I�m not a fan of the sun or heat. I also suck at deepwater fishing. Huge fan of bass and catching them though.

Wanting to start night fishing. Probably on Fork and Lavon. I fish alone 99% of the time, but am iffy on night fishing alone.

How do y�all manage this?

The alone part is no different for me than being in a boat during the day. I just try to minimize trip hazards.

I have rigid decklights that keep my deck illuminated, I have a blacklight that lights up the line so I can see it, I carry a handheld spot light to light up where I'm idling so I don't idle over a stump and I keep cheap led hat lights on the boat. These clip on the bill of your hat and make retying easier. They are only a few bucks each at Academy. The only other thing I do is try to keep the front deck as clean as possible. I use less rods at night since I only use a few lures and keep my extra rods in the passenger rod ramp rather than on the front deck.

That's about it.

I used to night fish a lot at Fork alone, fish a while if it's slow take a small nap then back at it

I night fish alone. I'm not quite sure what you mean with your question but I assume it relates to getting around at night. So I'd suggest fishing some main lake areas on Fork and getting there right before dark to familiarize yourself with the area. Keep it close enough to the lanes so you can get back to the ramp without much trouble. Choose a ramp close to the area you want to fish and then let it rip. I tournament fished at night on Cypress Springs last year and it was the first time I'd been back to Cypress in 20 years. I fished the same general area as I had before and stuck to main lake points and off the few stands of trees that grew along the shoreline. I caught a number of fish at ramps where street lights cast a bit of light out along the ramp. I had a pretty good night. But I didn't really start getting bit till about midnight. So I fished for about four hours without much action.

If you have good electronics, follow the trails you've made during daylight. Don't run around a lot, just fish. The fish will be out around many of those main lake points. If you find a boathouse with underwater lights, fish them thoroughly.

I fished alone at night for 12 years before someone started fishing my club tournaments with me. We fish three all nighters every summer, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., and I would prefish at least a couple of times for each. I look forward to the night tournaments all year.

I don't typically eat a meal in the boat fishing during the day, but I always bring a sandwich at night. I also drink lots of Gatorade or water, at least one Red Bull, and a Diet Mt. Dew. I used to bring coffee but it's too hot outside to drink something hot. I find that eating and drinking something frequently keeps me awake.

I spray on Off in the evening before dark. That's a huge part of it and you will be miserable if you can't keep the bugs off you. I also wear a life jacket all night, even when fishing. If I fall in, which has never happened, I fall in...but at least I will float.

Go out during the daylight and run the areas you think you will fish at night so you have a GPS trail. I never run close to timber or boat docks if I can help it when making my trails so I won't have to run so close to them in the dark.

I have never once been scared or felt "weird" about being out all night. I enjoy it. It's cooler and I think the fish bite better at night. Then again, I worked all night at my job for almost three years so the idea of being up all night isn't unusual to me.

One more thing...KEEP YOUR LIGHTS ON ALL NIGHT. I occasionally see someone on the lake with them turned off. That's not only illegal, but incredibly dangerous.

Be VERY familiar with the lake and don't run and gun, take it easy, no rush, unless you are in a night T. Fish your strengths if possible, if not, learn new techniques and get confidence in them. I have confidence in myself and figuring them out, so I ALWAYS know I am going to catch fish, funny how often that happens. USE YOUR LIGHTS RELIGIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get 2 (TWO) or 3 good lights to use in the boat and keep them charged at all times. The lake can have a different feel at night, so be aware of that. Have CONFIDENCE in yourself and fishing at night, because you will be surprised at how well you can do after the sun goes down. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Not to derail the thread but....

When my wife and I first met, I knew she had potential when she went fishing with me. Once she started going float tubing at night at Clearlake in the Grasslands, I knew she was a keeper! The grass and timber brushing your legs or the beavers slapping their tails will make some people freak the heck out. She never batted an eye!

I went night fishing with my brother for the first time this past weekend. We hammered the fish next to lighted docks and had a blast. No heat, calm waters, and nice and quiet. Getting back to the ramp did make me slighty nervous the first time. If you have Google maps and good cell service you can keep track of where you are easily.

only time i got freaked out while solo night fishing i was fishing in a quiet, dark cove around some docks, moving real slow, really concentrating on each cast. it was super quiet, peaceful. suddenly i heard something or saw something out of the corner of my eye, looked down and i had a visitor (SNAKE) coming up the trolling motor shaft over the rub rail to join me on deck. Glad nobody has that on camera, it was not my finest moment.

Where a life vest and tell someone you�re going fishing. If I were to fish at night more often, I would add some low light deck lights on my boat (any color other than white).

In the heat I fish nearly exclusively at night...and almost always alone....the keys for me are
1.Slow down, boat, moving around the boat, and fishing.
2. I wear my life vest the entire time.
3. I tend to pick lakes or areas with less stuff to run into.
4. I keep a pistol on board.
Enjoy.

Always wear the life vest or a real good inflatable one.
There is no room for error in the dark if you fall out of the boat.

Just like you do during the day only slower. Bring lights and everything you need for the dark and relax and enjoy the solitude. Try to launch where you want to fish. It is no fun trying to run across the lake on plane and find a floater out there. Snakes will try to come into the boat so if I see one i move on down a bit.

This about the time of year I switch to night. Alone or not. Life Jacket and kill switch. When they marked the boat lanes on fork I had to start worrying about hitting one of the buoys. I have way points for them now.... but they move around so be careful on fork.

Lots of stuff on here about safety and lighting, which I agree with 100%. I keep the lights on but I never fish on or near boat lanes. I try not to use any other lighting that what I need to be legal and safe. Real bright lights will kill your natural night vision, and that is your best friend in my opinion.

Also, know how far you cast... I usually park a foot or two more beyond that if I am fishing the shore. Getting caught in trees or on other shoreline structure at night will ruin the trip.

And as far as deck safety, keep your floor clean of just about everything you can. I would bet that most people who fall out of their boat at night would be because they tripped over something on their deck...I know I kicked a few things in the water over my time fishing at night.

Other than that, night time is best time to fish in my opinion... between the hot sun and pleasure boaters, I can't handle day time fishing in the summer.