Thread: Longlining Questions?

Originally Posted by ScooperDude

Here's another question. Can you longline at night? Will it work? Would the fish key on the vibration from a jig dragging thru the water?

Good question, I know spider rigging doesn't work as well at night as I have tried it many times in different ways. May have to try it just to see.

Originally Posted by STUMP HUNTER

Good question, I know spider rigging doesn't work as well at night as I have tried it many times in different ways. May have to try it just to see.

Interesting...I would have though that spider rigging would work pretty good at night. I have read where longlining didn't work very good, but spider rigging was good. I know there's a lot of times where I'll pull up at night to a spot, put out lines and catch one or two fish almost immediately, then not another fish for thirty minutes. I about come to the conclusion that the light spooks them, lol. At least maybe at first - or the ones that are in the immediate area.

As for longlining, I had good success one night I tried it where I was trolling back and forth in front of a lighted dock with brush, and the later it got, the more fish were on it. By 12:30 or 1am, I was catching two or three fish every pass on the rods closest to the dock. I would pick up one every so often out in the middle, but most, by far were at the lighted dock. This was in prime trolling season (prespawn) - I don't know how it might work at other times.

I'm not entirely sure where the fish go at night. I have experienced many times catching fish spider rigging in the evening until about 30-45 minutes after dark, then the bite shuts completely off. I was fishing ~10 ft deep. May be that they go deeper, or even shallower around banks.

After thinking about the experience that I had, it seems like I might have been better off just to quit trolling and jig that corner of the dock...

I have spent time spider rigging at night in places where I caught fish about any time I fished it in the daytime and the bite was nothing compared to day fishing. I have spider rigged on creek run channels and the main river channels with catching a few but not enough to make it worth while. I have set out the underwater lights and waited for the bait fish to come to the light and then started moving with light still in the water with the bait fish following the boat. No bites on the spider rigging rods but did pick up a few on a rod I had out with a float and minnow under it 6'. My thoughts on that was that the float and minnow was running close to the bait fish following the light. Longlining behind the boat would have been like the spider rigging rods, to far from the bait fish as the bait fish were pulling in the few crappie I caught. I decided after many nights of trying different ways to spider rig at night that nightstalking is best setting still

Originally Posted by blugrasmaniac

After thinking about the experience that I had, it seems like I might have been better off just to quit trolling and jig that corner of the dock...

I was thinking if he had a lite dock and was catching fish there why was he trolling past it :-)
Thanks for the replies hopefully some one else will have more info

Thanks, stump Hunter. Really good info...a lot of same ideas I've had but haven't got to try yet.

Just an opinion and we all know everyone has those, but IMO the fish scatter at night feeding up towards the surface. If youve ever fished afternoons then you have seen the schools of bait come up on top late in the day about when the sun sets. Well, it's my opinion that by the light of the moon crappie will scatter out feeding off of those baitfish. That would be very much unlike being congregated at a certain depth underneath the baitfish which is holding much deeper when the sun's still up. That being said, no, I havent tried longlining at night but did try spider rigging off the front of the boat at night and the bite just wasnt happening. Hinesight is 20/20, but I was probably fishing underneath the fish once it got dark. But, unless you have a light out to draw the bait, it's hard for a hand full of minners to compete against a quin-trillion shads on (or near) the surface.

Originally Posted by gabowman

Just an opinion and we all know everyone has those, but IMO the fish scatter at night feeding up towards the surface. If youve ever fished afternoons then you have seen the schools of bait come up on top late in the day about when the sun sets. Well, it's my opinion that by the light of the moon crappie will scatter out feeding off of those baitfish. That would be very much unlike being congregated at a certain depth underneath the baitfish which is holding much deeper when the sun's still up. That being said, no, I havent tried longlining at night but did try spider rigging off the front of the boat at night and the bite just wasnt happening. Hinesight is 20/20, but I was probably fishing underneath the fish once it got dark. But, unless you have a light out to draw the bait, it's hard for a hand full of minners to compete against a quin-trillion shads on (or near) the surface.

So if I was to try LL at night the ticket would be to go 1/16 oz jig and pull it really fast to keep it near the top of the water?