Night Fishing in the Dog Days of Summer

The dog days of summer are really tough for any fisherman, but there is a very good alternative to fishing in the scorching heat. Most people would prefer not to, but night fishing is a wonderful way to beat the heat. My personal favorite is bass fishing at night with a spinnerbait. Me and my brother-in-law, Ed Majors, have been fishing tournaments at night for a few years now and I have turned him into a bass fishing machine. We have fished together many years but we decided to get serious, so off we went.

I taught him everything I knew, which wasn't much, but now he is showing me how to be more versatile with my selection of baits and tactics. What I mean by this is my basic colors for a spinnerbait is blue and chartreuse and black and red. But Ed will throw anything in the box. A lot of the time my choice works well for me, but most of time I am asking him what he is throwing.

Now having said all that, night fishing is a trial and error thing. It seems to me that every night is different. If you have a full moon you need lighter colored baits. Dark nights you need dark colored baits. Even daytime conditions will change the whole structure of nighttime fishing. If it's been cloudy and rainy all day, fish have a tendency to pull into shallower water and under piers. But if it's been a bright sunny day they have a tendency to pile up on humps and roadbeds. It is really hard to break the traditional fishing habits so it's nice to have a versatile partner.

Everything that you've learned in past years can turn to crap in one night. That's when you have to go different techniques and colors. Before Ed and I started fishing together he was a pier and bank fisherman and I was a hump and structure fisherman. You combine the two and have a winning team. Sometimes it takes an act of congress to get either to change their tactics but most of the time it turns out to be a winning combination. It all depends on how pig-headed the other one is.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is find the right partner and night fishing will be one of the best experiences of your life. Even though neither one of you have any experience fishing at night, two minds are better than one. It's also more fun to have a friend or family member in the boat with you at night. There's nothing like the peacefulness and quiet of nighttime fishing. Your concentration is heightened and the experience is nothing like you've ever known. You don't have to put up with all the skiers, seadoos, and a lot of fisherman because they are asleep. I don't think Ed will ever be the same after fishing at night because the fish get bigger and tougher at night. Maybe one day we might go back to daytime fishing but right now this is the way to go. Give it a try - you'll be hooked for life!

Barry Brasher is an avid fisherman on Logan Martin and other Alabama lakes. He is also co-owner of BamaBassFishing.com, a popular website devoted to bass fishing in Alabama.