Are overnight sessions worth it ?

[crumpercatcher]

I enjoy night fishing as its peaceful and the fish move right in to the margins. I would use bite alarms if you have them After trying to stay awake all night years ago then driving 140 miles home up the M1 and M6 with the windows all down and radio on full blast to stay awake was not my finest moment mg: I got a second hand Nash Wideboy bed chair and it is damn comfortable. Proper warm sleeping bag with peach skin cover

Take a spare set of warm clothes, being wet and freezing cold is no fun. Waterproof pants and jacket and a hat. If you only have a brolly you could look at army surplus goretex sleeping bag cover for a bit of extra weatherproofing and warmth. Set everything up so you can get to your rods, mat and net etc without standing on anything or tripping over. Set your rebaiting equipment, needles, hair stops and spare hooklengths etc in a tub together so you can find everything easily in the dark should you need it. Put your bait / food in a sealable plastic containers to keep mice, rats, hedgehogs and badgers off it. Securely storm pole and peg down your brolly so if the wind gets up in the night you don't loose it.

Nightfished one August bank holiday a few years ago and woke up to frost one morning. My ill equipped friend was freezing cold in his sleeping bag, even wearing my spare clothes over his clothes with my peach skin cover over his cheap thin sleeping bag. You don't want to be that miserable for hours on end.

 

[skov]

I've just woken up on the bank following my first overnighter!
Not a sniff of any tench, but plenty of mice and rats
Got a lot colder than I expected too!
Quite enjoyed it though, and will definitely be doing it again.

 

[shane99]

How have you got on fishing for eels steve2 ?

Haven't fished for them for a few years now. The waters I fished were restocked with large numbers of carp and I ended up catching far more carp on deadbaits than eels. Best eels I caught were just under 6lbs these were from a small shallow farm lake in Hampshire.

Nice fish!, My membership water (very established) is very very near to a tidal essex river and eel fishing is my dirty little secret. Not set out specifically for eels yet but have done a bit of research over the last few weeks. I am just looking for a fresh challenge combined with a different style of fishing which always appeals. The only thing that concerns me would be dealing with a large one on the bank at night as I can hardly deal with a small one during the day

I have massive respect for the eel and do not want to harm any. I would be concerned about deep hooking etc

 

[Tee-Cee]

I think the last couple of posts say it all really.................COLD!!

Even if you are young(ish) and I'm talking under 30, fishing overnight in present conditions needs to be thought about, and as CC and Scov rightly say, you cannot take enough clothes to keep warm - and this may not be enough!!

Nights at the moment are still fairly long and with darkness from around 8/9pm until something like 5am it is a long time to be outside and in pitch black. Yes, you can sleep some of the hours, but when you awake with temps at only 3/4 degrees, it takes a lot of effort to start fishing as the cold air meets a warm body. This, and the lack of fish can make the outing a nightmare and turn you off for life.....

From my own experiences I can only say that it is at this time you need plenty of hot liquid, and semi warm tea from a flask is not it! Having the proper gear to make a continual number of brews will help, and in the past I have even used hot soup which almost acts as a meal, to give me a good start.

This is why I would suggest, if you are going out for your first overnighter, that perhaps June/July with their very short nights a good way to try it out. You still need to prepare properly, but a shorter session (and possibly with a greater chance of catching!) it will highlight the areas where you need to make changes for longer sessions.
Probably going with a mate also a good move before you try a 'loner'...............

It can be a bad experience, but well planned and with the right gear it can be great!


ps No doubt some will ignore this advice and think a pair of jeans and running shoes for the night (following a very hot day) will be just the ticket, but I beg to differ...........

 

[associatedmatt]

i know how cold it can be this time of year in a tent as done camping most my life but im going to waiting till it gets warmer

 

[thecrow]

When you do finally have a bash at night make sure you have everything organised in places where you know where everything is and easily accessible.

 

[associatedmatt]

A few things il need to get before , was thinking getting a triangia as can't take my double ring burner with a 6kg bottle !


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[Bob Hornegold]

I have done hundreds of nights on the bank, I started night fishing in the 1950tys and have loved every moment of night fishing.

If you ask on a site which is predominately Match and pleasure anglers then you are bound to get the usual relies- if you cannot catch in the day time-etc etc.

So you need to be set up for night fishing, ready to take advantage of changing weather conditions, even ready to move if you see fish moving on the other side of the lake.

Fish as if it were day time and just treat it as more hours on the bank, use the extra time to maximise your fishing.

Bob

 

[peterjg]

Matt: don't buy a trianga - they are slow and will leave your kettle etc blackened. Start with a basic gas stove and take 2 or 3 gas canisters. There is nothing worse than running out of fuel in the middle of cooking a fry-up.

I have used for many years an old Primus stove which I bought about 30 years ago, it was made in 1934 (model number 96). Don't buy an Optimus stove (they are very similar to look at) because they are not as good.

Please, please don't be one of those anglers that use a mallet to bash in bivvy pegs (my pet hate).

Good luck.

 

[associatedmatt]

Pegs I normally stand in them to push in , gas stove I have got a cheapy one where the bottle goes on the bottom but I find too unstable and there the wind issue too .




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[chrissh]

gas stove I have got a cheapy one where the bottle goes on the bottom but I find too unstable and there the wind issue too .




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I’ve got the Primus all season stove they have the gas warmer for the winter which keep the gas pressure high not like the cheap stove that lose pressure when they are cold

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and a stove windshield

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Also got a multi section frying pan

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Do some jacket potatoes at home wrap them in tinfoil and reheat them in the frying pan you can do the same with pasties or pies … a tin of curry good for the cold nights

and take extra water keep it in the car ... i have kicked my water container over with putting the top on too meany times!!!