Use caution boating at night time
Is it too hot to fish?
Not if you get out in the dark.
On a recent early morning fishing trip I was able to spend some time out on the lake with out burning up by fishing from 2:30 am until 7:00 am.
Surprisingly my boat was not the only boat in the water and the fishing was excellent.
Safety on the water after dark is the number one concern, make sure you have all your lights working properly and I would use additional lights to make sure oncoming boats can see you.
On Pickwick lake — where I was fishing — several boats would point a spot light in my direction to make sure I could see their boat. Additionally, use caution when approaching other boats in the water.
Fishing with out sweating and trying not to get sunburned is very enjoyable.
We planned on catfishing the night I went out after dark, but the striped bass fishing was so good we were able to catch one on just about every cast. Most were smaller but there were a few that weighed more than 10 pounds.
Our most successful bait was a Rapala X-Rap XR10 in silver color. We could catch these Stripped Bass on other baits like spinner baits or a flukes but the most consistent bite came on the Rapala X-Rap.
Joseph Gallagher is the Outdoors Columnist for The Franklin County Times. He can be reached at naloutdoors@gmail.com.