In article , spamless
wrote:

Never, ever go night fishing, or day fishing for that matter, on your
own.

That's a bit strong. Never start day or night fishing alone but once you
know the risks you can reassess.

Every thing gets very different and extremely scary at night, as an

That has nothing to do with it - part of the fun :-)

You need someone (and they you) in case you get into trouble because you're
unused to the dark. At least by a carp pond you won't have the problems
associated with midnight-wading a seatrout pool...

[ Btw. We are talking carp fishing here which is usually quite sedentary.
If you are intending to fly fish or spin in the dark and will cover a
lot of water in rough country then you do need to crank up the
precautions. For a completely different reason a town water near a
late club might be far more dangerous despite streetlights.
]

scary. This will also enable you to test and refine your bivvy layout,

And DON'T take a bivvy. A tent if you're camping, fine. Your usual
stool/seat/whatever you sit on but if possible take -less- when nightfishing
especially if you intend to change swims to take advantage of the change in
sun direction between dusk and dawn.

it is very easy to trip over your bag when going for a pee in the dark.

Water is dangerous stuff, add the darkness and it gets very dangerous.

Yup. Learn the venue by day first.

For a first time go with at least one other person you trust with your
life and who has been night fishing before.

Every body in your party must be able to swim very well.

Way over the top. Everyone should keep clear of sheer drops so that if you
do go in it's only the embarrassing gloopy mud problem.

Take warm clothes, even if the day is warm it gets bloody cold at night.

And put a space blanket in your pocket.

Take a lot of lights, not just one little torch.

Hmmmm... I quite often go night fishing without any lights at all or maybe
with just a mini-torch 'cos if you have light there's too much temptation to
use it. One small lamp for unhooking maybe and a spare at the bottom of the
bag but get used to tying hooks and baiting by feel or by silhoette against
the sky/moon/glow of distant shopping centre. In fact if you can it's
better not take a bag either - just have a jacket with a lot of big pockets.

Take good quality food and drinks and a method to heat them up, a packet
of crisps at 3:00 AM will do you no good at all.

I prefer a flask as there's less apparatus to carry but it's up to you. You
need something hot and you will get hungry.

Do not try to stay awake all night, tiredness slows reactions which at
best means you lose a fish. Sleep in shifts or rely on a bite alarm to
wake you up.

If you are tired stop fishing and sleep. If you have to be woken by a bite
alarm you will be muzzy and the fish will have a head start. If you sit
quiet with the rod in hand and your ears open and your finger on the line
you will not need an alarm and you'll get the fish in much faster.

Be organised, keep your gear tidy (most people I have seen end up in the
water did so because they shot out of the bivvy when the alarm went off
and tripped over a chair (or bucket or stove or Pod or etc. etc.)

Quite. You don't need anywhere near as much gear and you'll already be
awake so you've much less chance of tripping.

Use common sense, if the bank looks a bit dodgy during the day it will
be twice as hazardous at night when it is wet so don't fish there.

That is first class advice.

Have a contact number you can be reached on and make sure a fully
charged mobile is available at all times.

Yuck. Leave the mobile at home in case someone tries to ring you.

Have fun - Night fishing is great but you must treat ALL water with
respect.


PS

There will be loads of people who don't agree with the above and have
been fishing alone for years and never had a problem etc. etc., I wonder
how many more of these people are not in a position to answer you
anymore?

Interesting point. When you think about it there are remarkably few serious
accidents nightfishing. Maybe because most of those dedicated enough to do
it are likely to have thought it through in advance.

Cheerio,

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