Do's and Dont's of night fishing

[Bob # 1]

Do’s and don’ts night fishing
The most critical item that is neglected when fishing at night, that would be a 2^nd anchor.
The swing path is greater than one thinks, plus the speed of the swing path wind and current determine the speed and width.
Both the swing and speed path will lessen your game fish live box fill.
Reason being the zoo plankton has a hard time following the boat back and forth due to their body size, not being able to keep up with the swing of the boat. This rule of thumb applies to all types of game fish from crappie to sharks.
If the zoo plankton have a hard time following the boat back and forth swing, that means the minnows have a hard time balling up and creating a feeding frenzy that the game fish are attracted too.

[NIMROD]

Thanks for the fishing tips!

[big minnow]

Yea, Thanks for the tip Bob. Question for ya. I noticed that in the draw the front anchor rope is longer than the rear does that help with swing or with anchoring?

[Bob # 1]

Yea, Thanks for the tip Bob. Question for ya. I noticed that in the draw the front anchor rope is longer than the rear does that help with swing or with anchoring?

Naw
Means that the picture was off balance

But you think about it that is a darn good question, maybe someone else can answer.

[AZfisherdude]

I haven't found using one anchor to be a problem very often. Really it depends. Sometimes the fish like one spot better than another that is 20' away so if you swing it could make a difference. Once the bait fish have moved in, they tend to stay with the light regardless. In fact, I will sometimes slow troll with the lights out looking for a more productive area. As long as you're not moving too fast, the bait fish will follow the light. Not all but a good many will. This gets the whole thing started up again much faster at the next stop.

[crappiedoc]

Naw
Means that the picture was off balance

But you think about it that is a darn good question, maybe someone else can answer.

The anchor set into the wind would be longer for holding, the 2nd anchor only stabilzes the boat to keep it from swinging to much.

[skiptomylu]

If your anchoring is 25' water depth, depending on bottom type it can take 125' of rope to hold. A soft bottom may take less line than that because it will dig in better. It's also good to have 3 feet of chain attaching the rope to the anchor, this will help too. Generally one standard is 5 to 1 ratio of water depth to rope length. If a hard bottom and smooth it may take more to hold.

[Crappie Reaper]

If there is any wind to speak of, the boat will swing regardless. If anchored in mud, the anchors will dig in deeper with each sway causing slack in the rope of the downwind anchor. I used 4 anchors when I am trying to stay over a particular spot. Even then, there can be a constant adjustment needed in the ropes. Wind is my fishing enemy.

[STUMP HUNTER]

I use the spot-lock on my i-pilot for night stalking. It's nice not to worry with the ropes. Good tip about using anchors in the wind while nightstalking.

[shipahoy41]

Do not go fishing by yourself either.