night fishing

[charley2]

going night fishing with lights for crappie, I am new at it , going to nolyn anyone help with best way. I have a boat and light. going tonight.

[restornator]

Well its basically a full moon so the night crappie fishing will be pretty poor this weekend.

[charley2]

Thank you.

[Ranger492]

I'm no expert, but I don't agree with restornator that the full moon means it won't be good. I almost always have good success bass fishing under a full moon, do not sure why crappie would be different? Restornator, on what do you base such an opinion?

[crappiepappy]

I'm no expert, but I don't agree with restornator that the full moon means it won't be good. I almost always have good success bass fishing under a full moon, do not sure why crappie would be different? Restornator, on what do you base such an opinion?

Ranger ... most consider a Full Moon night to be less than ideal for Crappie, simply because the moonlight allows them greater range to feed and so they don't have to come to the baitball drawn in by the angler's lights. Crappie school more so than Bass, not spreading out over a large section of bank or bottom like Bass feeding at night do ... and they don't tend to roam as much during the night. So, if the Moon is full & lighting up the water, the baitfish need not wander far to feed ... and neither do the Crappie. Bass, on the other hand, are feeding on craws & other critters that Crappie may not take any interest in (due to size or location). And by "location" I am referring to the lake bottom, just to clarify that. Bass anglers fish "on the move" at night, whereas Crappie anglers tend to "set up & wait" for the lights to bring in the bait & the fish to come following ... only moving to another location if that doesn't occur in a certain amount of time.

None of that is to say that a Full Moon night "won't" produce any Crappie, anytime or anywhere. Just that darker nights generally tend to be more productive.

... pappy

[kentuckykingfisher]

I dont have have a preference about the moon. Ive done well fishing it and done really poorly. On nolin look for structures near the river channel in about 15-20 ft of water. If your not seeing any shad or baitfish with an hour or so you might have to load up and try another spot. Try jigging spoons near the bottom as well. Might get lucky and catch a walleye.