doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: Plannin' ahead Pt. 1

On August 30, at 9:35 pm, a full moon will rise. Hopefully it will be a calm night with no wind. About once a year during the summer months (often during dog days) a full moon rises at a time that is perfect to be on the water to "reel" for big bass with topwater plugs. It's special to me. I go alone, and once my eyes get accustomed to the ambient light I can cast to the bank, from a boat, with good accuracy. No trolling motors, no lights, just a paddle. Two or three hours in the moonlight watching a topwater plug and listening to the night sounds.

There is nothing quite like a Creek Chub frogskin Darter (the old wooden ones, not the new plastic ones), or an old Heddon Crazy Crawler, making a wake and disturbing the quiet with it's "plopping" sound. Bullfrogs bellowing, a plethora of insects sounding off, and that heart-stopping crash as a big bass tries to inhale your plug. Videos couldn't capture it, words are inadequate to describe it. "Reeling" for big bass on a summer night is indeed something special. It's ethereal.

up here, the boys use 10 foot salmon fly rods...

jitter bugs, rubber frogs an mouse poppers are popular...

favorite boat is a ki yak...


an cigars help keep the bugs at bay...

Ed, I think an ‘ole Penn Yan row boat would have a little more class.
Stan, I had to add a reminder to my calendar because I think you make a very fine point.

mark, agreed old row boats are cool...

but we now live in a world of kyacks an paddle boards...

betcha, a 4 pound bass on a stout fly rod, in a little boat, at night, could be quite a ride...

an stan, your liter rary achievement above, providing us with wonderful imagery of peace,quiet and tranquility, is much appreciated...thank you...

an up here, when the big uns good fur ah lure, there aint no crash...just ah quiet swurl...

an have you ever been bass fishin at dawn?

similar experience as fishin at night, but sum how, even more so...

one time, casted a black jitterbug toward the edge of the lilly pads,,,

blg ole black bass jumped up about two feet an caught that lure in mid air...

all silhouetted against the emerging light of dawn...

an image, never to be forgotten...

this happened back in the mid 60's, in lake kitchawan, in westchester county, ny...

an jes ah little south of kitchawan, around trinity lake an the stamford reserviour, used to be some of the best grouse huntin there ever was nor ever will be again... an keep in mind that this was awl less than 50 miles from the empire state building in mid town manhatten...image dat...

Kin almose heah dem boo frawgs bellerin’.


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Old black water keep on rollin’ Mississippi moon won’t you keep on shinin’ on me?

Stan, have you tried chasing Bass with a fly rod? Topwater action w/ a big bushy popper or surface fly, like a weedless frog pattern can be just as productive. Either way the fishing you are describing sounds really fun, and I think fishing while enjoying the cool night certainly beats fishing in the heat of the day during August, when they are probably not biting.

nca, welcome back...your presense was missed...

anyway, yeah its hot most any ware there are bass, in august...

thats why best fishin is between dusk an dawn...

cept if you gotta deep lake, then during the day, you might fish deep for bass, wid lead line an shiners...

an up here, you might pick up a big ole rainbow, if you are lucky...

There's a stretch of private trout water in NC where the owner fishes at night with bushy deer hair flies tied like mice. He catches some huge native browns with that technique. In the Brooks River Range anglers "mouse" for large rainbows fishing the same way with deer hair flies except the technique works great in the daytime. Gil

used to tie deer hair to wine bottle corks, impaled with black hooks, that immulated a mouse tail...