Night Bass Fishing

Being a very popular lake for fishing and water skiing, Lake Conroe receives quite a bit of pressure throughout the summer. As fishermen, we know that fishing is usually better during the week when there less boat traffic on the lake. The fish are not spooky and nervous like they get when Conroe is overrun with boat traffic. One way to deal with the weekend boat traffic and still catch fish is to start your trip early. I try to run half-day morning trips as much as possible during the weekend. Starting trips at 6 a.m. has been an ideal time to get started. There is plenty of light and there is hardly any boat traffic Until around 10:30 a.m. Even by then boat traffic is still at a minimum until around noon. Opinions of Lake Conroe’s black bass fishing vary from angler to angler. The angler that understands a graph and can find underwater structure such as roadbeds, humps, creek channels, and tank dams will tell you that the fishing is great. A newcomer to Conroe without these skills will swear that there is not even one single bass in the lake. Other lakes like Lake Livingston can be fished like a big pond. Working the shoreline structure for black bass is effective ,year around. This time of the year on Conroe, the majority .of black bass are on the deeper structure from 15 to 28 .feet. So late in the summer, working the boat docks, shallow .stumps, and other shoreline structure is not as effective as fishing the deep structure. However, if you happen to be fishing at night under a half moon or more, the shoreline structure is the place to be. The water starts to cool after the sun goes down. By the wee morning hours the shallows have cooled 3-6 degrees. The shad move into the cooler water and the bass are right behind them. Some of the shallow areas to concentrate on are lighted pier and boat docks. The lights draw the shad and minnows in and bass will hold in the shadows ambushing them. Black bass have a horizontal line down their body that represents a system I call “The Force”. They can detect movement underwater so whether there is light or not they can find bait. For example, a black bass could find a black worm on a moonless night probably as easy as it could in the daytime. It is like a sixth sense that these fish possess which we can use to our advantage. Baits that give off vibration that is attractive to bass are the ones to throw. Texas rigged worms have always been a popular night time bait. Surface baits are also very effective during the night. A black Jitterbug is a classic, and has been taking bass at night for a couple of decades. Pop R’s and Zara Spooks are two other baits that will attract strikes. August is one of the better months for this type of fishing. Most of the marinas around the lake are right near prime areas. In many cases you won’t even have to crank the big motor. Good luck fishing.