Night Time Salmon Fishing

I'm in total salmon mode right now with the opener just around the corner. I found this article on the web. Its for the great lakes, but for chinooks just the same. Trying to find fishing regs for ocean night fishing and I came up blank. I did find that you cant night fish in some bays (San Francisco, San Pablo, etc.) but nothing about fishing out in the great blue...

I see a few benefits for sure, less boat traffic, and many times the ocean calms down more at sea. I've always had great luck fishing for salmon just before sunrise on the Feather River....smack em hard with the bigger Blue Fox spinners...they seem to stack up on the surface when its dark and get deeper when the sun comes out. Those Blue Fox spinners really piss 'em off...love it.

So any ideas on this...safety is a factor...you'd need good lights for other craft to see you, you'd need to be very organized with your tackle...seeing your line would be a pain in the ass and netting a fish would be really a pain in the ass...but still I wonder if your hook ups would increase. Glow in the dark hoochies?

Here's that article:
http://www.in-fisherman.com/2011/12/20/night-checks-king/

-Murf

No night fishers out there?

Never heard/seen it done around the MOnterey Bay area.

No night fishers out there?

I've done it for other species. It's definitely doable, but I wouldn't advise it for salmon because you're on your own if something were to go wrong -- not sure if it's worth the risk. Besides the rare times that there is a hot bite out of any of the harbors, you would normally have to travel 4+ miles to get to the salmon grounds.

GL if you try it but be safe.

I'd go with you if the conditions are right

I guess I'd be willing to do it!  On a lake    Sounds like a fun time trolling by a full moon on a summer evening.

I love my midnight crabbing, but that's in a very limited and defined area of an estuary.  To suggest that you would go into the open ocean at night is, IMO, not a good idea.  Just the consideration of how much harder it would be to assist you should something go wrong is huge, but, really, odds are higher that something will go wrong in your own process because you're out in the dark.  Unless you train in the dark and specifically prepare for issues that you'll encounter in the dark, you are just pushing your luck.  I would save that salmon energy for the daylight hours - and I look forward to fishing with you!   

That said, if you explore this further, learn more about the opportunity and legality, prepare yourself thoroughly, and execute a plan, I think you'll likely kick some ass, and I'll be the first to congratulate you.   

I guess I'd be willing to do it!  On a lake    Sounds like a fun time trolling by a full moon on a summer evening.

Just not LDP

I'd go if a few others went, lol. Havent found out if the ocean is legal for salmon at night.

I read a short article about salmon during the night, said that ocean salmon are equally active and react to the bait and predators around them. Predators feeding at night=salmon running. Bait available at night=salmon feeding. My guess would be that this pattern changes.

At the same time my words don't mean much. I'm a new to the yak universe.  Just shooting out fishin theories. As for glow in the dark? I would go as bright as possible or solid black, that is coming form experience with stripebass at night.

Murfman, I think going fishing at night in a lake or small bay can be a lot of fun. I would not venture very far out into open ocean at night and if you do be prepared. Salmon ocean fishing from a kayak test's me even on a good day, when visibility is good. I practice self rescues in a lagoon and it is hard for me to imagine doing one in very heavy seas, let alone the dark . What ever you decide to do, do it well, have fun and be safe.

Not sure about the salmon regs but lots of people target WSB at night. You need to be 100% sure of your ability's out there. I used to use a red head lamp to fish, a hand held spot light to alert other boats, and glow stick zip tied to a rod to be legal. With Salmon your going to be covering lots of water. I'd have back ups of everything just in case. Two fully charged FF batteries. Hand held GPS, compass. Flairs, dye packs, glow sticks. Ect. Im sure it can be done just do it safely, Good luck if you do go out.

All really good points...

Probably best to not try this in yaks first but in a boat. Find out if its even legal. Get a system together and see if its even productive (I think it would be though)

I think trolling in a large area might not be the way to go....for safety reasons. You'd want to go out with a few guys using the buddy system. Pick a well defined location to fish that is familiar to you - drop some lights out into  the water to attract bait fish and then mooch for salmon if you can get the bait fish to come in.

I'd only go out if conditions were stellar and in a group. Sounds like it would be a blast though...I think it would be a killer bite...

-Murf

All really good points...

Probably best to not try this in yaks first but in a boat. Find out if its even legal. Get a system together and see if its even productive (I think it would be though)

I think trolling in a large area might not be the way to go....for safety reasons. You'd want to go out with a few guys using the buddy system. Pick a well defined location to fish that is familiar to you - drop some lights out into  the water to attract bait fish and then mooch for salmon if you can get the bait fish to come in.

I'd only go out if conditions were stellar and in a group. Sounds like it would be a blast though...I think it would be a killer bite...

-Murf

Find out by GS and there's a possibility of getting on a fish pretty close to the launch.

Moss Landing  - Fred,Stuart, Chuck, Kevin and I did good paddling out from Moss Landing at 4AM and getting to the spots / GPS coordinates through local intel  - we had to wear our headlamps at the back of our heads to keep us visible - especially for the boats making their way out of the harbor. The longest paddle we made was 8 miles (one way). Best fishing was half hour before sunrise.

Linda Mar was easier cause there was less boat traffic and we were fly lining frozen chovies 20 to 30 FOW and we paddled less than a mile out. 8 to 12 pounder limits before noon.

Know your limits and know what the weather pattern before heading out to deeper waters.

Moss Landing  - Fred,Stuart, Chuck, Kevin and I did good paddling out from Moss Landing at 4AM and getting to the spots / GPS coordinates through local intel  - we had to wear our headlamps at the back of our heads to keep us visible - especially for the boats making their way out of the harbor. The longest paddle we made was 8 miles (one way). Best fishing was half hour before sunrise.

Linda Mar was easier cause there was less boat traffic and we were fly lining frozen chovies 20 to 30 FOW and we paddled less than a mile out. 8 to 12 pounder limits before noon.

Know your limits and know what the weather pattern before heading out to deeper waters.

if the bait balls were thick - "trooching" was our prefered method