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"Papermouths"
by the pale moon light
Catching Crappies at night can be a blast. Preparation is the key to
a good time and a livewell full of tasty critters. There are many
advantages to fishing at night, especially during the summer. It's
cooler, no chance of sunburn and those pesky personal watercraft are
all at home.
Mark Gromlovits The Crappie Killa'
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The negatives are bugs, and oh yeah, it's DARK! But the prepared
angler can overcome these nocturnal obstacles.
Getting your boat ready for an after dark adventure is key. Get all
the useless gear out of the boat or at least packed out of the way.
Put your nighttime gear in a very convenient place. You don't want
to be digging around trying to find your weights, hooks, minnow net
and the like, after the sun goes down. Make a checklist for
yourself. Include all the necessary goodies. Flashlight with extra
batteries, bug spray, some munchies, soda's, extra boat keys, a
whistle, rain gear, the list needs to be your own. But use it to
make sure you have the proper equipment. Charge your batteries.
Check the charge before you leave. A dead battery in the dark is
much worse than during the daylight hours.
The equipment I use is not absolutely necessary. However, I highly
recommend the following items.
A black light, 12 volt of course, will serve you well. This is about
a $40 investment. I have two on my boat. For line I recommend Stren
Clear Blue, 8-pound test. This particular line glows very well under
black light making it much easier to see. A roll of fluorescent
tape. Put a piece on the tip of the rods and the butt of the rods. I
put a little piece on the ends of the reel handles and the reel
seat. This makes subtle bites easy to detect and you can find the
reel handle quickly.
Some folks prefer the good old lantern on a pole setup to attract
the shad to your location. I do not. The burning lantern is
dangerous. There is something about having a 700-degree plus object
in my boat that makes me a little uneasy. Battery powered ones are
better, but still leave a lot to be desired. You can buy some
floating Crappie lights for about $8 each. You will need a minimum
of two. The sinking lights are more expensive, but more effective as
well. Consider investing in one or two. Read the directions on these
lights carefully before use. Most need to be completely submerged
before turning them on. They are toast in about 1-3 seconds if not
completely submerged in water!
Light in the boat is another dilemma. I prefer a red light. Yes red.
I have a friend who sails a lot at night. He taught me that red
light is a lot easier on the eyes at night and does not attract as
many bugs. It's true, give it a try. I use two DC sockets on a 5
foot long pole threaded on one end to screw down in the rod holder
base that is not in use on the starboard side of the boat. One in
the front, one in the back. The important thing here is that the
lights are behind and above you when fishing. You will get the
maximum illumination with this setup and you will not be looking
directly at the light. The black lights are placed near the base of
the rod holder facing the water. Which brings me to rod holders.
They are very important at night. Many a rod has gone over the side
during nighttime excursions.
I have three rod holders on the
port (left) side of the boat. Each has 4-rod holders. This
allows me to cover 36 feet of water when using 10 foot rods in
each holder.
I feel it is much more
effective to concentrate your efforts out one side of the
boat. I can reach 8 rods from the front or back seat of my 18
foot boat. If you have limited room in your boat, just
compromise
Above all make sure you are
comfortable. Make sure that limited movement is required to perform
all necessary fishing functions.
A good quality aerated bait bucket is
also a must. Keep a little salt in the water and throw a chunk of
ice in there every 30 minutes or so. Your minnows will thank you.
Get plenty of minnows too. I take a minimum of ten dozen, most of
the time twenty dozen. I mentioned batteries and the importance of
them earlier. If you have limited space or a limited budget, use a
12-volt lawnmower battery. They are small, lightweight and will
power all your lights for several hours. Less than $20 will get you
a nice one.
Now you're ready!
Know your spot. Scope it out during the day. Try to setup before the
sun goes down. Get two anchors and put plenty of line on each one.
Remember a sea anchor requires a short length of chain to work
properly. Brush piles, standing timber, bridge supports, creek
channels, docks all make excellent nighttime spots. A good rule of
thumb is 25 feet of water minimum, near a bridge, which is usually
accompanied by a creek channel edge, and some type of bottom
structure. If you have all of this, great! If not find, a spot that
has some of it will still produce. The idea is to bring the fish to
you, rather than going to the fish.
Ideally your nighttime spot will be close to your launch site. No
need to make a twenty mile run in the dark. I have spots that are
strictly for night fishing within site of my launch site on Jordan
Lake in NC. Take time to position the boat. Set your anchors so you
are precisely where you want to be. You do not want to have to make
adjustments after dark. Now, get your lights and rods setup. Wait
for the sun to go down. Enjoy the sunset. Turn your lights on at
dusk. The Shad will begin to school under your boat, draw by the
lights, soon after sunset. This usually takes an hour or two so be
patient. If you illuminate it, they will come.
If you are in 25 feet of water, set your inside most rods at 8 feet
to 10 feet deep. Gradually go a little deeper. The outer most rods
at the front and back of the boat should be set at magic depth,
which is 17 feet. Check the drag on each rod, Stripers, Catfish and
Big Bass love shad! So don't get caught with a tight drag if a heavy
weight decides to test your tackle. Your minnows should start
getting inhaled very quickly. Once you figure out the right depth
for that particular evening, set all the rods at that depth.
Fishing at night is a lot of fun. And it's a great way to continue
Crappie fishing through the hot summer months. Pontoon boats are
very popular these days and they make excellent nighttime Crappie
boats. Use your imagination when it comes to your setup. Use some of
the items I have listed above to improve your outing.
It is not uncommon to catch several hundred fish in one evening.
Remember to keep what you need and release the rest.
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