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I need help I fish a lot of night time at nolin. But every time it gets dark I can't catch a fish at all. I try to use my lowrance to find fish but nothing. Can anyone help me with what kind of baits to throw and what kind of places to look for to find bass at night. I try to look deep and next to the bank nothing. Thanks
my 2cents :
don't fish deeper than the thermocline depth (if present)
fish deep stair-step rock banks, or relatively deep banks with lots of timber, deep points with drops &/or timber
use a blacklight & fluorescent line (when using texas rigged plastics) ... 4" craws to 10" worms
pay less attention to electronics & more attention to line (bites may be soft/lite & deep)
throw deep diver crankbaits parallel to the deep banks, in at least 15ft of water
fish dark banks on moonlit nights ... first bank to go dark after sunset on moonless nights
With the water temps being what they are, and fish not being able to see as well in warm water (as they can in cooler water), you need to upsize your offerings (to make them move visible) and/or add sound/scent (to get the fish's attention)
While I've never really done "real good" at night during late July through August, I have caught Bass during this timeframe ... just fished a little slower & deeper, and with larger baits.
No guarantees, though !!!
... pappy
From my experience after it gets dark it takes a couple of hours for the fish to get their eyes aclimated to the lack of light. During this time they are picking up the vibration more than by sight, during this time I will throw a 3/4-1oz black/red flash spinner bait with a large colorado blade, or a crank bait that gives off allot of vibration. Sometimes with a rattle sometimes without let the fish dictate that.Vary your retrieves, sometimes you can barely real it fast enough as they want it burned back other times a slow steady retrieve works best. Around nignight Ill start start experamenting with plastics both big 10"-12" dark colored works. (I always insert rattles into my big baits) changing up all the way down to drop shotting 4" finish worms. You can pick up a pattern pretty quickly if they are active.If you are fishing gradually sloping banks, quietly pitch you baits up on the bank and slowly drag it back into the water . You will be suprised how shallow fish get at night just waiting for something to enter the water to eat,
[QUOTE=crappiepappy;536025]my 2cents :
don't fish deeper than the thermocline depth (if present)
fish deep stair-step rock banks, or relatively deep banks with lots of timber, deep points with drops &/or timber
use a blacklight & fluorescent line (when using texas rigged plastics) ... 4" craws to 10" worms
pay less attention to electronics & more attention to line (bites may be soft/lite & deep)
throw deep diver crankbaits parallel to the deep banks, in at least 15ft of water
fish dark banks on moonlit nights ... first bank to go dark after sunset on moonless nights
With the water temps being what they are, and fish not being able to see as well in warm water (as they can in cooler water), you need to upsize your offerings (to make them move visible) and/or add sound/scent (to get the fish's attention)
While I've never really done "real good" at night during late July through August, I have caught Bass during this timeframe ... just fished a little slower & deeper, and with larger baits.
No guarantees, though !!!
... pappy[/QUOTE]
Everything he said is what I was going to say!
what is the average thermocline depth this time of year? i can't catch anything deeper than 20 feet but hear of catches 30 feet deep or more.
[QUOTE=dragmerc;536056]what is the average thermocline depth this time of year? i can't catch anything deeper than 20 feet but hear of catches 30 feet deep or more.[/QUOTE]
Honestly, I don't have enough experience with good electronics to accurately see a thermocline myself but I have watched a few videos of how to identify it. Some videos were even on KY Lake and they were around 15-20'. I can't say that they are the same for all over the state but I wouldn't think it wouldn't be deeper than 25' for many lakes in KY.
Think crawfish. I believe in summer months bass key mostly on crawfish coming out and foraging at night. Tapered rocky banks and gravel bars near deep water on the main lake, fish fairly slow with bottom-bouncing lures. On Nolin think about such banks around the mouths of the major creeks and long points. Fish can be any where from a few feet deep to 15' or 20' deep but I would say most of the time the sweet spot is 6' - 10' feet deep. You just have to get out and tune into where the fish are holding and what kind of mood they are in.
I fish slow-rolled, dark, single-spins at night sometimes with crawfish trailers, as well as tubes, worms, and jigs. I have caught fish on crank baits at night but only when you get them down banging on the bottom which again I think is getting into a crawfish oriented bite.
Finally, picking the right night can make a big difference in fish activity. I have noted nights where there is active weather tend to have the fish more aggressive as opposed to clear, calm (high pressure) nights the fish tend to be sluggish and you have to fish a bit deeper and slower. As an example I fished at night on the last full moon which was a clear, calm high pressure night and caught fish but the fish weren't very aggressive as they would nip and half bite at the lures rather than taking it resulting in a lot of misses, fish coming unbuttoned, and just plain fewer fish in the boat. Still any night out on the water in the summer beats the alternative...
kc