I am thinking about fishing more at night this summer. In the past I have avoided fishing in the dark because I am not sure where my lure ends up after casting, I am not confident I would notice a back lash on my reel, and I would not see line twist developing on my spinning rod. Any suggestions for how you deal with the dark and lure placement and reel maintenance would be appreciated.

In the dark, it's all about feel, knowing your equipment and trusting it. Night fishing is a different animal then day, use the search bar here for lots of good tips.

It's all about lights.

Ridgid or other lights to light up the deck of the boat.
Lights to see in the compartments
An inexpensive (sub $10) led clip light for the bill of your hat. This makes tying knots easier and if you had a backlash you'd easily be able to see it.
And a handheld spotlight to light up stumps or the bank as you idle to approach or to see navigation buoys while running. Keep sweeping it and avoid constant use. You'll blind people as you approach and the lense can get hot. Leave them with the bulb facing up so you don't burn carpet or seats unless it's LED

You can also get a blacklight the will light up fluorescent fishing line while you're fishing.

all of this reduces trip hazards and makes the trip easier and more productive.

Thanks for the help

Can you cast during the day without backlashing? If so, it'll be the same at night. You should feel it if you do. I wear one of the headlamps that I can turn on so it is pointing where I am looking for clearing a backlash, removing a hook or retying. They make a really bright one also that has a rechargable battery pack on the strap that works as good as a cheap spotlight.

Don't over think it. Have everything ready to go ahead of time, know where everything is going to be stored and just go slow. With the moon and the navigation light, you'll be surprised how well you will be able to see at night. When I go to Fork, I fish one particular creek that is full of stumps. On most nights I can idle around that creek and see the stumps from the ambient light and don't even need a spotlight. In fact that is the best way to go. Pick an area and launch near it and fish. Try to keep from running around the lake if you don't have to.

Depth perception can be challenging at night when casting.
The biggest problem i run into is putting my bait up on the bank if i am not careful.
The best solution i have found is to make easy casts that i can repeat over and over consistently. Then i just manage my boat distance to the shoreline accordingly. This works really well with a straight bank, like riprap.
The good news is your casts don't have to be as precise as they do when the sun is overhead.

Beware of Bugs. I also wear a head lamp at night. I may turn it on quickly to make sure I don't have any moss on my lure or to land a fish, but I turn it off as quickly as possible. If you are close to shore, those bugs will be on you quick once the light comes on. I like fishing away from the bank on most nights to avoid the swarm of bugs headed to the light.

This is truth. Last time, the only time, we fished at night was on Toledo. Just so happened there was a HUGE mayfly hatch. Bugs everywhere, on every light, and if you hit that hat light it better be quick.

It also helps to wear dark colors at night, any light that reflect off of your cloths will attract bugs.
Take a some black electrical tape and tape over unwanted lights, like trolling motor, or Talen Etc.... I have also taped about 1/4 of the stearn light to keep it out of your eyes. Peel it off when you get back out to the boat lane.

The hat light for knots is really the best advice for night trips. Don't worry about trying to light everything up as you'll only end up blinding yourself, just turn that hat light on when you need to retie. Otherwise, let your eyes adjust to the dark. The other thing I'd add is less rods on the deck. Go with 2 or 3, the less you have to tangle and trip over the better.

I go as dark as possible imo. Your eyes will adjust. Full moon is great also. I�ll use a light to retie or small things. It�ll definitely make you a better fisherman by using feel especially if you�re a �line watcher�.

At this point in the thread I'll throw in the famous Jimmy Houston saying. Fits me to a tee.

My headlight has 3 or 4 settings.
I keep the red light on for no bugs. It's aimed 45�, between straight ahead, and my reel.

I used to fish night T's and even held one on a bi monthly basis on Lake Alan Henry. Fishing at night is no different than fishing during the day, EXCEPT you cannot see some things. Pick a lake you know well or one that you are at least very familiar with. Put some lights on your boat or on your self and go fishing. BIG FISH bight at night and last year, while fishing the T, we had 6 6+ lbers caught at night. Out of 12 T's, that is not bad. You have to get the feel for the things at night and watch for cotton mouths that want to crawl in your boat with you. Don't worry about them, unless you have a high population in your lake. Jut swish your rod tip in the water making a commotion and they normally leave. ENJOY your time at night and have fun with it.. You might want to get one fo those light weight life jackets and wear it all the time. THAT would be for your safety, you can thank me later. LOL. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

never fish alone at night.