No not wild fires.. the night fishermans albatross... that glow that lights up the water at night when so many one celled critters unite...

anyone on the north shore( Ma) or NH coast that has been out the last few nights realizes how bad it has been..

as i was preparing to go out last night, I had another angler ask me how I was dealing with it.. and if I had been catching.. I said I had been doing OK.. and gave him a few pointers that I will pass along to those who might be struggeling under these conditions..

Rule #1... do not let your presence be known...under intense fire ( a boat prop lit up the water 100' behind the boat and the wake was aglow in silver)... drift when you can.. even an electric motor leaves a silvery commet that most likely looks like a seal or great white to a fish... any sudden movements alert both prey and predator of their presense... bait fish move with the utmost caution so a fast moving bait is un natural.. in shallow water I even lift the main engine to keep turbulance to a minimum..

Rule # 2 go small... thin line.. thin leader and small baits will prevoke more strikes.. I use 15lb mono as my norm.. it's plenty thin... I use 18" of 30lb leader... under these conditions... that leader looks like a hawsaw line... I'll tie direct .. yup I loose a few fish ...gill rakers on fish over 20lbs can cut the 15lb test easily...but If the fish are that fussy.. I'll go that extreme.. and it works...

Small baits are the order of the day..any bait framed in fire looks alot bigger than it is.. if the fish are wary.. they'll take the shortest route to saftey rather than eat your offering.. a word about eels.. I like to fish python sized eels... but not under these conditions... I've got "shoe strings" I've had in my keeper since June...they are long and LEAN... perfect for the mission... I usualy like 'em lively... but not under these conditions... I want them a heart beat away from dead.. that normally whirling, writhing, spinning bass tempter looks like a tasmainian devil under those condition... give en a whack on the noggin to "cool "'em off..

Rule # 3 GO SLOW.. we all know go slow by night.. but i;m talking almost freeze frame here... I cast... pause and slowly lift the rod... taking as much as 30 seconds to reach the 1:00 posistion.. then slowly drop the rod tip as I retrieve line... extreme.. maybe.. but I'll take fish when others are racking their rods in disgust because they can't deal with or believe the fish will eat under these conditions..
Hits under these conditions are rarely violent... most often they are exploratory "nips"... IMHO, my light line gives less resistance. the fish will feel out the bait and if they find it appealing.. it's fish on...so be patient.. dont set up as quicly... I had an instance Tuesday night when a 5 count on a "sleeping" danny found the plug in the fishes mouth.. I missed several early on until i figured it out..once I got the initial bump... I could count to 5.. then set the hooks into flesh with even feeling the fish.. it can be THAT extreme..

Rule #4... if the surfs cranking or your fishing a screaming rip loaded with fire.. everything I said here( rule #3 )goes out the window... under those conditions, the world is a tumbeling confused ( scared) mass.. any baitfish tumbled into it wants to get out of dodge... a fast movement is it's only way to safety...it is not unatural..it is expected...

Hopefully this might help 1 person catch fish on a night when they other wise might only meet pepe le pew..

tight lines all
Roc

there was a lot of fire in the water last night where I was
but there also were no fish of any kind either unfortunately so it didn't matter

that stuff can really screw up the fishing at times


good post joe

15# mono tied direct is a great tip. Fresh mono and a soft rod are a must as its alot stronger than you think it is if using a soft rod like a gsb 120l. It also works extremely well under non fire conditions too when bites are scarce. :uhuh:
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The other night I was fishing a sandbar with a good outgoing flow. The fire was there and would swirl, get disturbed once in awhile. It had to be fish but my line never got tight.

I like dull finish dark purple plugs in fire.
I think lighter plugs reflect the light and aggravate the problem.
I try to fish plugs that run straight like a needle.
As Joe says you need to go slow (which means you need a lighter needle than usual).
I've done well on small skinny skin needles in fire.

The visuals when a big fish hits in close in fire is a fantastic sight. It is really hard not to strike too soon.

I like dull finish dark purple plugs in fire.
I think lighter plugs reflect the light and aggravate the problem.
I try to fish plugs that run straight like a needle.
As Joe says you need to go slow (which means you need a lighter needle than usual).
I've done well on small skinny skin needles in fire.

The visuals when a big fish hits in close in fire is a fantastic sight. It is really hard not to strike too soon.

yes sir..needles can be deadly under those conditions.. aggree on the color too..

These warm water months can be frustrating with the glowing jellyfish.
I usually use needles or if the water is deep enough I will go with a bucktail and pork. Last week I was casting into 15-20' of water and the bucktail really saved the night. Nothing large, but good action for bright water conditions. Jellyfish are usually in the top few feet of the water column, maybe this holds true with the dinoflagellates as well.

Dead stick a pogie head or squid.
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Alright, so last night was the perfect tide and moon for this spot. Me and my brother were stocked up with fat eels and a half dozen riggies of various sizes. We got there and there was not another vehicle to be seen. This was going to be a good night!

As I stepped into the water, I new it wasn't meant to be. There was more fire in the water than I had ever seen - 10 times the amount!. I dipped a riggie in front of me and the entire eel immediately started to glow. I gave it a cast and it looked like a bomb went off. I could see my line all the way out to the riggie and every twitch looked like another bomb. We thought maybe it was just pushed up against the shore so we decided to hitch a ride with the tide out to an outer bar and see what that looked like. No change except for the fact that we were now completely glowing from head to toe. Must have looked like some kind of freaks to anyone in the ocean front houses who may have glanced out the window.

I understand all the tactics to combat it: light leader, smaller presentation, slow to no movement, etc. My question is, do the fish actually stick around when it's like this and just become fussy? There was plenty of bait around but we didn't even get a bump nor did we hear or see any signs of life. I would think it would make the ambush part of their feeding tactics pretty ineffective.

Alright, so last night was the perfect tide and moon for this spot. Me and my brother were stocked up with fat eels and a half dozen riggies of various sizes. We got there and there was not another vehicle to be seen. This was going to be a good night!

As I stepped into the water, I new it wasn't meant to be. There was more fire in the water than I had ever seen - 10 times the amount!. I dipped a riggie in front of me and the entire eel immediately started to glow. I gave it a cast and it looked like a bomb went off. I could see my line all the way out to the riggie and every twitch looked like another bomb. We thought maybe it was just pushed up against the shore so we decided to hitch a ride with the tide out to an outer bar and see what that looked like. No change except for the fact that we were now completely glowing from head to toe. Must have looked like some kind of freaks to anyone in the ocean front houses who may have glanced out the window.

I understand all the tactics to combat it: light leader, smaller presentation, slow to no movement, etc. My question is, do the fish actually stick around when it's like this and just become fussy? There was plenty of bait around but we didn't even get a bump nor did we hear or see any signs of life. I would think it would make the ambush part of their feeding tactics pretty ineffective.

you'l find them in the rougher water where their presence is less likely to be detected.. last few nights anything out side the tumbeling surf zone gets ignored.. plugs or eels in the wash get crushed amost on impact...that where the bait has been.. that's where the fish were..

What a year for bioluminescence -- I don't ever recall seeing it so prominent. Even worse than the large particles (which have been really bad) is the "superfine luminescence." On dark nights, any white water looked like it was subtly lit; my hands actually glowed in the dark after a few hours in the water; white shells on the beach looked like they were under a mild black light; and even kicking over dry sand while walking the beach created fine, glow-in-the-dark splatter. It's been like this for months.

As noted above, I have done especially well in this glowing stuff (during calm conditions) with a small sand eel needle. It's thin (.6"), light (5/8 oz) and it suspends, which means I don't have to impart hardly any movement. When the water gets choppy and/or the moon lights things up, the door opens again on other options -- but this light, little needle has filled this niche very well this year on shallow beaches, especially in flat conditions.

Choopy ?
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Homemade out of hard maple.

Worst I have ever seen in the harbor this year.