posted by Lake Life
This link will let you enter your zip code.
Awesome! Thanks SC.
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