Hot weather has a tremendous effect on game fish behavior. With water temperatures in the mid-80s and rising, the fish will be more active during the early morning, late evening and at night. Night fishing will be more productive than daytime fishing during the next three months. The heat is one factor that triggers the night bites but another major factor is fishing pressure.

Each summer our area lakes are extremely crowded with pleasure and fishing boat traffic during the day. When the sun goes down the lakes are quite. A few hours after dark the fish will began roaming the shallows looking for a meal. For bass on lakes Concordia, St. John and Bruin the easy pattern involves the lighted piers. The lights attack insects and the small fish will move in to feed on the bugs. The bass will usually hang just outside of the lighted area and feed on these smaller fish. No matter the depth you are better off fishing with weightless lures or slow sinkers than heavy lures. Cast a heavy bottom-bouncing lure under a lighted pier and it falls fast to the bottom right past the suspended fish.

Oddly enough not many people consider crankbaits as good night lures but they are. Try dark colored shallow diving crankbaits like a Bagley B1 or Bandit Footloose or 100 series Bandit. Make several casts just outside of the lighted pier before you cast and retrieve the lure directly under the lights. The really big bass tend to hold in the dark spots just out from the lights. Spinnerbaits are good night lures as well. Try spinnerbaits that put off a lot of vibration. The round Colorado-style blades move more water than the willow- leaf blades.

As summer progresses more bass fishermen will become nocturnal. The lighted piers will receive the most pressure. That’s when it’s time to fish the piers with no lights. Target the piers with a lot of man-made brush sunk around them. The bass holding around the dark piers usually stay close to the bottom holding in the thick cover. Instead of the lightweight lures and shallow diving crankbaits go with a heavy jig or soft plastics rigged with a heavy slip sinker.

One of my most productive night fishing patterns involves a 3/4 ounce spinnerbait with a single No. 5 or No. 6 Colorado blade. The big spinnerbait pushes a lot of water and the bass can key in on the lure even if it’s pitch dark. Just cast the spinnerbait along the seawalls and shallow cypress trees and hang on. Big bass, like big bucks, escape the daytime pressure by feeding at night so use heavy tackle and keep the net handy.

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Democrat. He can be reached at fishingwitheddie@cox.net.