Hi all, great forum. It is good to know that there are many more fishing obsessed people out there besides myself! I've been fishing for stripers at night for a few years now, mostly with plugs and sometimes eels. I have this weird mental block with fishing flies... I can't imagine how a bass can hone in on a 3" sand eel fly whipping through the current on a pitch black night. A fly sends out no vibrations through the water and makes no noise. I'm not naive enough to think that bass cannot locate flies in the dark, but I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the issue, or maybe some experiences that will motivate people like myself to throw some flies at night?

Although a fly doesn't vibrate, it does create enough of a distortion in the water that fish can pick up on. I believe it would be picked up through the lateral lines.
I didn't fully understand just how sensitive the fish's senses could be until I fished black Sluggo's on a moonless night. There was no available light to give the fish any visual cues, but they were still able to find and strick the lure. even though the vibrations are minimal at best.

been night fishing sparse black flies for stripers for a long time with decent success. i imagine its mostly a visual thing , maybe they just see the dark siluette again the sky. really dunno but give them a try and you wont be disappointed.