ozarkangler
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Well after my first night fishing excursion I came up empty handed. I tried everything from mice to poppers to big woolly buggers. nothing worked for me. Any tips or hot flies?
Night fishing for browns?
- Thread starter ozarkangler
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Frank Whiton
Most Senior Member
Hi ozarkangler,
We need more information. What were you fishing for? River or lake? What time were you fishing? Boat or wading? Were you using a light, was the moon shinning? What color of flies did you try? Just need a better idea of what you were doing.
Frank
We need more information. What were you fishing for? River or lake? What time were you fishing? Boat or wading? Were you using a light, was the moon shinning? What color of flies did you try? Just need a better idea of what you were doing.
Frank
ozarkangler
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I was fishing for big trophy brown trout. The moon was about half full. I arrived at the river around 12:30 and fished until sunrise. I did wade, and had a flashlight but I only used it to change flies. The flies I used were everything from big black or olive wooly buggers, deerhair mice, and muddlers.
Frank Whiton
Most Senior Member
ozarkangler,
Opps, I missed the "Brown" in your subject line. It sounds to me like you were doing everything right. The Deer Hair Mouse should be a very good choice. If there are hatches on the water during the day you might try a fly with the same silhouette. Black or dark flies are the best choice. You shouldn't expect to catch as many fish at night but your chances of a big trout is very high. What I have experienced is you need to locate a fish slurping something and then cast to that fish. Blind casting is usually not productive.
It helps to do a lot of scouting in the daytime and locate where fish are lying. They will usually be somewhere in the same area at night. Trout will leave their cover at night so you will find them just about any where. Because they are in open water they will spook easier. If you are out one night and spot a big old trout feeding you might want to study it for a good while and see where it appears and what it is feeding on. If it is not disturbed it will return the next night probably at the same spot. Knowing ahead of time where the fish are going to appear will really up your chances of catching them. The more nights you return the better your chances are due to learning the water and where the fish are. Sitting and watching the water is the secrete to night fishing. You may only cast to one fish all night so make it a big boy. You will find fish at the same spots night after night.
Frank
Opps, I missed the "Brown" in your subject line. It sounds to me like you were doing everything right. The Deer Hair Mouse should be a very good choice. If there are hatches on the water during the day you might try a fly with the same silhouette. Black or dark flies are the best choice. You shouldn't expect to catch as many fish at night but your chances of a big trout is very high. What I have experienced is you need to locate a fish slurping something and then cast to that fish. Blind casting is usually not productive.
It helps to do a lot of scouting in the daytime and locate where fish are lying. They will usually be somewhere in the same area at night. Trout will leave their cover at night so you will find them just about any where. Because they are in open water they will spook easier. If you are out one night and spot a big old trout feeding you might want to study it for a good while and see where it appears and what it is feeding on. If it is not disturbed it will return the next night probably at the same spot. Knowing ahead of time where the fish are going to appear will really up your chances of catching them. The more nights you return the better your chances are due to learning the water and where the fish are. Sitting and watching the water is the secrete to night fishing. You may only cast to one fish all night so make it a big boy. You will find fish at the same spots night after night.
Frank
ozarkangler
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Yeah, I wasn't expecting to catch many. The thing is I still haven't caught a brown...day or night. And I'm not shaving until I do so naturally the GF actually wants me to go fishing :tongue: . Some of those fish are EXPLOSIVE feeders at night, it was almost scary because you don't know when or where it's gonna happen. I'll keep trying and post back with results.
troutbum
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When night fishing for brown's your ears are your best friend.Like Frank said,blind casting is not your best bet.Big Browns will move to shallow banks and if there are any around feeding,you will hear them.Short stout leaders,Dark deer hair mice and you should be in buisness.
Tight Lines
Aaron
Tight Lines
Aaron
Fishplease
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I don't think anyone here has mentioned crickets. Crickets are creatures of the night, and so they are hopping around, perhaps into the water. Try some big black cricket fly patterns, if possible tie your own about size 8 with foam so it makes a louder plop.
ozarkangler
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I just tied some giant chernobyl ants with a black estaz underbody...think those would work?
Fishplease
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I bet anything that makes a plop at night will work. Silhouette won't matter much, heck a mouse fly might work! Which isn't a bad idea at night.
But try an al's foam hopper in black.
Foam Panfish Flies - Fly Angler's OnLine "Intermediate Fly Tying Part 42"
I tie them size 8 with green, and with TNT legs. Will get black foam and legs sometime in the next week and take some pics.
TNT Rubber Hopper Legs
But try an al's foam hopper in black.
Foam Panfish Flies - Fly Angler's OnLine "Intermediate Fly Tying Part 42"
I tie them size 8 with green, and with TNT legs. Will get black foam and legs sometime in the next week and take some pics.
TNT Rubber Hopper Legs
troutbum
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Ahhh yes,I forgot to mention my #1 key to great Night Brown fishing...The "PLOP!!".(thanks fishplease).
Be sure to visit the river during daylight hours and have a good gander at the prime night time holding or feeding areas.If there is a bright moon you can get away with pattern's like crickets and salmon flies,on very dark night's stick with the bigger stuff like mice and bunny leeches.I coat my bunny leeches with floatant,so although they are retreived slightly under the water they leave a wake.
one more thing,I dont kow how fussy you are but i NEVER change flies on the stream while useing a flashlight.I take painstaking measures to move behind a tree before useing a flashlight.Just something i picked up one years ago from a guide on the Bow.I landed 12+ monster browns that night and my personal best(28" and fat like a football),so it wasnt hard to convince me that lights are bad on a river.
Tight Lines
Aaron
Be sure to visit the river during daylight hours and have a good gander at the prime night time holding or feeding areas.If there is a bright moon you can get away with pattern's like crickets and salmon flies,on very dark night's stick with the bigger stuff like mice and bunny leeches.I coat my bunny leeches with floatant,so although they are retreived slightly under the water they leave a wake.
one more thing,I dont kow how fussy you are but i NEVER change flies on the stream while useing a flashlight.I take painstaking measures to move behind a tree before useing a flashlight.Just something i picked up one years ago from a guide on the Bow.I landed 12+ monster browns that night and my personal best(28" and fat like a football),so it wasnt hard to convince me that lights are bad on a river.
Tight Lines
Aaron
Frank Whiton
Most Senior Member
CTR0022,
The Browns you have the best chance of catching at night will be slurping in bugs on the surface. I would use a floating line with a floating hair mouse or bunny fly.
The light problem mention by troutbum is true. I don't like to wade out of the water to change flies but I will turn around so my body is between the light and the fishing area of interest. Night fishing at night is about stealth and the less wading you do the better off you will be. The new red diode lights should be good for night fishing. Use no brighter light than you need to tie on a fly.
Frank
The Browns you have the best chance of catching at night will be slurping in bugs on the surface. I would use a floating line with a floating hair mouse or bunny fly.
The light problem mention by troutbum is true. I don't like to wade out of the water to change flies but I will turn around so my body is between the light and the fishing area of interest. Night fishing at night is about stealth and the less wading you do the better off you will be. The new red diode lights should be good for night fishing. Use no brighter light than you need to tie on a fly.
Frank