Everything you need to start night fishing

THIS ARTICLE IS PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GLASGOW ANGLING CENTRE.

To get the most out of specimen fishing, whether you’re fishing for carp or other species such as tench and bream, you ideally need to fish for them at night.

Many fish, especially those in heavily-pressured venues, will often feed with more confidence under the cover of darkness or at first light, so your catch rate is likely to increase if you can fish overnight sessions.

If it is something you have never done before, there are a number of factors to consider to ensure your session runs smoothly.

The key to effectively spending your first night on the bank is efficiency. The old saying ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ perfectly sums up night fishing. Particularly if you are new to it.

In this article we are going to take a look at some of the main points that will help you enjoy a successful night fishing session.

Essential kit

As well as your standard fishing kit, there are a number of extra items that are required to make sure your overnight stay is a comfortable one.

Firstly, a good quality bivvy or shelter is a must. If you’re likely to just be fishing for one night at a time a brolly style shelter will suffice, but if you intend to spend several days at a time on the bank you may want to consider a larger bivvy which will have enough space to house the extra kit required.

Likewise, if long walks with your gear on a barrow is required to get to the pegs at your venue, look for lightweight shelters which are easier to transport. If, on the other hand, you can park close to your peg, weight is less important.

Next, is a comfortable bedchair. Again, it’s important to consider the weight and size of the bed in terms of both the type of venue you’re fishing and the shelter you’ll be putting it in. Some of the larger beds on the market, although incredibly comfortable, would be a tight squeeze under a compact shelter and are more suited to use in a two-man bivvy.

A good warm sleeping bag is also required, even in the warm summer months. A sleeping bag with a three-season rating will do the job for most of the year, but if you plan to fish right the way through winter, a five-season bag will provide extra warmth.

When it comes to bite registration, it simply isn’t practical to sit up all night watching a float or quiver tip. So you’ll need to use bite alarms to alert you when you get a take. Many anglers prefer to use a set of alarms with a receiver. This is a device which syncs to your bite alarm heads and can be kept in your bivvy next to your bed allowing you to turn the volume down low or mute completely on the actual bite alarm.

Night vision

Carrying out tasks such astying fresh rigs, attaching hookbaits and even landing fish is obviously much harder in the dark than during the day. As such you’ll need to ensure you have some additional lighting.

When choosing a headtorch, look for ones with a red light setting as well as white light as this won’t ruin your night vision. It is also better for ‘banked’ fish as a red light doesn’t stress them as much as shining a bright white light into their eyes. If there are anglers on the opposite bank, it is much more polite to use the red light setting rather than shining a bright white light across the lake.

Bivvy lights are another option which can be attached to inside of your shelter via a magnetic strip. Many of these also have a USB output and can be used for charging phones and other devices.

Safety tips

Fishing in the dark brings with it a number of potential hazards that you need to be aware of.

Before you turn in for the night check that your peg is tidy and there are no obstructions or items between your shelter and your rods that you could trip over if you receive a screaming take in the middle of the night.

Make sure items such as your headtorch, bite alarm receiver and phone are close to hand and easy to locate if you need them during the night.

Always tell a friend or family member about where you are fishing and when you expect you’ll be back. We recommend installing the What3words app on your phone so that you can accurately share your location in the case of an emergency, especially when fishing more remote venues. It is also important to carry a portable charging device so that you don't have to worry about your phone running out of battery.

Fish effectively

During the day it is easy to cast accurately to your baited spots. But this becomes much more difficult in the dark. To ensure that you are fishing as effectively as possible through the night, use a pair of distance sticks to wrap your mainline around and count how many ‘wraps’ are required to hit the spot. The other important thing is to choose a far bank marker with a silhouette that will be visible at night.

Playing fish in the dark is also a different experience than during the day. Rather than relying on your sight to see which direction the fish is going you will have to rely more on other senses and pay more attention to ‘feeling’ where the fish is heading. Before the sun has set it is worth making a mental note of any snags or other potential hazards in your swim that a hooked fish could potentially head towards so that you are aware of them during the night.

With the items listed above in this article, you have the basic kit (once combined with end tackle and bait) to go out and catch carp from a venue near you. We would recommend starting night fishing by visiting one of these great fisheries, these venues offer consistent sport all-year round due to the numbers of fish present. The fish will likely be smaller than some of the whackers you might see printed in the magazine or on the TV, but learning how to catch these consistently will give you a great starting point to progress on to bigger and tougher waters from.

Author James Furness is the editor for the Angling Times and has been carp fishing for over 20 years, he enjoys catching all species of fish and all aspects of the sport.