First ever night-fishing

[Pangolin]

Armed with my new Wychwood bivvy, and grudging permission from her indoors, I ventured to my local lake to spend the whole night. To call it 'night fishing' would be a bit misleading, as I fully intended to sleep in the bivvy during the hours of darkness, but I particularly fancied catching tench at dawn. I learned a few lessons, however...

 

First lesson, try putting the bivvy up at home first! The design of the thing nearly defeated me and there were no instructions. Other anglers must have been choking with laughter as I spent the first 45 minutes putting the bivvy up, before I'd even wet a line.

 

Second lesson was to have rigs, even float rigs, ready made before going. Things that seem so simple, like threading line through rod-rings, become inexplicably difficult at 4am, just as the sun is starting to appear. As for threading hooks and putting tiny shot onto the line... forget it.

 

Third lesson, take a spare battery for bite alarms. I was reduced to fishing one rod until it was quite light, because a battery went dead. Floats with big dayglo tips still become invisible after dark.

 

Last lesson, take a mate! It was surprisingly lonely and often boring. Even when I was catching fish, I had nobody to show them to. I didn't catch any tench, by the way, but I had several carp.

 

Overall, it was an interesting experience, and one I might try again. My catch wasn't an improvement over what I'd expect on a day session, but there were moments of real quality, such as the mist lifting off the lake surface just after sunrise.

[*Ant*]

Nice one Pangolin.

 

One thing - Invest in a headtorch and maybe a handheld radio, a headtorch is worth it's weight in gold during night sessions.

[kendo]

perhaps another tip is buy or ask as a prezzie a wind up radio I have a RANGER FREEPLAY one used it for 3 years now brilliant and good company vin the wee small hours.

[Guest tigger]

Pangolin,

Your post had me laughing.

I know what you mean about catching fish and there`s no one to show them too,kinda kills the buzz.

Tigger.

[DavyR]

Kendo - If it's like the one I've got, the handle makes an irritating grinding noise as it's winding down. Mind you, mine might be older than yours and it's the size of a car battery...

[Ian FG]

Pangolin,

 

I enjoyed your post, made me grin.

 

My contribution for what it's worth:

 

I haven't been night fishing for years but here was how I used to do it for tench,

 

Take a mate

 

Set up early evening and fish till about 11 or 12 - then all lines in.

 

Sleep

 

Get up at 3-4 (mid-summer) - carry on fishing.

 

8am and it's all over.

 

The only difference would when be I was after bream, then it was stay up all night, plenty of torches and batteries, never got on with floats in the dark.

 

June, July and August are the months to go but late August can start getting chilly at night.

[kendo]

DavyR:

Kendo - If it's like the one I've got, the handle makes an irritating grinding noise as it's winding down. Mind you, mine might be older than yours and it's the size of a car battery...

completely silent sir it also charges its self via a solar cell

[waddis]

i usually night fish on my own and have found the most usefull tip would be to get everything organised before darkness falls.

I always take a couple of mags, a book and the radio which is left on all the time. Dont know if anyone else has noticed this but late night radio is so crap.

[kendo]

try late night radio 2

[Anthony78]

The last time I went night fishing was about 2 monthsago. I was woken at 3 in the morning by somebody trying to nick my rods, couldnt believe it was happening. I heard somebody moving behing the bivvy, and when I looked out of the front a second person walked past my door. I had the main door down which is plastic and the fly sheet was down too,they just sat beside my rods looking straight at me but he obviously couldnt see me looking back at him. I waited for a few seconds to see what he would do and he leaned over to my first rod and started to lift the line off the alarm which was off at the time because I had reeled in to get some kip. When I saw what he was about to do I shouted and asked him what he thought he was doing. Unbelievably he said that he was looking at my alarm set up because he had never seen one before. I was not In a position to argue as his mate was behind my bivvy and a nother car load was fishing the river about 100 yards away. So I said that it was not a good idea to be creeping around peoples rods in the middle of the night. Luckily for me he picked up his half empty bottle of bells and carried on fishing a few pegs away. As you can imagin I have been put off night fishing for a little while.

I consider myself very lucky as things could have gotten very ugly.

So I think it is a good idea to fish with a partner. especialy if you dont know the area.

Ant