Night time stripers..

[mu fish]

Ok so I am having little to no problem locating and catching quality bass from the surf within any two to three day period. But all the success I have from surf during day light hours does not transpire over to the night. Mind u I fish almost constantly for two to three days a week(lol my days off from work) and I don't stop jus because it's dark or the conditions are not all tht favorable. I mean I set up on prime locations at tht time change presentation and locations til I find out exactly Wht pattern the bass r on at tht given time so if not right away then by the end of my outings(2nd or 3rd day) I was able to land fish.
But I have yet to land a keeper from the surf yet at night in the years I been at this and I always been hooked so bad I always go hard so my routine has not changed but I jus can't land bass at night. Tried it all eels fresh bait live snappers I might have jus caught lures etc.. Is there something I'm missing? Is there any keys to success tht someone can shine light on for me? I can getem in the bay from my small boat at night but in the fall I only surf fish and u can bet money tht before I return back home there's fresh meat on ice. But only during day light hours. I devote same time & attention I do during day in the night prob even more so I thought at night.
Sorry for dragging this out I'm venting! Lol I want tht bass on the beach shining in the moon light they look all so pretty in the moon light. Lol. Help me out I got problems.

[jd371]

Me too. I started surf fishing this year so I'm still new to this, but all the fish I've caught have been during the day. I started off by going equally day and night, but because there has been no nightime bite I have been going only during the day the past month...what gives?
From what I've read and heard I thought stripers were more active feeding during the night.

[Striperjim]

My experience with the area has been the bite is best at false dawn and twilight times especially when the current starts ripping. And when the tides are lined up with the 4 hour window at the top and bottom. Cloudy full moon times too.
In the fall the fish are more aggressive and will bite at any time day or night. Especially good bite on overcast and snotty weather in the fall.

[mu fish]

Jim I get all tht I have read and learned almost everything on here about stripers, especially Wht u have shared in the past, but for some reason striper(keeper class or better) at night seem to avoid me lol I was jus hoping someone had some special insight into fishing the surf at night tht I jus may have missed or have yet to try or haven't discovered yet.

[Ed White]

I'm assuming that you are plugging at night, first thing I would recommend is slow down.....retrieve speed that works during daylight may be too fast in the darkness. I'm thinking bombers and metal lip swimmers......slowly.
Second thing, and this is just my experience, when fishing from daylight into darkness, (on the beaches around here), we often get a little flurry of fish as it goes from light to dark, then a lull, and after it gets good and dark again, it will pick up again.
Just a couple things that work for me.

[Roccus]

Day versus night are ...well... as different as night and day...where fish feed during the day, they often vacate at night in favor of shallower water...and vice versa .

Night time bassin' in the shallows comes into it's own after dark, those deep water drop offs now become high ways to the shallows rather than ambush points.. the majority of my night time fish are found in less than 3' of water... many under the bright full moon... as others have said, slow down your presentations.... fast moving lures ( except in a raging surf or screaming tide rip) are un natural, and often ignored...night time fish often are seeking a different quarry then they do during the day... and often will be grubbing the surfline for crabs,lobsters and sand eels...for live bait, an eel is your best choice... followed closely by sand worm ( a desert item so to speak) .. night time lures like needle fish and slow moving danny style surface swimmers often do big buisness... where the tide runs hard, darters and bottle plugs can mean the difference between sucess and failure...

I hate day time fishing... I only practice it early and late in the season, when the crowds are thin and the sun is low... for me.. night time is the right time..

tight lines
Roc

[mu fish]

Tks guys

[Screaming Drag Scot]

My biggest fish of last season came at night. I was slowly working a Slug-Go in the Canal. Try and imitate the bait on hand. Like everyone has said slow down your retrieve. I believe it gives the bass a much better chance to hone in on what you're using for bait. Thus inc