Is this the best night fishing bass lure possible?

     July in Arizona means one thing...  Hot.  Fishing in this kind of heat can be miserable and dangerous.  Next week I'll be writing a post about how to put up with those hot, miserable, and potentially dangerous fishing trips, but for now let's just ignore that heat and head-lamp up!

 

     One of the most asked questions I see come up this time of year is "what lures work best at night?".  For every one person who asks that question, there are three people with different answers.  In lieu of making another "top 5 lures" article, like those that are plastered all across the Internet, or just plugging sponsors by telling you that a 6-inch Cactus Wren Quail Tail, jika-rigged on a Mustad Ultra Point hook, on a Medium Heavy Carrot Stix Wild Wild Green casting rod is the best set up for night fishing, let's break it down so you can understand what makes a lure "good", "better", and "best" for night fishing.  Starting with the fish:

 

     Like us humans, fish have five (actually six) senses.  If a lure does nothing to appeal to one of those senses, it's not a very good lure.  If a lure appeals to several of those senses, it has what some might call "fish catching qualities".  For example, those stinky plastic worms appeal to the sense of smell, but the lively little curly tail spits out vibrations that appeal to the sense of feel (or on a bass, it's lateral line).  Add the clacking of a bead against the weight on a Carolina Rig and you have a light clicking noise that will wake up his ears too.  In general, the more "fish catching qualities" your lure has, the better it is. 

 

     During the day, especially in clear water, one of the main senses our lures appeal to is sight.  Some folks spend $25+ on hand painted crankbaits.  We tie on giant hunks of metal, attach a treble hook, and call it a spoon relying on that flash of light to get the attention of a hungry bass.  Some go to the extremes of buying THIS rediculous piece of garbage to get maximum flash.  All that stuff is just a quarter of the qualities that you should be trying to achieve.  Plus, once the sun goes down you lose the light that makes those things effective in the first place.

 

 

     So, what lure works best at night?  Something with all the other qualities.  You need vibration (feel), scent (smell), and rattles (sound).  We can leave out taste because once they get a taste of it, they're already hooked.

 

     The brains over at Strike King have developed a bait that covers these three night time senses.  Their Midnight Special spinnerbait uses a single, large, Colorado blade that pumps out a ton of vibration whether on a retrieve or helicoptering down on the fall. They have also added a small rattle attached to the hook giving it that ability to call out to the fish like a dinner bell.  Finally, I always add a trailer to my spinnerbaits, for three reasons:  1. It gives the bait a bigger profile to appeal to bigger fish, 2. It gives out extra vibration (depending on the type of trailer you choose), and most importantly 3. I can load the plastic trailer up with scent to appeal to that final sense!

 

      Ok, so this bait appeals to all of the senses that a bass has.  It can't get better than that right?  Well, not quite.  This is fishing, there is no magic formula to making the best possible lure.  If there was, someone would have figured it out by now, and none of us would really enjoy fishing all that much anymore.  Fishing is a game.  Your opponent is a living, breathing, thinking, creature.  A creature that has different moods.  One day Gary the Bass might want to chase down that big, bulky, noisy, smelly, spinner bait.  The next he might just want a small subtle straight tail worm.  The key to the game is to figure out what he wants to eat and then deliver it to him.  We all love a good pizza, it's got all four of the main food groups: carbs, meat, cheese, and pizza.  But if the only food available to you was pizza, sooner or later you're going to stop caring about pizza.  This spinnerbait is just pizza...

       So sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting me to tell you what the best possible night fishing lure was.  The truth is, it doesn't exist.  But the next time you're wondering what to tie on in the darkness, remember what makes that spinnerbait pizza, and maybe roll it up in taco form?

     And as always, tight lines!