I fish two wet flies in sz 4 and 6. Also have used wooly buggers of same size with success. The flies aren’t weighted; whether or not they are near the bottom or high in the water column is determined mostly by the current, although in some currents I mend. My one fishing partner fishes the same rig, except he uses three flies and a sinking line. Rods are 8.5 ft 6 wts. The flies and the bugger can be dead drifted, retrieved as slowly as possible or retrieved with short jerks or just occasional jerks. All three of these methods produce fish and some work better than others on specific nights.
The leader and fly rigs are very stout with no portion less than 10 lb test. We tend to “horse” the fish a bit at night, which allows them less time to get into snags and is better for the fish, especially the larger fish, if we are not going to harvest them. Takes are felt, as with spinning equipment, and not seen, although when the wet fly is up near the surface you will occasionally see a splash associated with the take that you feel. Takes are generally not subtle.
I inadvertently nymphed in complete darkness with a pheasant-tail nymph one night on the Little J. I was nymphing with success in the evening and my fishing partner was spin fishing. Evening turned into night and the fish kept hitting, so we kept fishing. Fortunately, I had a lighter colored fly line that would show the takes because I could not see the leader.
Learn to wade into and along the full length of a pool using your feet as feelers for larger rocks, extra smooth rocks, logs, branches, and other natural and man-made debris and obstructions that could trip you up. I assume that there’s probably a learning curve involved in wading at night, but having spent a career electrofishing in water where I couldn’t see the bottom, wading at night came pretty naturally. Also preventing falls is the fact that we fish very slowly and thoroughly. We don’t cover much ground at a given spot, but we fish two or three spots per night on a given water. Also, the vast majority of the time we’re standing ankle deep to knee deep in water, as the fish are roaming in shallow and deeper water awayfrom shore and close to shore.
As far as I know the fish may hit all night. The latest that I typically stay out is 2 to 3AM. Just like daytime fishing though, some nights are very productive, some are mediocre, and some are duds. My worst night ever was zero hits, while my partner landed five wild browns, all 15-19” in about 4 hrs.
Some guys don’t like to fish with a bright moon, saying that it is not as productive as darker nights. Additionally, my one partner starts as soon as darkness falls, and the other often waits until about an hour after dark to start. Some individuals recommend checking/scouting out a prospective fishing spot in daylight for obstructions, snags, water depth, etc.
Lastly, head lamps are kept off while fishing and approaching the water. If absolutely necessary to turn on the light, we do so along shore facing away from the water if possible. We also try to use a red light to accomplish a task rather than the head lamp’s white light if possible. Obviously, tangles occasionally occur that require a light to correct, but that heavy, stiff Mason brand leader material that we use prevents a lot of tangles that would occur with regular mono and it’s very forgiving when you occasionallyhave a fly get stuck on the bottom. I can usually get the fly loose and I have yet to lose a rig.
