Night Fishing 101: Moon Phase

Would you rather fish on a tough day or an easy day? Of course, we’d all like to fish the easy days full of hungry fish. What if it were as easy as looking at the calendar and knowing which days to fish? While its not always that easy, understanding the moon phase calendar will go a long way to helping you catch more fish. Its amazing how a big rock so far out in space can impact the feeding patterns of fish in the local reservoir but it absolutely does. There are peak feeding times and if you understand when they are you can eliminate a lot of wasted time.

By watching this video you have potentially eliminated 17 “less than ideal” days of fishing during the month of July alone. Its not a guarantee but if you stick to the 10 days in July (and 3 at the end of June) that I’ve recommended your likelihood of experiencing a great night on the water will go up significantly.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this topic and by the end of the month, your success stories. Good luck out there.

Showing our Appreciation

Paul Elias is not only a good fisherman, he is a great friend and a major contributor to this website. You really don’t know the contributions he’s made because I’ve yet to upload most of the videos but Paul went out of his way to pass along some knowledge about tournament wins, techniques, and fishing history that will blow you away.
I’m putting up this quick post in order to give you an opportunity to show your appreciation. As Paul will explain in the video he needs us to show our support by voting him into a tournament. B.A.S.S. is using a new format to allow anglers into a post-season tournament and it is on a fishery that Paul knows well. Watch Paul’s video and then follow this link, it will explain the rest: Bassmaster Fan Favorites
And remember, you can vote once per day so please go back each day and show your continued support for a great angler who supports this site.

Paul, Thank you again for your support. I look forward to watching you win the event!

Night Fishing 101: Topwater

Prior to creating this site I had no idea how many anglers were interested in night fishing. I don’t know if it is the taboo of lurking in the dark, the potential of giant bass, or simply the appeal of a new technique but the constant barrage of emails and calls requesting information on night fishing have made it clear that this topic requires attention.
What I intend to do is create a very in-depth series of videos on night fishing. This first video highlights a variety of top water techniques. It will soon be followed up by subsurface patterns, the impact of weather, moon phases, and a handful of other elements. I hope to create a resource in these videos that you can tap into again and again.
Night fishing is an exciting way to more and bigger bass, all across the nation. Whether you are new to this genre of fishing or a virtual pro, I hope you enjoy this video as well as those to follow.

As always, support your local retailers. However, if the baits mentioned in this video are not available I recommend you take your tackle warehouse. Here is a direct link to the Lunker Punker on their site: Lunker Punker at Tackle Warehouse

I assure you that the next few videos will become more and more in-depth as I share what I know of night fishing with you. Like any technique, on the surface it is quite simple but there is always more to know. My goal is to shorten your learning curve as much as possible so that you can see immediate success on your next outing. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Cold Water Swimbait Fishing

Late last night I received a video from a member of the Tacticalbassin community. He sent it as a follow up to “Swimbaits Part 6″. He wanted to further show the power of swimbaits on small fish. You may recognize Ryan from previous videos as he contributes to the site on a fairly regular basis.

What makes this video unique is both the size of fish (fairly small) and the water temperature in which the fish were being caught. As you’ll see he was able to produce a small limit of fish very quickly using an Osprey Swimbait on a high-speed retrieve in 44 degree water. Yes, you read that right… 44 degree water thanks to snow runoff. So for those of you in the Northern states, this ones for you:

For those of you who are curious about the bait he is using, its an Osprey 6″ Tournament Talon Swimbait. The specific color appears to be Chartreuse Shad though I’m sure he could have done it with a wide range of colors. Here is a link to the baits direct from tacklewarehouse: Osprey Tournament Talon

I hope you understand the importance of this video. These fish were caught in very similar conditions to lakes around the entire Northern half of the United States. The water was cold, the fish were small, and Ryan wasn’t trying to imitate a trout. This can translate to nearly any body of water, you can make these baits work for you.
Last but not least, as a disclaimer… I too use the Osprey from time to time. Believe me, it will produce giant bass as well as dinks so don’t feel like you don’t have a shot at a big bass. On my boat this bait has produced fish under 2 lbs and fish over 10 lbs in the last two years.