Thread: Night Fishing?

JT I have never night stalked on Beaver but have been fishing Ouachita at night for years. We have not landed a single white in Ouachita in probably 8 or 9 years of fishing. Now you have to consider that untill I joined crappie.com we would just hang a lantern and move from lantern to lantern like my dad did when I was a boy and our succuess was limited for all fish not just crappie. We are doing it right now and are starting to increase our catch to a respectable level. Last weekend caught a good mess of slab crappie, FAT kentuckys and a 4 or 5 pound walleye.
Are you fishing crappie condos on points or what? Just curious what terrain features you guys fishing the other gin clear waters of the state are fishing.

I'm glad to hear you are tearing them up gooch! I primaraly fish along bluff lines in the main channel near breaks were I have sunk brush and on the bridge pilings. Also I fish near docks that have light as well. White bass is all you get some nights fishing near the main channel though, I usualy move if that's all I'm getting!

Gooch, being a younger guy and new to the "entire" crappie experience, what is the right way to catch'em at night? Enlighten me ole wise one! Thanks

Butler my adivce would be to not listen to me about night fishing. I grew up doing it on Greers Ferry when I was a kid. My dad would hang a lantern or two in some dead tree and we would move back and forth between them and catch fish. I have tried that same method for the past few years and it just doesent seem to work anymore. Since then I have learned almost everything that I could tell you about night fishing on crappie.com. I will say that our success at night fishing has dramaticaly improved since joining crappie.com. That being said here goes on my night fishing advice as I see it.
First light is the key at night. I think I remember you fish out of a flatbottom with a trolling motor so you will need a extra battery and at least one submersable light. The pros from the South Carolina use brinkmans.
Second you must have at least one good light for the boat. I have been using tiki torches and they work great and last all night on one fill.
Third you need a anchor for the front and rear of the boat. You need the boat stationary and not moving arround.
Fourth, leave the long jig poles at the house and get a 5 or 6 foot light action pole and paint the tip so you can see it with the light of the tiki torches. The night bite seems light so you need a soft tip that you can see and feel.
Fith, have your stuff ready to bait and start fishing when you leave the house. Night is not the time to be re spooling rods and pulling off jigs and tying hooks.
sixth, for bait use minnows. You can try a jig but we now catch 10 to 1 more fish off minnows.
Finaly location, We are fishing main lake points on Ouachita and starting to do good. We used to just go set up in 20 to 30 feet of water in a area with a bunch of dead timber thinking they would just be in all that cover. Since fishing main lake points we have started having pretty good success. Plus when the pole bends you never know what you have. Since you fish Lake Conway I would suggest looking for the Arkansas Sportsman website and look up the crappie fishing articles. There is one about a guy that lives a mile from Lake Maumelle and drives up to Lake Conway to night fish. He is very specific about his techniques and locations he fishes. I consider this a must read for you. I would also do a search of previous threads on nightstalking on this website especialy Kunes and Rango and Falcon Smitty. The most important thing is just to get a submersable light and go fishing. Keep me posted and let me know how its going.

Hey J.T., I just had to write and brag about the crappie that I and a friend caught at Beaver Lake this past weekend. We didn't do any night fishing but, the early morning (8:00-10:00) hours were best. We caught several nice keepers 12" or better and I caught one walleye (too small to keep). We were using minnows just about a foot off the bottom (mouth of coves), in approximately 15-20' deep. What fun and....boy were they good eating!

Hey Butler go to this link. Hope this helps....Joe

http://www.arkansassportsmanmag.com/...03a/index.html

Thanks Joe I couldnt find that article to paste when I responded to Butler. I tell you I cant help but dream about a few of Jerry Blakes crappie condos on cover barren Lake Maumelle and a night fishing trip.

Thanks for all the help guys.