Night fishing....

[Kelly Ripa]

I recently fished the J&T night tournament at Casitas lake and relearned a few things that might help me be more consistant in my next attempt. When I was a younger man my vision was perfect. Now I have to wear some 1X readers if I'm working up close ( tying knots for example ). I learned that it is not as easy as putting on those readers and turning on a light to retie a rig. Basically what I can do in a howling wind while running the trolling motor in the daytime became a 10 minute ordeal that I had to cut off and try over three times before I was satisfied with my dbl. uni connection and the dropshot rig. So what did I learn there? I need to have multiple back up rods with the same rig tied up so I can just grab another rod. I did stretch my lines behind the boat and spray them down with line lube prior to the event and that did help but I needed to have a foundation of rods with my patterns for the evening all set with baits attached to all the right rods so I need not think about digging in storage compartments looking for things. Being efficient and having those lockers set for my evening was something that while I hadn't overlooked I still had room for improvement. I could have set one small box up that had the hooks and sinkers etc. in small quantities rather than the boxes I use that are dedicated to hooks and sinkers etc...

In order to compete with the folks in the know. I had made sure that I had no boat issues outstanding prior to the launch but in retrospect. I should be carrying some spare bulbs for my lights! I knew decision making on the water was going to be a factor as far as where I wanted to be on the lake when the 8:00 5 mph rule came into effect and here too I needed to make a decision. Since we are weighing our fish not counting them I needed to have a gameplan that would allow me to scramble should my master game plan not go according to plan. That part I got right on that night however I need to take the other member more into my thought processes as the early portion of the plan left him trying rather than outright fishing. My early plan produced zilch for the team so the plan B portion of the plan took effect 15 minutes prior to the speed restriction. Even then I had to make some adjustments to the team because our results were not going to plan. One thing that I plan to always keep in the back of my mind is the fact that all the prefishing in the world cannot prepare you for the fact that the fish are no longer acting in the manner that was predicted and starting over from scratch is most times the best answer. To just go fishing helped immensly because the minute I was able to forgo the plan we put fish in the boat by going back to basics. Instead of do or dying on the pattern I simply allowed the team to fish it's strengths and that allowed us to bring consistancy back to the boat.

We are a new team and this was our first tournament together. In fact it was my partners first tournament ever. We saw some ideas that we will use in our next tournament. For example we will have a flashlight taped to the net. It will help reduce the glare from two lights at two angles that cost us a fish and perhaps the tournament. Sad to say it might have been when you've got the fish to the boat three times and loose it but in this lies another lesson. I had tied a rig up on a rod that had no business trying to do that method. It was ill suited but once it was dark I didn't have the patience to try and put that rig together on the right rod for the job. By eliminating the variables and controling what I can I am hopeful that we can compete at the next level with everyone in the next tournament. My partner who is physically handicapped and has no experience to fall back upon requires me to think and act for him in certain situations and I will have to step up and take control of somethings that other teams don't have to think about. That is okay by me now that I am learning these suptleties and will know what is expected of me when these issues come up. My partner on the other hand is getting a chance to fly up the learning curve by these experiences and will be more versitile and experienced as each tournament goes by.

It helps to compete with your fellow anglers at least once in awhile as it makes you improve. It helps you to be consistant. It helps you to be versitile. It helps you to learn. It helps you progress. It helps you to prepare. It helps you to think. To do it at night ads the demension of darkness into the equation and for that you can only prepare.

Rip

[19X]

Nice read Ripa, sometimes just "FISHING" does wonders for your confidence and pocketbook

[Lance]

Hey Kelly,

Having several poles is a real good idea, thats what I do. I have my day poles that are rigged up and when the sun goes down I put the day poles away and bring out the night rigs. Depending on the rig I'll have as many as 3 rigged with the same bait, it makes changing very fast. Also, IF you use a drop shot I would concider crimping on the weight (split shot weight), dont use the clip on. The clip-ons always tend to come off at the wrong time.

In your tackle area have a card board box lid (about 3-4 inches tall) with just the night baits and hooks. It's alot better than going threw tackle trays.

If you can attatch a light to the inside of your tackle area in case you need to re-tie. But let your eyes adjust before you get up, you might walk off the front of your boat.

Its also a good idea if things go wrong to have a back up reel with a common line.

Good luck and I hope this helps

L

[jsoregon]

Guys, I'm new to SoCal. Are there lakes a guy can fish overnight w/o being in a tournament? Or do all the ramps close down at dusk? I know DVL closes a dusk.

Thanks!!

[mark poulson]

Castaic has some night fishing sponsored by FOCL that is not a tournament. Go to the Castaic Lake website for more infor.

[DougH]

Guys, I'm new to SoCal. Are there lakes a guy can fish overnight w/o being in a tournament? Or do all the ramps close down at dusk? I know DVL closes a dusk.

Thanks!!

Naci or San Antone allow night fishing always, Naci is great. You can catch over 100 fish there...

[Kelly Ripa]

The night that the J&T was held..... Casitas was having a night thing. You had to immediately release the fish ( except catfish ) and there was a $25 dollar safety inspection prior to you entering the lake but if you want to fish a world class trophy lake for cheap that's how you can do it. Heck, if I was on Castaic I'd prolly get distracted with all the stripers and just fish for them on a nice moonlit summer evening. It would be fun for sure. Sorry you moved away from those Columbia smallies yet

Rip

[Munsey]

Here is a link to the moonlight fishing at Castaic.

http://castaiclake.com/Documents/2007/M ... ishing.pdf

Mike Munson

[Nunyo Bizness]

I agree with Rip analysis of our tournament. Being the Newbie in the tourament and just not wanting to screw up was one of my major distractions. I wanted to make sure I stayed out of trouble and contributed to our success. I know it must be frustrating to have a newbie on board and have to make all the right calls for them and Rip did that perfectly. I was fortunate to catch a few nice Bass that night, but only because of what Rip has taught me and because he placed me on the fish. I wanted to be of more help, but just didn't know everything I could do to help and sometimes the best thing to do is just get out of the way. Rip has been kind enough to take me on the 4 best fishing trips in my life and take me on as a partner for this J&T Night Series. I had the time of my life that night, I got to meet two of the people I have come to admire thru their post, G. Collins and Lance,"It was very nice to meet you both". I got to shake hands with Ron C. a man I have come to admire for his dedication to the sport. I got to see S. James in actions for just a few minutes which was very cool. But having said that, I must say that Rip is the best I have ever fished with on any level on any water. I'm not completely new to fishing, just true bass fishing and Rip has taught me more in the 4 trips on his boat then I ever thought I would learn. He has taken the time to answer the sometime stupid questions I have asked without making me feel stupid and he always makes sure I understand the answer completely. He has asked me questions as we fish to see if I am picking up on the sometime small changes that happen during a fishing trip, then explain them to me if I don't see them. He is teaching me to read a lake and be able to tell if there may be fish there or not. Rip has always been open and honest with anybody who has asked for his help or just some knowlage that he may have. As Rip said I do have a physical handicap that does not allow me to fish all styles of bass fishing, but instead of looking at this as a handicap, he has taught me to fish the styles I can to my fullest. I broke my personal best last Saturday 3 times and by doing that I learned that I can fish my strengths and produce fish. I know there is so much more to learn and I am looking forward to doing just that. Thanks Rip!