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4 – Thursday, August 31, 2017 – El Dorado NEWS-TIMES
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Beat the heat with after-dark angling
By the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Once daytime temperatures stay above that 90-degree mark and pleasure boaters begin to churn up the water, many anglers decide to hang up the rods until cooler days begin to creep into the forecast.
But others have learned the best way to beat the heat is to
fish during the night shift. Earlier this year,
Matt Hedrick and Matt France were named Anglers of the Year in the Tuesday night tourna- ment circuit held weekly on Lake Maumelle in Little Rock. Although they’re relatively young compared to many old salts that fish Maumelle, they’ve already learned the benefits of fishing after dark and have been
at it for years.
“It’s really not that different
from daytime,” Hedrick said. “It’s cooler, so that’s nice, and a lot of fish that weren’t feeding during the day will move up to feed at night, sort of like deer do at the beginning of hunting season.”
The most obvious adjustment anglers need to make is to really get to know their surroundings. One trip on the water after the sun goes down will definitely clue an angler in on how diffi- cult navigation at night can be.
“The freakiest part is that you just can’t see where you’re fish- ing, so you need to be sure to know your spot and know where you are on the lake when you’re running to your spots,” Hedrick said.
“Really get to know your GPS unit,” France added. “Finding your location, especially off- shore stuff is almost impossible without it on a dark night.”
Take a tip from experienced fishermen and prepare every- thing you can before you launch the boat. Get items in place before leaving home and when you park. Bumping around with gear in the boat on the water
Contribued photo
Night fishing: The best way many anglers have learned to beat the heat is by fishing during the night shift. The most important adjustment is to know your surroundings when fishing at night.
wastes time, and it also tends to make unnecessary, fish-alarm- ing noise.
The temptation for first-time night-fishing anglers is to bring along flashlights, lanterns and any other source of light they can find to be able to see bet- ter while plying the ink-black waters. Headlamps are helpful, but Hedrick and France advise anglers to use them sparingly.
“The fish don’t need to be able to see the lure, and I like to let my eyes adjust to the darkness as much as possible,” Hedrick said. “We use lights to help tie on a bait or take care of some- thing, but lights attract a lot of insects at night.”
Navigation lights, on the other hand, are essential to staying safe after hours. On non-federal waters, such as Lake Maumelle and AGFC-owned lakes, sim- ply having a lighting source
onboard is legal. On federally controlled waters, such as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reser- voirs and navigable rivers, a U.S. Coast Guard-approved anchor light at the stern and red/green navigation bow light must be in operation at all times once the sun goes down.
“Even on Maumelle, we always turn them on while running,
and any time a boat is near,” Hedrick said. “There have been some accidents on other lakes in the last few years where boats didn’t have their lights on and were run over by someone who couldn’t see them until it was too late. There’s no need to take
See NIGHT, Page 6