As the heat of summer draws more and more recreational traffic to our lakes and rivers, a productive and exciting pattern emerges for those brave souls willing to venture forth after dark night fishing. Anyone who knows me is well aware of my devout passion for musky fishing; tangling with this toothed beast in the dead of night only adds to the excitement!
Night fishing for muskies isn't for everyone however; an angler needs to be quite familiar with their boat, equipment, and the body of water they intend to fish to not only be successful, but safe. Here are a few thoughts to get you started should you be looking for that adrenalin rush of a musky strike in the inky blackness of nighttime.
Safety first: Having a well laid out and organized boat is important no matter when you fish, it becomes especially so when fishing at night. Keep only on the deck of your boat what you are using at the moment. This means that extra lures, clothing, and the like should be properly stored to help alleviate the chance of causing a slip and fall.
In addition to having an assortment of light sources such as flashlights and spotlights on board and accessible, each angler should be equipped with a headlamp. I personally prefer the lamp produced by Musky Armor as it has a variety of settings to match different conditions, is good on batteries, and is comfortable to wear. My Frabill Big Kahuna net is worth it's weight in gold for netting and subsequently unhooking a big musky in less than ideal light conditions; don't go night-fishing for muskies without the proper release tools and net you'll be doing yourself and the fish a big disservice.
Go BIG, go SLOW: While I often fish quite fast during the day in an effort to cover water and elicit reaction strikes, it's a change of pace when fishing at night. The erratic cadences of the daytime hours are best replaced by slower and more methodical retrieves once the sun sets.
In addition to fishing slower, I like to throw larger lures at night as it creates a more significant disturbance for the fish to pick up on with their lateral line as well as casts a bigger silhouette. I love using surface lures for muskies, especially at night, and have done very well over the years with Topraiders as well as Hawg Wobblers and creeper style baits. Buck tails are an often under-used lure at night, and lures such as the Mepps Magnum Musky Killer are not only productive and easy to use, but will produce fish all summer long. The third category of lures to make sure you are well stocked with for after hours musky fishing are crankbaits. I throw almost all jointed-style crankbaits when fishing at night as the multiple body sections produce extra noise and vibration for the fish to hone in upon. My personal favorite is the Jointed Depthraider in a night shiner, sucker, or other dark color combination. No matter which lure you choose to use, make sure to figure eight after each cast; you'll be surprised at the number of boat side strikes during the nighttime hours!
Weeds and Wood: When looking for spots to target at night, begin by checking out weed beds which you can fish over the tops of; this is a great place for a bucktail or surface bait. I've caught muskies, some very big muskies, in water as shallow as only a foot or two at night so don't be afraid to work baits in the "skinny" water. Having worked the weed tops, precede by casting parallel to the weed edges with a lure such as a jointed crankbait. I prefer to fish parallel as it keeps my lure in the strike zone longer and allows me to "feel" my way along a particular edge. Keep you casts shorter whether fishing the edge or on top to help avoid wasting a cast by fouling your lure.
While weeds are an excellent option at night, so are rocks. "Rocks" can consist of humps, bars, points, even wing dams depending on what body of water you're referring to they'll all hold fish. When working a sub-surface lure in a rocky area I like to make contact on occasion with my lure and the structure; this is a great triggering mechanism for turning a following musky into a biting musky. If you choose to venture out in search of the mighty musky after dark, remember to be safe and fish hard you'll get bit! Good luck and I'll see you on the water
Tight lines,
Joel DeBoer