I enjoy night fishing quite a bit and I definately prefer it to daytime fishing once the temps are in the 90's. First off, let me say this for those of you who are new to night fishing.
LIGHTS--------Buy ones that do NOT require sinkers to keep them down and a string to hold sinkers...This is cumbersome, and aggvating, and just good for a novice to know. Wish I'd known this first and would have saved me time, effort, and money waisted on lights that wont sink.....Academy sells a light that looks like a test tube and its about 6 inches long and bright as can be and has 6 foot cord. $15 bucks and your in business...Dont just buy one if you can buy you a couple or three. I put out 3 or 4 of these on every night trip now. Sometimes I too will try the green light out with my regular lights, but I dont always do that.
Minnows-----One of the Best baits especially for a night time fishing Novice....Minnows can cover a multitude of sins for you.lol, but they tend to be just slightly at a disadvantage at night due to some the newer brighter baits that get seen much quicker, Thats just my opinion. You can always take minnows and try both and see what your experience is.
Where to fish----- I try the deeper water most the time in the summer but usually never fish any deeper than 22 feet. Stay above the thermocline which is now present for best results as below it is very low oxygen.
How do I fish----- As C1bigoCarp suggested already, you can anchor but why do so? You can keep on the move but move very slowly and you will eventually find what your looking for if you looking in the right places.
Watch the surroundings and the minnows under your lights... When you arrive at the lake, did you see minnows treading the surface of the water? If so, try fishing shallower on these nights than you do if you dont see any at surface when you arrive or are heading to your spot......If you notice you have minnows under your lights, but they are deeper than up close to surface, those are the nights I spend fishing at a deeper depth.....
The Moon---One the most important factors while night fishing....The moon is out and waters glowing everywhere, it may be a tough night for catching crappie. The best nights have little to no moon, IMO, so I try and pick moon less nights if possible. Have been many times and the moon come up during the trip and bam, the fish and the bite are both gone for the night.
Try vertical Jigging....IF your like me and enjoy vertical jigging, hold that rod in your hand use a 1/32 to a 1/16th or even heavier if thats your style and tie on a bait that is easy for the fish to see under the lights. If they are not finicky, they will come up and give you that thump you love when its good. Hard to beat that thump. Hope these few tips helps somebody out there. Im first to say I can stand to a good bit more myself but Ive spent several days and nights of my life chasing these crappie year around now for many years and still cant seem to get enough of it.
Some nights are just better than others, just like days. I have sit over fish before and knew it was crappie and just couldnt get a bite. Other times you cant keep your bait in the water for a fish hammering it.
Float fishing---- This is one area I lack in terribly. Lots of guys float fish, and they cast out and fish minnows 2 to 7 feet deep under the floats sort of on the edge of your lighted area. This method has beat me quite a few times in tourneys as I just about refuse to sit and watch a float but I am spending more and more time learning this method. Have caught them on floats at night, but its not my chosen style for sure. Caught these with JohnW a couple weeks ago. These 18 weighed in at 20 pound 3 ounces and all but 2 came after dark. Good luck to you.
And lastly, if your in the Middle Tennessee area, why not come on down and check out Middle Tn Crappie Club? We talk about how to be successful nearly every single meeting. We have a good time talking crappie at our meetings and want you to know if you can spend time with us, your certainly welcome to come by. Check out website for meeting times and more information. Middle Tennessee Crappie Club
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