Fishing at Night

[Gozer]

Hi Everybody.

I intend to do some night fishing this winter from beaches.

I have never fished at night before so I am looking for a few pointers such as

essential gear and any tips or no no's while night fishing.

Thanks.

[eric]

a headlamp would be a good start as regards to essential gear :lol: you can also use reflective tape on your rod tip or starlights. casting at night with a multiplier can be tricky as you cant see where the lead hits the sea so keep tight control on the spool, Alan yates did say practice during daylight with your eyes closed but that sounds kinda dangerous and i cant see what it will achieve. as far as anything else goes its pretty much the same only darker

[Gozer]

Thanks eric. I have a headlamp and was thinking of getting a Coleman Northstar lam.

I never thought of the problems of using a multiplier at night.

Thanks again. :)

[dbrock]

once you can use a multiplier you can use it day or night,,, esential gear is a headlamp,,, warm clothes,, and remember dont be hitting the horizon with cast as most fish tend to be under your feet,,,

[Gozer]

thanks dbrock:
I am comfortable using a multiplier but i tend to watch the lead when it hits the water to stop it from overunning.What do you do when you cannot see the lead hit the water at night?

Thanks.
:?:

[Marty Harrison]

Watch the spool with your headlamp and the second the line starts to lift to begin to birdsnest stop it as your lead has landed.

In time with use you should easily be able to "feel" the lead land and stop it, I should imagine thats what Alan Yates was trying to teach people by getting them to close their eyes and only AFTER the cast had gone away but before it had landed surely!!!

Marty

[MC]

wear warm clothes and bring food, if possible bring a mate it will help when the fish ant biting, ps short casts is all thats needed

[EoinMag]

thanks dbrock:
I am comfortable using a multiplier but i tend to watch the lead when it hits the water to stop it from overunning.What do you do when you cannot see the lead hit the water at night?

Thanks.
:?:

I'm only a relative beginner with multipliers, I bait fish almost eclusively at night, point is, I got straight into it, you can feel the line going slack as soon as the lead hits the water, then plant your thumb. Don't let the night time thing bug you. I've never had a session stopping birdie yet at night.

[stevecrow74]

if possible bring a mate it will help when the fish ant biting,

at least someone mentioned it..

i find it quite important to have company when fishing, handy for when it goes quiet but also for the safety aspect.. and more a case not whats around you , but nowadays who is around.. darkness brings all sorts out :? :?

other than that a good headlight and a spare headlight, something to drink and something to eat, warm cloths, and let someone know where you are and roughly when you'll be back..

[EoinMag]

and more a case not whats around you , but nowadays who is around.. darkness brings all sorts out :? :?

I reckon with two knives, gripweights and thirteen foot rods that I'm about the most dangerous thing that's going to turn up on most beaches at night.
:)

[Bradan]

if possible bring a mate it will help when the fish ant biting,

at least someone mentioned it..

i find it quite important to have company when fishing, handy for when it goes quiet but also for the safety aspect.. and more a case not whats around you , but nowadays who is around.. darkness brings all sorts out :? :?

Ya big scaredy cat! :lol:

[MC]

if possible bring a mate it will help when the fish ant biting,

at least someone mentioned it..

i find it quite important to have company when fishing, handy for when it goes quiet but also for the safety aspect.. and more a case not whats around you , but nowadays who is around.. darkness brings all sorts out :? :?

Ya big scaredy cat! :lol:

me or the crow? i am voting the crow :lol:

[stevecrow74]

Ya big scaredy cat! :lol:

ye havent seensome of the weirdo's i've had the misfortune to meet on night sessions

[Rockhopper]

IMHO you should always go at least 2 handed if your fishing at night, or somewhere remote.....if you injure yourself it may be the difference between life and death. Every year you hear about some angler getting killed while out fishing.....2 means its less of a chance.

Tom.

[teacher]

Bring two lights, it's hard to change the batteries in your headlamp when it's the only light you have. I'd say the headlamp is far more important than a big lamp (like a Coleman). I generally only use a headlamp now.

Get all your tackle organized. You should be able to find stuff in your bag/box by touch and know where everything is.

A couple of points about multiplier use at night. First, depending on where you're fishing, you might be casting in close so you can slow the spool early. If you're going for distance, I keep my thumb a mm or 2 above the spool so at least if you judge it wrong, the most you'll get is a little fluff-up which you'll feel and can stop.

Final top tip, especially at this time of year, money spent on good quality warm/waterproof clothing is money well spent. There's a world of difference between a old pair of general use waterproofs and a proper flotation or waterproof suit designed for fishing.

[Gozer]

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

I will be mainly fishing alone but will choose safe venues and am not

bothered about the two legged dangers.

On the point of warm clothing I bought an Imax Flotation suit a few weeks

ago and used it about half a dozen times and it is certainly very warm and

waterproof so far.

Hope to get out some night this week.

[round_ourway]

all the above advice and if you do get a bit wierd bring a mp3 player it really helps. I'm often on a beach singing away to myself :shock: :roll:

[mason jnr]

make sure you have sandeel and mackerel as whiting are usually the most dominant fish at night time.

[Kraken]

ye havent seensome of the weirdo's i've had the misfortune to meet on night sessions

I keep tellin ya - stop bringing that mirror out with ya!!! :D :shock: :D :D :D

[alannelson]

I bring a small gas stove with me at night when the fishing gets slow i stick the stove on and fry a few sausages a radio is a must for me aswell and a stash of batteries for ur gadgets. :D