By Chester Moore, Jr
The Port Arthur News
July 02, 2008 11:08 pm
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Nighttime is the right time to target big bass on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn during the heat of summer. And in case you haven’t noticed, temperatures have been pretty brutal lately.
On my first night fishing excursion with my Dad many years ago, I remember digging into my tackle box and finding a bright yellow curl-tailed worm to tie onto my line thinking its subtle luminescence would help lure the strike of a lunker largemouth.
"Put that one back in the box, we're going to use black worms," Dad said.
I was shocked that black worms would work under the cover of darkness, but that was one of several key points I would learn that separate night fishing from daylight excursions.
Anglers who choose to venture in the darkness to bass fish have greater opportunities to score on big fish than do their day fishing counterparts. The key is understanding that things change after dark and that little things can make a big difference.
The key is to find transition zones where shallow water meets the deep according to veteran Toledo Bend angler Don Hubbard of McLewis.
"It's a matter of finding a spot with deep water, shallow water and some kind of sizeable structure. Those are the ingredients that I look for and have had quite a bit of success with," Hubbard said.
A prime example is standing timber next to a steep, sloping bank that borders a brushy shoreline.
"What you have in that situation is structure next to structure and a place for the bass to stay in the cooler water during the day and creep up along the shoreline at night to feed on the baitfish that move there. There is a lot of that kind of stuff on the south end," Hubbard said.
Hubbard likes to start fishing on top with chugging topwaters like a Chug Bug or a Blade Dancer, a spoon-like lure with a soft plastic fish imitation trailer that he can work on top as well as just below the surface.
"I like something that makes erratic action like a wounded baitfish to get the attention of bass at night. I find that they will feed right along the shore in a few feet of water and then you have fish that back off and rest right on the edge of the drop-off so it's important to use your electronics and work both areas over well. Use a loud topwater," he said.
There is no real rules as to which topwaters work best but during my years of gathering the statewide fishing report for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, I found most anglers preferred poppers like a Chug Bug or Pop-R.
On Sam Rayburn, guide Roger Bacon said something dark and slow sinking like the Senko is one of the best night time lure options.
"These grass mats have little holes all through them and if someone were to dive they would see spots where bass enter and exit. Working a Senko along this structure and letting it simply sink puts it in the grasp of the bass feeding on the edges of the grass," Bacon said.
Run these areas over and watch you graph for large fish right on the edge of deep and keep an eye out on the shoreline for baitfish. Also, make sure to listen. Bass can get quite aggressive at night when feeding along the adjacent shorelines and they can make quite a ruckus. A good weedless topwater flipped across the top of the grass can be a real bass killer.
And so can a whacky worm.
For those not familiar with the term, a "whacky worm" is simply a short, soft plastic worm hooked in the center with the hook exposed and no weight. Rayburn has a lot of buck brush and if the water is high enough to be in the buck brush, throwing a whacky worm into them at night can work like a charm.
Wildlife photographer and avid bass angler Gerald Burleigh likes to whacky worm fish at Rayburn and he said the key is letting the lure do its thing.
"You have to get it right on the edge of the brush and let it do its own thing. If you overwork it the bait becomes too erratic and at night they need to be able to key in on the bait so go slow and let it sink naturally," he said.
Top colors for Rayburn night missions are junebug, watermelon and solid black.
"Stick with the dark colors and stick with brush in active feeder creeks. You want something that has a little flow or current to it if you can. Those spots tend to attract more bait and when the bass get to feeding, the bait retreats to the buck brush," Burleigh said.
Another good area for Rayburn at night is Farmer's Flats, where if water levels are normal to high anglers catch good numbers of largemouth on worms at night.
Both Carolina and Texas rigs can be very effective and top colors include the obvious black along with junebug, grape and other derivatives of purple, black and deep red.
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