My son and I wanted to try some night fishing this year now that I'm healthy and the lakes are all up. Are there any tips or tricks to fishing at night? I worry the most about hangups and stuff like that because you can't see what the heck you are doing!

Fish an area you are familiar with...

My tip is, it will be a lot cooler at night. As far as the catching you will do just as well at daylight most of the time. The exception to that is lighted docks for Bass fishing. You are right moving around in the dark is always a danger. Bad things can happen in the dark. Idle with a good spot light and be safe.

Just go fishing. You will get hung up from time to time but really not as much as you think. Its no big deal, just go get it loose.
I always wear a cap light (that I bought at walmart for $10) so when I hook a fish I will turn it on so that I can see to get it in the boat. I also use it for checking my lure and retying.
My best night lure is a black spinnerbait with a big gold or nickle colorado blade. I normally fish it as slow as possible to keep the blade spinning.
Also 10-12" power worms in black or blue fleck work well.

Good luck and enjoy!

Lewisville at night and stick to the marinas lots of lights and cooler temp.

Full-moon in East Texas is awesome for night fishing and you can get as shallow as you want around the boat-dock lights, hang on! Take lot's of bug spray and use ear plugs, they will keep the mosquitoes out of your ears.

I love fishing a texas rig at night. Something with alot of movement like a brush hog. The bite at night is different IMO. When they hit it they seem to CRUSH it. Very few times do I swing and miss at night. They jump all over it.

I like to t-rig a big power worm with a glass bead. I feel it adds a little bit more noise to help them locate

^ what he said ^. night fishing is great fun in the summer. With all the high water I would be running that short arm thumper of a spinner bait through the flooded willows etc if the bait fish is there. If you can find flooded willows around lights you have a honey hole! I also like a good ol texas rigged black power worm with a bead between the hook and weight. Crank baits at night will also produce for you. Y'all go have fun and be safe. Don't go out without a spot light and always wear your life jackets at night.

You will be surprised how well you can see at night. The one thing I like about some of my favorite night fishing lakes is there are area's where I used to put in, drop the trolling motor and then pull the trolling motor back up where I started at the end of the night and never even ran the big motor. A few things I realized when fishing all through the 90's on lakes like Fork, Bob Sandlin and Cedar Creek is that I had better results when looking back on the logs I used to keep on moonless dark nights compared to fishing the full moon and on lakes with lots of docks like Cedar Creek I caught more fish on unlighted docks than on docks with lights. Those go against what I always thought but what my record keeping showed.

Try not to use a headlight when running the lake. That really makes it hard for other boaters to see which direction you're going. Those bright spotlights and trolling motor lights are horrible! I've fished night tournaments against guys that use those and it makes me so mad because I can hardly see what direction I need to go. Please don't use those when navigating a lake. I also only try to use a light when I'm making a super-tight pitch or cast. Otherwise I just use my eyes. It takes a little time to get used to it but in the end it'll work out.

As far as techniques go, anything you use during the day will work at night. I recommend you plan your trips an hour after sunset. Bass' eyes need time to adjust to night vision and you won't get many bites at all the first hour after sunset. Trust me, I night fish 90% of the time during the Summer.

Docks lights are simple and easy to fish. Approach them and stay about 50 feet away and cast in to them. A small fluke on a dropshot or a 3-5 inch swimbait on a jighead has produced a lot of my catches.

If your lake doesn't have any dock lights then go find shallow cover that's next to deep water. Bass come up shallow to feed at night and that's where they'll be.

Some of my favorite baits for shallow cover at night are:

Strike King Tour Grade Night Spinnerbait

This is my go-to spinnerbait for nighttime. You can really feel the thump of the blade and this bait will stand up to the biggest fish out there. Super high quality and it's been money for me.

Fin Junkie Flipping Jig

Another bait that has been killer for me is this flipping jig. This is a premium jig with a high quality skirt and a sharp, beefy hook. This is my favorite jig!

Gambler Mega Daddy

This is a good beefy craw for nighttime. The flappers move a lot of water and it has an awesome swimming action, which is great for nighttime fishing! They're durable, have garlic scent, and they're inexpensive.

D&M Flippin' Craw

If you want more of a realistic looking craw and one that doesn't have a ton of action, then the D&M Flippin' Craw is for you. This is my favorite craw bait. These baits are custom made and are super reliable. It's a perfect craw bait for nighttime fishing because it's realistic and it offers a bulky profile.

Zoom Brush Hog

Another favorite bait of mine for nighttime fishing is the Brush Hog. It's been around for years and it's a proven winner. Can't go wrong with these at night!

Night fishing can be tricky but if you keep going, it'll pay off big time sooner or later.

Good luck!

wear eye protection. one thing you can't see to avoid is a lure flying at your face. wonder how i know.

Wow, lots of info. Basic stuff but lots of it. I think we may give it a go this weekend. My oldest son's birthday is this week and he wants to go fishing. If we decide not to chase sandies on Ray Bob Saturday we might just turn it into a night trip somewhere else.

Shallow, lighted bobber and a big shinner

Don't give up on it too early. The bite won't get good until around midnight. Carry an anchor and use it. No lake traffic to deal with and the fish seem to be bigger at night.