Nighttime Fishing for Summer Lunker Bass
John E. Phillips 06.23.14
The daytime temperatures had climbed to over 100 degrees. Even at night, the mist coming off the water felt more like steam than a cool breeze. As I cast a black, wooden Musky Jitterbug, the constant plop, plop, plop, plop sound it made was interrupted by an explosion. I used 55-pound-test, braided line and a pool-cue-sized rod to set the hook on the fish hard. As I saw the 8-1/2-pound bass’ head, I reeled furiously, dragged the big largemouth to the boat and then removed the hooks and let the lunker go. To catch a trophy-sized bass during the summer months, fish at night. I learned this lesson while fishing with the late LJ Brasher of Opelika, Alabama, who at that time had caught more than 500 largemouth that weighed 10 pounds or more at night and had documented each of his catches in a logbook.
Brasher’s nighttime secrets
- Fish when no one else fishes with a bait big enough for a large bass to eat and with tackle strong enough to land a lunker.
- Fish ponds that many anglers fish in the daytime, but not for bass or at night.
- Use equipment with the power to set the hook and to get the fish out of the cover and into your boat. According to Brasher, big-bass equipment should consist of heavy line, big baits, stout rods, and Herculean reels.
- Fish farm ponds, golf courses, municipal-park ponds, state public-fishing lakes and stock ponds—all of which generally receive the least amount of fishing pressure—either from the bank, from a boat or by wading. They’re usually heavily stocked with bass and rarely have anglers who use the tackle and techniques required to catch very big bass.
- Locate lunker largemouth after dark in old, oxbow lakes off main river systems or even large reservoirs that receive daylight fishing pressure but rarely after dark.
Other nighttime baits and tactics
Although the big, black Musky Jitterbug by Arbogast may be the number-one nighttime bass bait in America, other lures will call sound-sensitive hawgs from the cover during the night, if they make sounds and provide visual wakes. When the reliable Heddon Lucky 13 is cast and pops across the surface of the water, the bass will see the splash and follow the trail. On bright nights when the moon’s full and seeing the bank and the cover is easy, I like to fish a large seven- to 10-inch plastic worm or snake on top rigged Texas-style. I’ll cast the lure into the grass, weeds, or cover and let it swim out. Many nighttime anglers also prefer sub-surface lures such as pig-n-jigs or spinnerbaits.
Pat Cullen’s techniques
I had a phone call from an angler in Valdosta, Georgia, who said he’d developed some new strategies for fishing at night. After meeting Pat Cullen, he explained to me he was interested in learning how to fish for bass at night, because he had a disease of the eyes that had caused him to go blind. “I believe if I learn how to fish at night, then I can continue to fish. I’ve learned the lakes close to my home. Fishing the Jitterbug lets me hear my bait as it comes across the water. When I fish, I listen to the lake’s sounds. Usually one area of the lake will have the most frogs croaking, the most crickets chirping and the most bass breaking water. By spending the majority of my fishing time in that section of the lake, I generally catch the most and the biggest bass at night.”
After-dark spotted bass
Although most of the methods we’ve discussed are designed to catch the biggest largemouth bass, certain strategies have proven successful for taking very large spotted bass at night. In 1978, Phillip Terry of Decatur, Alabama caught an eight-pound, 15-ounce spotted bass from Lewis Smith Reservoir on a large, homemade spinner bait at night. That fish broke the existing world record.
At night when current isn’t being pulled through a lake, big spotted bass seem to be somewhat more mobile and move away from their rocky hideouts to attack baitfish more frequently. Fishing spinnerbaits vertically with big blades and large trailers—preferably a 1/4-ounce to a 1/2-ounce with a jumbo pork frog and large willow-leaf blades—will catch big spots along rocky bluffs, cliffs, and points at night. Cast the lure straight into the bluffs, and allow the lure to fall vertically straight down the bluff. When the spot hits the lure, reel quickly, and set the hook. Slider worms also produce big spotted bass after dark.
Monster moonlight bronzebacks
If you’re fishing a major reservoir where current is generated in daylight hours during the summer months, smallmouths often will hold in the deep water along an old river channel, which is the coolest and most-oxygenated water in the lake and often the best habitat. At night during the summer, the smallmouths will move up into the stumps and flats along the edges of the old river channel. They also tend to move onto the rocky points and feed on tops of the points, instead of behind the points when current isn’t being pulled through the lake at night. To take these big smallmouths after dark, use pig-n-jigs or dark-colored spinnerbaits. Cast to the cover or to the points, and retrieve slowly near the bottom.
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John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
