Night Fishing for Striped Bass

Ask surfcasters where the big bass come from and most will tell you: the dark. Striped bass feed hardest in low light, and in summer and fall many of the largest fish on the beach are caught at night. You'll also have the water to yourself. The trade-off is that you can't see what you're doing, so night fishing is about preparation and feel.

Scout in daylight

You can't read a beach in the dark, so learn it before the sun goes down. Walk the stretch you plan to fish at different stages of the tide and note:

• Cuts and sloughs: deeper channels through the bar and the troughs inside it, where bass push bait.
• Bars and rips: where waves break and current runs.
• Bait: if you see schools of bunker, sand eels, spearing or anchovies along the beach in the afternoon, there's a good chance they'll still be there after dark.

At night you'll still see whitewater over a bar, but you'll be fishing spots you already know.

When to go

Tide: bass move in when there's enough water to get into the sloughs. A common pattern on sand beaches is the two hours before high tide through the first two hours of the outgoing. Moving water beats slack water.

Time of night: don't pack up when it gets fully dark. Many anglers find the bite picks up again an hour or two after nightfall once the fish settle into feeding. Some also see a lull in the small hours, around 1 to 3 a.m., and a second push before dawn.

Moon: the days around the new and full moon, with their stronger tides, tend to bring more fish, roughly three days either side. That doesn't mean other nights are dead.

Season: summer nights are when stripers are most nocturnal. In fall, the night bite can be excellent through the run; in New Jersey it often peaks in November and December.

Use your ears and nose

At night the beach is mostly quiet, so you can often hear bass feeding: splashes and pops as they crash bait. You can sometimes smell baitfish in the air, too. Both are signs fish are close.

Lures: dark and slow

Color: black or dark purple plugs are the standard at night.

Retrieve: slow and steady. About one turn of the reel handle every second or two is a good pace for most swimming plugs. Fish the plug by feel: keep the line just tight enough to feel the plug working. Too much slack and the waves push it toward you; too much tension and it swims too fast.

What to throw:

• Calm water: floating minnow plugs or needlefish.
• Rough surf: bottle plugs and darters. Both need a few fast cranks to dig in and start swimming, then slow down. A bottle plug that's working makes the rod tip pulse.
• Going deeper: a 1-ounce bucktail tipped with a soft plastic.
• Small bait around: a small teaser on a dropper about 18 inches ahead of the plug, but only when the bass are small. A big fish can break it.

For more on each lure type, see Striped Bass Lures: What to Throw and When.

Live eels

A live eel fished at night is about the most reliable way to catch a big striper. Cast it from the beach or a jetty, let it swim, and keep a light contact. Use an inline circle hook (required with bait), and let the fish take it before you come tight. Sandworms on a float rig are the other classic night bait when size doesn't matter. Live and Cut Bait for Striped Bass covers the rigs.

When you miss a fish

Bass often tap or swipe at a plug before taking it. If you feel a hit and miss, don't stop or speed up. Keep the same slow pace and they'll often come back for it.

If the fish doesn't return on that cast, remember how far out it was and put the next cast right back in the same place: fish often hang in the area for half a minute or so. If two or three more casts get nothing, rest the spot for half an hour and then come back. A fish that hit once will often still be there.

Gear for the night

A 9-foot surf rod with a 5000-size reel, 30-pound braid and a fluorocarbon leader of around 40 pounds handles big fish on open beaches. A heavy-duty clip lets you change plugs quickly without fumbling with knots in the dark. If the fish are running smaller, a 7½-foot rod with the same reel is lighter to cast all night. Full details are in Setting Up Tackle for Striped Bass.

Stay safe

• Know the beach before dark, which is one more reason to scout.
• Watch the water around bars and jetties. Rip currents form at gaps in sandbars and beside jetties and groins, and they're the same features bass use.
• Be careful on jetties. The rocks are slippery; put safety ahead of the next cast.

Before you go

Striped bass size limits, bag limits, seasons and gear rules are set by each state and change often. Check your state's current saltwater rules, and any local beach or park rules about access after dark.