First.....HAPPY FATHERS DAY

Had the pleasure of going to Lake Fork and tag along with Lake Fork Guide Clint Wright, on a Night Guide Trip.

And all I can say is WOW, that guy knows Fork and Fishing like no one's business. I always get brought back down to earth when I get back in the boat with these guys. If you get a chance you really need to get on the water with Clint at night, I'm pretty sure there will be some pigs caught.

Clint was out with Larry Ford and Chris Gilroy, both TFF'ers.

I got there a little before 9 and they had already boated a 7.8 lber and a many other 4 and 5 plus's. Chris told me they had only 3 unders the whole day and the rest were all big slot fish.

Larry and Chris are going to send me picks of the fish and I will get them up for you Guys and Gals also.

I did this Tip's and Tricks a little different, do to the fact i really didn't want to interrupt Clint, Larry and Chris. So all your questions are answered in the write up and the the two fish I did manage to get on film are at the bottom....oh yeah not just fish...SOME PIGS...Chris had a few on that ate his lunch and we all know would have been monsters but as he stated to me last night "that's Fishing"

1. Does he find he gets more bites by sitting shallow and bringing the bait to him from the deep- OR sitting deep and fishing back to him from shallow?
My favorite is neither. Personally, I like to sit on the drop and fish it parallel in the strike zone of which the fish are staged. If the fish are all over a point or ledge, sit shallow and throw deep.


2. Which catches more fish, white or black colored lures at night?
I know that using black at night is a myth. As a matter of fact, this is a great time to use colors that you don’t like or normally would not throw. The only exception is three days before, the night of and three days after a full moon. Here I have seen the fish actually get picky with color. I lean more towards greens and browns during a full moon.

3. Do you fish the same areas as you would during daylight hours?
Yes and No. During the summer, all of my fishing during the day is in deeper water, 10 to 35 foot. But, many nights, these fish move up into the closest hydrilla / milfoil in the area to feed. I’m sure this has much to do with the movement of prey. My recommendation for an angler new at fishing at night, start shallow and work your way deeper.


4. Do you tend to fish shallower at night?
I answered this one in number 3.


5. Does the moon make a difference in the fishing at night?
Yes, definitely. But, not in the ways that many think. #1 The moon assist angler’s in visibility of their surroundings. The reason many of us hear that more fish are caught around a full moon is because more anglers fish during the full moon. I touched on bait color earlier, but will say the darker the night, the less I worry about color. That is about it. We catch just as many fish throughout the years on a dark night as we do a moon lit night. They are alive just like we are, so they gotta eat!!


6. Does the time of night matter? 10PM verses 4AM?
This is one of the best questions. A night angler will find that feeding times are much more prevalent at night than they are during the day. It can and will turn on and off like a light switch. The key is to fish as many hours at night as possible and hopefully catch one of these special fish catching opportunities. Lots of variables cause this feeding behavior to include the initial rise of the moon, sudden wind increase or decrease and barometric pressure changes. Don’t waste your time night fishing on a post front, it is terrible. Back to the 10pm vs. 4 am. I would rather fish midnight to 4 am than any other time. This has allowed the fish enough time to transition from deep water to shallow water and stage to feed. Not sure why else it is good, but it is the best time year after year. Many anglers hang around for an hour or two after dark and then leave to go home thinking night fishing is not good. I see the boats going to load every night around 10 pm to 11 pm. It is sad to see that and then an hour later we have a three hour feeding frenzy.


7. When fishing spinner baits in 5 to 8 ft of water should you have a slow retrieve or retrieve the bait more quickly?
I am not an expert at fishing a spinnerbait. But, if we did I would try both slow and fast until I found what they wanted. I like to make contact with the bottom at night 95 percent of the time. This is where the bass are at, at night. The only way they can feed is while looking up at the stars and moon. They use shadows and silhouette their prey. So my theory is that if the fish are on the bottom, that is where my bait will be, in their face.


8. Which is more important when night fishing, vibration or scent?
Another great question. Believe it or not I would have to say scent. I say this because most of us will have sunscreen on our hands from before the sun went down, bug spray on our hands for after the sun sets, mayonnaise, Copenhagen, Marlboro, oil, gas etc on our hands. I say use a crayfish scent and use it often, not that the fish are attracted so much to the scent, but because it acts as a cover scent to all of the unnatural things we have on our hands as we rig up our lures and fix them throughout the trip. Vibration is not important. Some nights they want a Grande bass rattlesnake and others a mutant, two totally different baits and both work at night.


9. How the heck do you have a 40+ fish night at Fork?
I must clarify that we do not have a 40+ fish nights every night. But, when we do it is due to several feeding periods in one night. Another huge factor is the knowledge / experience level of the clients I take out. If this is your first day to ever throw a plastic worm, it might be a long night. But, if you know how to detect the difference between spongy feeling grass and a largemouth swimming off with your bait, it is usually going to be a lot of fun.


10. Which brings the question- how do you differentiate between quality and quantity at nighttime?
Fish ledges for sows or fishing lights for unders? I have found that during the night the fish will socialize and feed together in the same areas more than during the day. During the night the older smarter wiser fish feel safe to mingle with smaller adolescent fish. So I have never found a way or area that hold one size or another like I can during the day. I can say that at night, if you are catching small fish, hold tight to your rod because the next bite might be a big one.


11. Ask him if he was going to fish at night on, oh..... Lets say Texoma on.... lets say July 25th. What would he do?
I am not as familiar with Texoma as I am some other East Texas lakes. But, if I had to go on July 25th, I would #1 fish marina’s with lights. Here I would throw a light compact jig or a shakey head grande bass rattlesnake. #2 find rocky bluffs and throw a crankbait. Small mouth will hit a crankbait at night more than a largemouth will.


12. What does he use for bug spray? I like to use OFF with deet.
Which Costa Del Mars are best for night fishing?
I do not wear eye protection at night. I should but don’t. I need to get Costa to send me a pair with the sunrise glass or sunrise cr 39 lenses. I have had them before and they are great for low light conditions.
Best three night baits?
Texas rig, Jig, Weightless worm


13. How will the night patterns change over the summer..ie. in July and later into Aug?
The only change is that it gets better. The hotter the days, the less the fish feed during the day and start feeding heavily at night. The heat, in my opinion, makes them nocturnal.


14. depth, moon, lures, retrieve, cover to target? He covered most of this in other answers.


15. Does wearing black clothing really keep the bugs off you?
LOL.. NO way. Bug’s are attracted to carbon dioxide that is expelled from our lungs during exhalation. I do recommend wearing long pants and a light long sleeve shirt, it will help you not get bit as bad.


16. moon phases – just go fishing


17. do black crankbaits work at night?
I’m sure they do, but why would you throw one? Do shad turn black at night and no one told me?


18. How does he keep the bugs off him,every time I go fishing at night I get bit by something that instantly balloons my hand up and cant hardly close my hand enough to hold a rod.I think the other guys covered everything I was wondering?
This is a serious problem. You need to take Benadryl and do not go alone. Make sure you cover yourself in a quality bug spray with deet and do this once an hour or so. Might want to see a doctor for an allergy test. Sorry, I was in medicine for 11 years before becoming a guide.


19. That lake is hard enough to get around on during the daytime how are you able to do it at night?
When you are sleeping at home, can you get up out of bed at night and walk to the restroom? I would hope so. It is no different for me at Lake Fork. This is my home and I know how to get around in the dark. I still keep my speed to a maximum of 40 mph and only run on plane while in the marked boat run and always have my GPS and spotlight scanning for dangers. If you do not feel confident with navigation, just go slow and fish within sight of the marinas. We have a bunch of marinas and they all hold fish within sight at night.



We are there 2 MINUTES and on Larry's first cast with me in the boat......


Clint sticks this pig....

does he find he gets more bites by sitting shallow and bringing the bait to him from the deep- OR sitting deep and fishing back to him from shallow?

Which catches more fish, white or black colored lures at night?

Do you fish the same areas as you would during daylight hours?

Do you tend to fish shallower at night?

Does the moon make a difference in the fishing at night?


Does the time of night matter? 10PM verses 4AM?


When fishing spinnerbaits in 5 to 8 ft of water should you have a slow retreave or retrieve the bait mor quickly?

Which is more important when night fishing. Vibration or scent?

how the heck do you have a 40+ fish night at Fork??

which brings the question- how do you differentiate between quality and quantity at nightime. fish ledges for sows or fishing lights for unders?

Ask him if he was going to fish at night on, oh..... lets say Texoma on.... lets say July 25th. What would he do?

Are you going to take some video of this trip?? I'm headed to Lake Fork for the 4th of July weekend so the info will come in handy!!

ask him if we all pitched in if we could follow him as a group? The hotter it gets down here the more interested I am becoming in night fishing.

For Clint:
What does he use for bug spray?
Which Costa Del Mars are best for night fishing?
Best three night baits.

For Casey:
How are you fishing all day, winning a tournament and then recording a DotL all night?

I'm not sure about following him , but will ask him right now.

Yes, I'm going to video this and also have a few videos of nothing but him answering questions straight from you guys.

Robert, I never sleep anyways.Plus I will still be fired up about our WIN...LOL

How will the night patterns change over the summer..ie. in July and later into Aug??

depth, moon, lures, retrieve, cover to target.

Does wearing black clothing really keep the bugs off you?

moon phases

do black crankbaits work at night?

+1

.

How does he keep the bugs off him,everytime I go fishing at night I get bit by something that instantly ballons my hand up and cant hardly close my hand enough to hold a rod.I think the other guys covered everything I was wondering.

that sounds like a bad deal.

another vote for time of night

That lake is hard enough to get around on during the daytime how are you able to do it at night?

Clint/Casey - this should be a blast! Larry and I are really looking forward to it. Clint already called and threatened me about bringing our "a" games...last time out with Clint all Larry did was catch a 10.73 right at sundown and that was on just a 4 hour freebie trip. See you guys Saturday and good luck in your tourney.

Chris

Just got back from the RHBC tournament on Lavon, and will head down to Fork about 8 tonight. Can't wait this should be fun, and informative.

This should be a great write up, Casey. You guys be safe out there, and don`t fall in.

good luck and stay safe! Cant wait for the write up

Just got back home, and I got 2 pigs on video's....write up with ALL of your questions answered and video's will be up tomorrow.

AWESOME!!! I have a night tourney on Belton in a few weeks and need ALL the help I can get!!

I may need to get me a trip with Clint, the way he his catching those night fish.

Answers and Video's are up.....Thanks Clint, Larry and Chris for letting shed some light into night fishing.

Great Stuff!! Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the great post and for taking the time and making the effort to bring it to us. We appreciate it.

+1

As always good job Clint.

Bazz proved that it takes all kinds of folks to make the world go around.... LOL

I hope I helped answer some of your questions.
Tight Lines,

Clint, when can I go again and maybe cast a little....

Man that was the hardest time sitting there watching those guys get bites and landing those two pigs. They had 5 or 6 strikes that about jerked the rods out of there hands.

Seriously though, when can I go..

excellent writeup and guide! good job guys!

Where is the write-up and video posted??

Very first post.

He answered all the questions and they caught two fish on video.

Thanks....not sure how I missed it???

Thanks and congrats on your two fish this past weekend.

Good job Clint!

I've said it before and I will say it again: You can learn more in one day (or night) with a good guide than you can in a Year by yourself.

It is a very good investment.

Ken

Great write up as usual.

Thanks

Great report MrBASS and good job Clint! You da man!

Casey - we sent the pictures to Clint yesterday. If you don't have them yet, I can send your way via email. Thanks again for the video and the hard time you kept giving me all night.

PM sent Gilbob

Thanks for going to the trouble of posting this. Im an avid night fisherman and everything mentioned rings true. Great read!

Thanks

Awesome report! Thanks!