night fishing

[moonlight angler]

sooo to go night fishing what do you basically need ????

 

and what methods are best..... like areas, baits, rigs etc??

 

 

just interested as i am considering night fishing one of the lakes near me called shearwater.

[terry t shirt]

It really depends on what species your targetting and wether you intend to stay awake during the night. One of the best methods at night is to float fish the margins just adding a mini starlight to your float for visibilty. The most important thing is make sure your comfortable with everything you need to hand if your doing this.

[Angly]

Yup, couldn't agree more. I always used to float fish using night lights or those battery lit floats, just wrap up warm and waterproof (even in summer it can get very damp overnight), and choose a swim with no overhanging trees or bankside vegetation to get caught up in.

[Janet]

I've done a few night sessions, and I'd echo Terry's comments....make sure that you have everything to hand! Plan to arrive well before nightfall to give yourself plenty of time to set up and make sure that you know where everything is and all the equipment you may need is readily accessible when needed.

 

If you don't want to stay awake, then I suggest that you stay home...much of the fun for me is watching that starlight and waiting for it to dive down...you don't get that with bite alarms....

 

That wasn't meant as a criticism, by the way! I just feel that if you're fishing, then you shouldn't just leave it to an alarm to do all the work....only my personal opinion mind!

 

For me, there really is nothing better than being on the lake at three/four o'clock in the morning, when night is turning into day. The birds start chirruping in the trees, you can feel the warmth of the sun peeping through and you see the lake starting to emerge from the darkness...there's a lovely mist that you only get at daybreak...and then your float dives below the surface....

 

Can't beat that feeling!

 

Janet

[Peter Waller]

Aldi did some cracking night floats the other day! Yes, it is a magic time and, as Janet says, best done awake otherwise you miss it.

[BoldBear]

I echo what has already been said fully.

 

Take something really warm, because no matter how warm it is earlier in the evening; the air temperature really drops in the hour or so before dawn and if your body temperature drops then you wont be fishing at your best as dawn gets nearer.

 

A small headtorch may be useful. However I personally don't like using a torch other than a very small one for baiting the hook and unhooking fish and you would be surprised how much you can see once your eyes get used to the dark, you can see every leaf and twig on the ground and wildlife comes much closer including the fish. I even used to practice tying eyed hooks in the dark using my tongue to feel the line through the hook eye (in the cupboard under the stairs). Not using lights probably stems from my training in the forces when I was younger, however; most of my friends need to have head torches and lanterns and everything outside of their torch beams is pure black but at least they feel safe; so it's horses for courses; whatever makes you feel safe, but if you do use a lantern don't keep walking in front of it and keep it still. .

 

And take a warm flask.

 

tight lines.

Edited June 11, 2009 by BoldBear

[Anderoo]

I'm going fishing after work today, for 4 nights

 

What I tend to do these days is go after work once the rush has died down, walk round to my swim in the dark with minimal stuff, set the bivvy up and get some sleep, then set my alarm for 4am and start fishing properly then. I love it - being there, all ready, before the sun rises is fantastic.

 

The kind of night fishing I do relies on alarms. Watching a starlight all night when it's fairly likely you won't get a bite just isn't appropriate!

 

I may drop a couple of baits in the margin overnight tonight just in case... but most of tomorrow will be spent finding the perfect spots to bait and fish the following 3 nights.

 

You will need warm clothes, including a warm hat and socks, and ideally waterproof clothes too; if you're going down the alarm route, a bivvy and warm sleeping bag, and either a roll of foam or bedchair to sleep on; ideally a stove or kelly kettle for making hot drinks/food; and as others have said, be very organised, which will help no end. A torch and/or headtorch is a definite too (red light ones don't ruin your night vision too much).

 

Don't zip yourself up in a sleeping bag and zip up the bivvy door, or it'll take an age to get to your rods - unzip the bag and use it as a duvet.

 

And stay quiet - fish come very close in at night...

Edited June 11, 2009 by Anderoo

[chesters1]

telly or dvd player ,coolbox (perhaps two) ,mobile phone/ipod chargers and bivvy lamps .then double that if your going past midnight

[Anderoo]

telly or dvd player ,coolbox (perhaps two) ,mobile phone/ipod chargers and bivvy lamps .then double that if your going past midnight

 

Said in jest but there is at least one commercial now which has a plug socket and broadband access in every peg

 

The 'proper' carpers at my local lakes come equipped with full-size BBQs and so many cans of Stella/Strongbow you wouldn't believe. Steve Walker told me about one of his lakes where he saw a carper with a satellite dish on his bivvy

 

A good business opportunity in the current world of fishing and relaxed licensing laws would be a huge pub beer garden with 24hr BBQs and big-screen TVs which backs onto a purpose-dug lake containing stacks of ugly 30lb carp. £60 a night, all food and drink gratis.

 

You read it here first...

 

Sorry, gone way off-topic!

[chesters1]

alcohols banned on FAS waters now it was seen that certain types took a stack of beer on their barrows before the tackle even came out and shenanigans going on no doubt alcohol fuelled by an even smaller minority ,its a shame though the usual few that spoil it for the majority