Thu, 3 Oct 2013 19:57:14 -0500

Night Fishing Trip

Brett had a lot of fun and success fly fishing at night on Lake Taneycomo

Night fishing can be an easier way to catch a trophy brown, but the stars have to line up. This is a special fly fishing night time report The guide can put you in the right spot, but you definitely have to do your part, too. The most important part of the equation is the casting. You really have to be good enough to shoot line and if you can control your loops without tangling up most the time, then I would say you are ready for night fishing.

It’s all by feel and it really does advance your casting skills. Sometimes I will get someone who struggles and have to cast for them. It’s important not to let your pride get in the way. You can still do the rest of the presentation and that is part of learning how to swing flies in the current and knowing the right spots. We don’t ever use a light when we are fishing; we only use it to re-tie and for navigation.

Fly Fishing Night Time Report – Where and what time do we fish?

I used to do a lot of fishing up top right below the dam, but I would say in the last five years the pressure has got the best of my holes. You would think that there wouldn’t be a lot of fisherman at night, but it’s getting to be just as crowded as during the day. You have to have some space at night because you are swinging flies, not indicator fishing.

Having plenty of room is key and often it is at a real premium. It has gotten real popular and I’m seeing a lot of rookies who don’t really have a clue what they are doing, but they are giving it a whirl and you can’t blame them for trying. We are all in search of the “one” and that keeps everyone coming back for more.

During the month of October it’s hard to find a good spot even during the middle of the week. There are a lot of die-hards and they fish every night. Most live here or in Springfield , so it’s not that far for them to drive.

The cool thing about this fly fishing night time report is that I usually start at 10pm because I want to let the fish settle from the day’s pressure and give their eyes time to adjust, so running trips from 10pm-2am is ideal for me. What I have going for me is I take my drift boat out there and get into some holes that no one can wade in and that makes all the difference. My boat has headlights so we don’t have to worry about anything. Not only that, but we are much stealthier because of that.

We really can sneak up on the fish without spooking them. Sometimes I will get out when I feel that we can wade, but other times I like to stay in the boat, especially if I want to run a mouse pattern along the banks or fish a deep run that you can’t get to by wading. The best time to get a big one is during a new moon or when it is so foggy you can’t see a foot in front of you.

This time of year we see a lot of low water at night because the temperatures drop so and there is no reason to generate. Also, the lakes this time of year are usually down to power pool level, so it’s safe to say that more than likely we will see low water (at night??) until spring. The only time they are generating is during the day and currently that has begun somewhere around 1pm.

Most people don’t realize that when we do fish a brown run, it is when we are in a low d.o. until December and that can have a small effect on fishing, but I don’t think it makes a huge difference like it does during the day. Since browns are nocturnal and feed at night, the oxygen isn’t really a big threat. But if it is full moon then I usually stay home and do something else. So don’t plan a trip during a full moon or you’ll more than likely be practicing your cast. I hope this gives you some insight on your next night trip.

Flies of choice

There are several flies to choose from, but there are some that work all the time and don’t require a guessing game. To really narrow it down, our trout love a size 6 anything. It can be a zonker or a wooly bugger or you can use more complex patterns, but in all my years night fishing I would say it boils down to leech patterns that have a little flash or wooly buggers that are black with the chenille having some sort of flash.

I don’t like using rabbit as much as I do squirrel for palmering because it doesn’t seem to hold as much weight as the rabbit hide strips. Other than that it really is up to you. Some other great flies I’ve had luck with at night are the following: muddler minnows ( especially when the trout are ringing on the surface), black nose dace, mickey finns, some smaller articulated streamers, stacked blondes, and all white streamers during a full moon if you are fishing at night.

The pavilion by outlet two didn’t have bright lights back in the day, but you can use their present-day brightness to your advantage when throwing white below the dam. I do a lot of my fishing down below big hole because I’m not a fan of the bright lights and I don’t enjoy sharing my water with tons of fisherman.

The Fly Fishing Night Time Report is full of information you can use the next time you decide to go fly fishing at night. You can send me a email directly to [email protected] if you are interested in booking a guide trip. Feel free to visit us on Facebook, If you really liked this article, +1 above – check us out at +flysandguides (Google+) or send us a tweet with a question or just to say hi. Check out the Fly of the Month!