Struggling at night.

Over the past couple summers on east Texas lakes for our little club tournaments we have been really struggling to get bites at night.

Most of our time is spent throwing spinnerbaits, buzz baits, and big worms. All over the lake but mostly around shallow cover near deeper water.

I’m dying to know how some of y’all get consistent bites at night.

Fish same spots u do during day at night. Fish rarely leave them and can actually catch them on same baits. I never swap up what I’m throwing day or night for most part

Two things come into play at night.
- You have to be 10 times quieter at night. They spook out of spots when there is very little wind on a very quite night. Running lights are also a bad thing; but required on public lakes. See if the rules will allow you to fish in total darkness when off the main lake.

- Target dock areas that have any lights that are in the water or hanging close to the water. This will up your odds of fishing were the bait fish are gathering around the lights. Big fish will move in and out. You will see them cursing around; but if you can see them, they already know you are there. Stay back as far as possible.

I actually fish deeper at night than I do in the day.

I've been out fishing on Lake Tyler the last few nights. I've also found the bite to be somewhat slow. Best action is around lighted docks (mine included). On the lights I have best results using swim baits and rarely get bit using a Texas Rig. When I'm fishing dark areas I have best luck on the Texas Rig. I'm going out again tonight and I'm going to try and stay away from that "artificial habitat" that the lights create.

It is fun though to run the swim bait through the lights and wait for the bite and it usually happens. You can catch a bunch in a hurry but they get smart pretty quickly.

I may be the odd wad here, but I fish a crankbait at night, too. When they slam it, there is NO DOUBT that you have a bite. They try to destroy it, of course, the big lizards and worms also take a lot of fish too. Not as many as the CB does but they also are bigger for the most part. Last time I went night fishing, I was throwing a T-rigged lizard and caught a 6.40, winning our night tournament on Alan Henry. I fish the same areas and the same baits (NORMALLY), unless I up or down size the baits. Just SLOW DOWN a lot and you will normally get more bites, it seems. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

I tend to do better on clearer water lakes at night.

What time does your club night tournaments run? If it starts before it gets dark then dusk will be one of your best chances to get bites. For me, I find that bites seems to really slow down about hour after dark or sooner. Then doesn't pick up until after midnight or later.

My best bait by far at night is a black chatterbait. For soft plastics, Zoom ultra vibe speed worm, shakeyhead with a rattlesnake or baby brush hog (especially around docks). The big size jitterbug can do some damage too.

Baits need to be darker and bigger, I add scent and I fish SLOOWWWWWW... Give them a little more time to find it. I love night fishing.. my favorite.