i am hoping for some ideas here and would appreciate any feedback. I will be camping near my favorite spring creek this weekend and have always wanted to fish it at night. I know browns are nocturnal for the most part and am really hoping this big boys will come out. Are streamers my best bet? Will a headlamp put the fish down? Mice? If anyone has had any experience that could help I would appreciate it. Of course If everything goes well I will be sure to have pics and a full report! Thanks in advance!
The only reply I have to this is: “TAKE YOUR DAD!!!”
Love, Dad
use a mousey.
wear wading belt!
BE CAREFUL! And I think I remember seeing Joe Humphreys on a video somewhere, looking for a 20 lb. brown, at night, and I seem to recall they were using red lights, just like you’d use in a photo lab.
Correct me if I am wrong but don’t trout see in the red spectrum of light?? I would go with green, its brighter at night and doesn’t kill your night vision, learned that from using Night Vision Goggels in Iraq. You can buy lights that mount on your ball cap that have green LED’s from Wal Mart for 10 bucks.
Years back I night fished for big browns a couple of times a week. First off know the section of the stream you are fishing very well. I looked for slower deep pools that are easy to wade with a good rapids at the top. I believed the best fishing came when you could only see in black and white and then when it got to the point it was dark. If the moon is out look for the fish in the shadows tight against a high bank. I never used lights except a pen light to get the fish off the hook and even then I would turn 180 degrees from the area I was fishing. Big fish are spooky so wade quietly as possible. I fished with big wet flies 2, 4, 3X. It’s a great fishing experience but you must know the water. Many nights were great and then there we times when it was slow. If I did it now I think I’d go with clousers or weighted wooly buggers. Good luck.
Sounds like you’ve got a pretty good start.
Streamers (red and purple work well at night). Keep the light off. Mice are always good.
I was able to get out Friday night for about three hours. Lets just say it was both dissapointing and fulfilling. Ill have a better report in the Dad and the Kid 2009 fishing reports. Thanks a lot for your suggestions.
The reason to use red is that it preserves human night vision. So if you want your rods (night vison) to function after you turn that light off, use red and not green.
I need to see when I fish at night. I turn my back to the area I am fishing to block the red light from the fish. Fish see both red and green. Remember (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Glue, Indigo, Violet) ROY G BIV from physics? Green lies between the Red and Violet spectrum so if they see red, they can see green. Green is exactly in the middle of the visual spectrum and I think that is why our eyes are so sensitive to green. Red and violet are at the ends of the visible spectrum and our eyes are not as sensitive to red.
However green kills disables the rod, which we use to see at night. Red does not. It is a myth that green preserves “night vision”. :
“Rhodopsin in the human rods is less sensitive to the longer red wavelengths of light, so many people use red light to help preserve night vision as it only slowly depletes the eye’s rhodopsin stores in the rods and instead is viewed by the cones.”
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/rodcone.html
http://stlplaces.com/night_vision_red_myth/
"As a 24 year veteran of the USMC, we were always taught that red was used for seeing at night for the following reasons:
Since red is a “dimmer” light, your pupils don’t constrict nearly as much when you are viewing things in red light. Hence, when the red light is turned off, your pupils are still opened wider requiring less time for your eyes to readjust to total darkness. Also, it’s harder for those that you don’t want to detect your light to see red light.
The “display” color (green) of Light Amplification devices or night vision goggles has nothing to do with retention of night vision. Devices such as this have green displays because since the eyes are so sensitive to the color green it’s far easier to pick out details on a green display than it is any other color. This is important because the displays on most night vision devices are extremely “grainy”, and the green color helps to keep details that would be lost with other color displays. The down side to a green display is that since your eyes ARE so sensitive to the color green, when the night vision devices are taken off it takes considerably longer for your eyes to readjust to total darkness than with red light. Green light makes your pupils constrict further since your eyes are so sensitive to this color.
For viewing things in the dark with minimal effect on your night vision, red is by far the best color. When wearing night vision devices, retention of regular night vision is of minimal importance because that’s what the night vision goggles are for in the first place! But to just plain see in the dark without losing your night vision red is STILL the color.
PJD
…simple exercise: view something in the dark with a red light, turn the light off and see how long it takes for your eyes to readjust to total darkness. Now, view something in the dark with night vision goggles, take them off and see how long it takes your eyes to readjust to total darkness. With the NVG’s it will take your eyes more than twice as long to readjust to total darkness than it did with the red light…I know; I’ve done it MANY times."
And
“People think green is good for night vision due to their experiences with night vision equipment. This has resulted in the modern myth that green light preserves your natural night vision. This is not true and has resulted in a great deal of non-research based marketing by people trying to sell green LED lights.”
From the best discussion on night vison that I have found.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18915
Use RED not GREEN!
I messed up completely, mostly because I was unprepared. I only had a small white LED that I used as little as possible. Mainly just to navigate the “jungle” down to the spring and to make fly changes. I did spook a few fish when i finally got to the bank and found that if i followed them with the light they would just stop and I could walk right up to them. I was actually able to net one that was sitting there transfixed by my light. I was shocked that he wouldnt just take off but figured he was probably just blinded and couldn’t see the net coming. I will definetly go more prepared the next time with the right flies/light source.
I’m no expert on night fishing (is anyone?) but since about half of my fishing is done well after dark i have learned a few things.
I like to arrive at my spot before dark and let my eyes adjust as night grows. You’d be surprised at how much you can really see once it gets dark.
I very rarely use a light, if i absolutely need to i use red as previously mentioned. I do however carry at least three different types of lights in varying sizes…just because you never know.
I learned how to change flies without the use of a light. I’m generally running at least 2x and using big flies so threading them is actually pretty easy.
If i’m going to fish a new area at night i scout it thoroughly during daylight hours, how am i getting in? how am i getting out? and the creek/stream/river it self for problematic, structures, trees, bushes etc.
If i’m working a particular section i usually fish it first upstream, quartering a big hex pattern (or stonefly, big hopper…what ever) up and across as i would during the daytime. You don’t need to hit targets, i find most of the fish will be sitting in the middle of the stream (depending on how big your stream is) and they will move for it if its not right on their nose. Listen close because the take is often very subtle…sometimes just a “pop.”
Once i get to the end of the section i usually give it 10 to 15 minutes, take the hex off and tie on a “mouce(ish)”
type pattern and fish it back through downstream. There are many opinions as to how one should swing and/or strip and/or dead drift these type of patterns but to each his own.
I personally like to swing and strip it…but that’s just me.
I think night fishing is an acquired taste. It can be exciting as hell, but can also bore you to tears.
Try to get in touch with “Night Angler” on the board here. He is a professional night angler and is not shy or stingy with information .
Oh by the way , after you hook into your first good one , well , you’ll see . 
Get ready to buy more stuff that you "Have "to have . 
Use a 6-8wt rod. I would take 2 rods rigged up. If you get hung up then you can use the other rod to try again and not wade throuh the hole and screw up the fishin’. OX-2x short leader help a lot. Make them short 5-7ft. Bring a BIG NET! Use your Heavy Equipment and land the fish as quickly QUICKLY as possible. BRING REPEL BUG DOPE!
Fishin’ Jimmy
PS Remember Gator’s are out at night. Don’t for get to get you Fishpox shot before you go!
I recommend you pick up the new Fly Tyer magazine. There is an article about a mouse pattern by Tommy Lynch. I was just fishing on the PM in MI 2 weekends ago using that pattern and we landed 8 fish over 2 nights from 15"-20". It was a great weekend.
Orvis has a new pattern called “Polk’s Dirty Rat” that looks good. It should be a simple tie but so far, I have not been able to find the actual pattern. It was featured in the latest issue of Orvis News.
Supposedly, it is more effective and easier to tie than deer hair floating patterns. Unlike patterns tied with deer hair, the back end of the Dirty Rat sinks into the water and just the head sticks out, just like a real mouse. When retrieved, the marabou moves just like a mouse kicking its legs when swimming.
All of this info has been great! I feel I will be more prepared for the next trip. I gave a mouse a try for about an hour and felt like I wasn’t using it properly. The Spring Creek is almost still water with a weed bed that sits about 18" below the waters surface. This makes it a little difficult to drag heavy streamers so I opted for something smaller. You can see the full report on the Dad and The Kid 2009 thread. Thanks again everyone!!!
mgliss
here is the link… http://flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?t=27785
Hey guys…
everyone here has really gave some great info…
but … Honestly The light thing really gets me…
Im guessing all in all the truth behing using your light at night really depends on how “often” the area gets night fished…
Here on Taneycomo… there is useally someone always out there at night… no matter the time of year… I really think the fish here are use to see these lights and are not that shy of them anymore… if you focus the light on them they move… other then that they useally go back to the same spot through out the night…
I really cant tell you what to fish and when to fish it with out being there…
But from what Ive seen in your pictures… Crawdad was a very wise choice for bottom fishing…
On your next trip with the shallow waters and weed covered bottom… Id like into some size 2-6 (maybe 8’s) unweighted streamers… like a marabou muddler… or the pine squirrel streamer…
some high floating hoppers… like a madam X
also I get rid of that tapered line and go striaght mono (like 8lb maxima)… its got a stronger breaking point.
but hey… you said your trip was a bust…
Id say that one HELL of a trip… first time out in that water at night… and your nailed a 20in brown… That would make anyone happy!!
Leonard
PS… PM sent
What he said.
BigBadWullf, eye doc.