Night fishing

[rossbound]

Hi heading to Ross lake august 1st through the 15th.  I was planning to do some fishing at night.  Any tips or suggestions would be nice.. Also I believe there is a full moon on august 10.  Is the full moon the best night to go?  Do I need lights to put in the water?  Any info would be great.

[Dog]

@rossbound first off welcome to the forum...

night fishing is a crapshoot... This year we plan to do more night fishing than ever (I prefer a new moon or as low light as possible but that's just me)... At night I plan to use slip bobbering or slip jigging... whatever you do don't shine ultra bright spotlights in the water... walleye will scatter from that. a cap light/ headlamp is a good addition and maybe some reflective tape to apply on the rim of your net. portable/ battery operated clamp on nav lights is a must.... anyhow, good luck and look forward to hearing how it goes.

[JigginFool]

I never tried it on Kipawa, but back home we would hang a Coleman lantern over the side of the boat to attract minnows which in turn attracted the walleye and what a ball!!  My buddy did this a couple weeks ago on a local lake for trout and limited out on rainbows, all over 20".

[Dog]

@rossbound how's the trip go? any luck?... what worked, what didn't

[Jerry "SKO FSHN"]

Dog,
First I am surprised how few responses you have had with this topic. I have been fishing Kipawa for 50 years and the last 15 years have been night fishing. Everyone that fishes walleyes realizes that during the mid daylight you are catching few if any. The bite begins at low light hours 6-9pm. Everyone goes home missing the Second Bite. A largemouth fisherman 20  years ago suggested that I try fishing walleyes at night. Since that night, I have been hooked on the night bite. My fishing is simple and I feel that I have figured out that 90% of the walleyes are traveling the rocky shorelines for bait. I am talking about right on the shore lines. (1-2 feet of water) I believe the full moon has a lot to help with the fishing. I understand that the fish move up and suspend prior to dark and the walleyes are looking up for their bait much like crappies look up for their bait. An image on the surface with a full moon is definitely an aid to your bite. If you have tried this and not having success, I would say you are not fishing the prime fish holding areas. ( shallow water shoals 3-4 feet, slightly moving waters, rocks rocks rocks, stumps?, moon, cooler waters) Use tight wobble baits. Bomber Long A's, Rapalas J13. Retrieve your lure, very very slow, don't be surprised if a walleye doesn't hit your lure when it is simply sitting still. Do not over crank your lures, slow slow slow is the secret.
Hope this helps
Jerry "Sko Fshn)

[puckster_guy]

 I've rarely ever night fished before. After about 4 years on my end of the lake I know it well enuff to go out at night . Or go out at dusk and just stay out there. Gonna try it this summer. Do i troll my regular spots? I'm not sure how to do it. Good info on your post Jerry thx. Ill try them this summer. Would my usual jigging spots work 20-30 feet down?

[Jerry "SKO FSHN"]

Error.

[Jerry "SKO FSHN"]

Puckster-guy,
Following up on your questions. Night fishing in 20-30 foot of water would be fruitless unless you might have current running such as Butney passage and then I would tie up to the shore and fan casts the 3 foot diving crank stick baits. I am sure you have been fishing and just before dark you see very small minnows rippling in the bays. Trolling is very effective in this active hour. If your trolling waters are shallow, 8 ft to 2 ft I would think great, however if you are 20-30 foot, you are to deep. I usually fish the jig bite 6-9 then I will troll the last hour before dark off of  known fish holding flats or extended points. Then my true night fishing begins. I use a trolling motor to set up in my rock clusters. Some areas are 2 football fields of broken rocks 2-5 feet deep. A lot of the rocks are above water. I will anchor only if the wind is pushing me otherwise it's trolling motor. I do like the wind pushing the bait into shore as well it adds in casting to shore. Lift your main motor and don't be afraid unless it's a fiberglass boat. Your longest cast should hit the shore line unless you are on a very large flat. We use to travel the lake using the tree line and moon light but gps really has stepped up my confidence about fishing nights. Moving water is another key if not the most important key. I fish skinny water that cuts past a island etc. and the slight current allows me to anchor and pull BomberLong A stick baits slowly so slowly back to the boat. Do you know of water with slow moving water?  Google " night fishing for walleyes " enjoy the reading, it will not be wasted time.   

[puckster_guy]

 That's interesting about the current. My camp I'm at the mouth of the Kipawa River where it dumps into Lake Mclauglin (one day I'll get the spelling right) So I always have a good current going by my dock. I can do a lot of that from my dock. There's tons of minnows on my shore and under the dock. I get a lot of fish within sight of my place. Dragging a jig and a worm close to shore should work to. I have tons of cranks that'll do the job too. I used to toss Rapalas into the current on the Ottawa river rapids/ white water off the bridge as you cross into Quebec at night. I brought home a lot of walleye doing that. Gonna try those things this summer. Thanks Jerry I appreciate that.......So much fishing to do...so little time

[Nancy]

Jerry,

Thanks so much for your experiences and knowledge you shared with us. Fishing late well into the late evening hours has not been very productive for us. We usually are up there late in July to August, and it seems like 9PM hits and the bite dies and we can't find them. We usually are fishing in 15-20 feet of water and have tried moving into about 8-11 feet, but from what you are saying, we are still too deep. Something to try for this year. Thanks.

[Jerry "SKO FSHN"]

Nancy & Puckster-guy,
Of my many years fishing Kipawa, I honestly can say I never caught a walleye at night jigging, worms or leaches. I will however attempt using lighted slip bobbers this June. I will also assure you that I will be fishing in 3-5 feet max. Waters. The key to night fishing is to limiting the space that will be holding fish. Why throw a plug or bait out in deep water when there is little odds that the fish would spot it. I fish any narrows or chutes with moving water. Moving water not rapids. The Turtle chutes is a prime example. Rocks every where 3-5 feet 1/2 football field wide by football field long. Anchoring at the top side out of the channel, you cast down current bringing the BomberLong A lure back to the boat slowly,slowly. You don't have to crank cause the current moves the bait. I know locals that use only a 3 inch Rapalas with a split shot 2 ft in front of the lure and they just let it sit in the current? The key is to find your narrowing waterways that work like a funnel. Minimize the fish space knowing that that walleye is sitting in that current waiting for it's next victim. You should set up your anchor/boat just before dark and do so quietly. Anchor above your narrowing and throw down current.
How close are you to Red pine chutes? How swift is the current there? How wide is the chutes? Do they forbid fishing prior to 6/15 th? I always thought the mouth of the Kipawa river was around Laniel? On the extreme west side. Lake McLaughlin is on the n.east side AYE? Always. Enjoy talking walleye fishing. Give me some coordinates and maybe I can see where you are. I did see on another post your dock and boat. Looked like a lot of water in front of the dock?

[Jay Thomas]

Hi Jerry:

Concur with fishing shallow water in low light conditions. I was on a walleye fly in trip to Lac Hebert, Quebec in late Jun 2014. I was lucky enough to join 3 Americans looking for a fourth for the trip. Those guys introduced me to using 5 and 6 inch paddle tail swim baits to either cast into the shoreline or cast any rock/reef areas in the lake. Our best success with this technique came in low light conditions (9 to 10:30 PM). I was surprised at how readily the walleye would hit these large baits.

Jay

[puckster_guy]

 Hi Jerry, I'm 3/4 of a mile from the bridge, where the Kipawa river empties into lake Mclachlin. It's called that even from this end. It empties Brennen and Booth Lk. also becomes Lake Sheffield. At the bridge there's rapids in spring with the water level  about 3 feet higher on the river side. Creating a major spawning ground with a sanctuary till june 6th. In the summer there's a strong current there. I have a lighter current going past my place. I'm on the north shore looking at the point where the lake opens up. Awesome walleye fishing all around there.

[NortonJoe]

Great thread....I have also noticed that the bite dies about 9:30 or so.  We usually just pack it in and go into camp.  However, this year I have something new to try.

[Jerry "SKO FSHN"]

Thanks for your interests and responses. As you see, I am addicted! Watching the In-Fisherman fishing show for years, only 2 shows have stuck in my mind. 1st was a show fishing a ND river on a chilly full moon Oct. night throwing rapalas from shore. The second just happened to be Jay, spin casting a Canadian lake using a heavy weighted 5 "paddle tail rubber perch colored rubber shad shaped. Perhaps these 2 shows are in their archives or records? I personally have not used the paddle tails for walleyes but have used them for pike since you can cast them a mile. In saltwater wen use this shad paddle tail for targeting stripers. Excellent striper lures under diving birds.  I am glad to see the interests but won't be glad seeing 50 boats out on the water at night when I am use to seeing 0 .
I am sure you have heard someone say, "you should have been here yesterday"? I say this because night fishing has 0 days also. Fishing Hunter lake area, 2 boats, 3 1/2 guys (1/2 was wasted) we caught over 150 walleyes throwing stick baits. The very next night we caught 0 fish. The only difference was the wind. When catching the wind was blowing bait from the main lake into our narrows. The No Catch day the wind was blowing up the narrows into our faces making our casts shorter and no catches. We should have gone to the other side of the lake. Include all these factors. Water temp, Wind, Depth of water, do you have the bait and walleyes in a concentrated narrows or fishing area and not a wide open space. When ocean fishing the fish give themselves away by pushing the balls of bait to the surface but walleyes push the baits inward from the 8-15 feet jigging waters to the shores. The walleye is eliminating its preys get away space so why shouldn't you be thinking of shallow narrows and flats.  Every year in W.PA one would have trouble launching a boat on Lake Arthur. The boats all congregate on these large shallow flats with minnows boiling the water. Every fisherman is casting 5 inch night wobbling stick baits for walleyes/stripers. The shoreline flats are loaded with waders shoulder to shoulder. Spring and fall this same pattern. Hot waters, summer you find the LM bass nuts but mostly a dead sea. We all know that there are restrictions of fishing spawning grounds. Do you honestly think they spawn and disappear? This spawning is not just done in those restricted areas for I can tell you other stories of seeing the fins of walleyes fanning their eggs in the shallowest of waters and narrows. We all have 5-6 months to plan our attacks. I would encourage everyone to google the many articles written about night fishing for walleyes. It may change your fishing habits. I will send shortly another review/reply listing some coordinates that you might wish to scout in your area. On another note, There are NO smallies nor have I ever even accidentally caught a yellow perch on Kipawa