The lake is peaceful at night. It's also cooler and calmer. For some anglers, nighttime is the best time to fish.
"You're always trying to catch that big one," Charles Harp said, but when he has the opportunity, he likes to go after it at night.
Although some night fisherman use black lights and fluorescent lines, Harp doesn't use any specialized gear. He likes to fish by feel rather than sight.
You don't always feel a bite, he explained. Sometimes the line just goes slack if the fish takes the bait and swims toward the boat. You can feel a slack line if you're paying attention, he said.
Fish don't sleep, Darrell Bowman confirmed, but they spend some time resting and have a regular cycle. But their cycle isn't geared toward periods of light or darkness.
"You can't think of it in human terms," said Bowman, Bella Vista Village's lakes ecologist and fisheries manager. A fish may eat for an hour and then rest for an hour, but that could change depending on the season or the food supply.
In the hot-weather months, the Bella Vista Bass Club holds it tournaments at night because of a Property Owners Association policy, Harp said. The tournaments have a maximum of 16 boats or 32 people, but they don't always fill up, he said. Usually each tournament draws 12 or 13 boats, and some anglers prefer to fish alone and don't want to share their boat with a buddy.
Bowman said the POA policy about summertime fishing tournaments was developed to protect the fish that are contained in boats during the event. Warm water in a live well is hard on fish, and the live wells are usually filled directly from the lake as the boat is launched. At one time it seemed an evening tournament would help the fish survive to be released. But, he said, in practice, the nighttime tournaments don't really help because the live wells are filled in early evening when the water is at its warmest temperatures.
However, Bowman said, he gets very few complaints from anyone about fishing tournaments.
The competition is what draws many anglers to tournaments, Harp said. As people age, they're less able to participate in other sports, but a person is never too old to fish. Also, he enjoys the camaraderie that goes along with a group of adults doing something just for fun.
Although he's outside in the darkest part of the night, Harp said it's never completely dark on Bella Vista lakes. The homes around the water all have some kind of light.
The most recent tournament was held when the moon was full on a Saturday. A lot of people believe the full moon will make fishing better, but, Harp said, he's never seen that kind of result.
Safety is always a concern for anglers, Harp said, and fishing at night means extra safety.
First, anglers should wear their life jackets at all times. If you fall out of a boat at night, it may take longer for someone to find you, he explained.
Next, every boat needs to have its stern light on when it's not moving and its bow and stern lights on when it is moving.
"Any lake you go to, you find people with no lights," he remarked. So every driver should slow down and proceed with caution.
Although the stern light may draw some bugs, it doesn't affect the fishing, Harp said. And it makes a stopped boat easier to see.
Lately, Harp said his schedule makes night fishing difficult, so he's been fishing in the early mornings. But whenever he gets the chance to go out and enjoy nighttime on the lakes, he goes.
Sports on 08/20/2014