Night fishing

s_c · 08-08-2007, 10:57 PM

A few nights ago I wasn't very tired so i went down to my dock and casted a night crawler with a bobber into only six feet of water. My worm was down about 3-4 feet. I walked away from my rod for about half an hour and came back to a 3 lb smallmouth. Off of my dock there is a large line of rocks for structure so that probably had somthing to do with catching the fish. I was wondering if bass are more active at night then they are around mid-day?

Winnipesaukee Divers · 08-09-2007, 09:11 AM

When we are night diving most of the fish are sleeping and you can touch them, however when they wake up they're gone like a shot. The only things active at night are eels, cusks (I know, it’s not the way it’s spelled), and cat fish and of course the lake monsters...

"Lake monster"... that right, you read that right; Monsters... The famed 14' long, 12" diameter, blood sucking eels.... You couldn't pay me enough to swim in that lake at night without my suit of armor, bang stick and super high powered dive light.

On second though... How much money, you got? Maybe we can work something out...

JTA · 08-09-2007, 10:24 AM

My take is that the larger basses are actively feeding in the early evenings and that they come into shallower waters and closer to shore. Thus "surface poppers" are effective (and fun) at night.

Pineedles · 08-09-2007, 12:23 PM

OK, I'll be the gullible one, what's an Ell?

SIKSUKR · 08-09-2007, 02:04 PM

I would think WD is refering to eels not ells,which are a snakelike fish.

Pineedles · 08-09-2007, 06:31 PM

With a 12" diameter??? That's it no more skinney dipping for me! But, now that you mention it, That must have been what was headed for our dock 2 years ago when I posted the "strange waves" post. Winnipesaukee Divers, have you seen one, ever? Pictures? I say all of this, full well knowing that I am being set-up.

Skipper of the Sea Que · 08-09-2007, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineedles

With a 12" diameter??? That's it no more skinney dipping for me!

I thought it's the snapping turtles ya gota watch out for when skinny dipping

. I've heard that unless they are very very hungry the eels stay much deeper than you will be swimming. The 12" diameter eels are not a problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineedles

That must have been what was headed for our dock 2 years ago when I posted the "strange waves" post. Winnipesaukee Divers, have you seen one, ever? Pictures? I say all of this, full well knowing that I am being set-up.

Would we set you up? Check out the forum archives:
Diver remembers tales of divers seeing balls of eels

Or this one from the Winnipesaukee archives around 2000 Eelin' at the Weirs from a real eel catcher.

Or a forum post from 2004 (note that links in that message do NOT work anymore Secret Lake depth info Same forum name as the people that revealed Nixon's secrets.

It's gota make you think

Right?

We've read about the topic on the forum before.

SteveA · 08-09-2007, 07:51 PM

Forum Archive

Eelin' at the Weirs Bay Hole

Posted By: Fat Jack
Date: Monday, December 18, 2000 at 5:08 p.m.

" i know the Weirs Bay Hole very well. it is indeed 300 feet deep, or more. but it is hard to locate because it is only 30" in diameter. it is actually an old artesian well that had been dug by the colonists back in the eighteenth century, before the lakeport dam was built. at that time, Weirs Beach was some 400 feet closer to Stonedam and the knoll on which the well was dug was some 12 feet above the water surface as it then existed. you have to float right over it on a perfectly calm day to see it, but since the water is less than ten feet deep around it, it is pretty easy to spot if you know where to look. i don't have a GPS, but find it regularly by lining up my landmarks.
the only way to measure it is to drop a weighted line down. an electronic depth finder cannot get an accurate reading down such a narrow hole. but it is filled with eels sleeping near to the bottom during the day, which makes even an accurate sounding with the weighted line tough to take. sometimes the line seems to bottom out at 270 feet, then the eels squirm aside and it drops down another fifty feet.
the eels come squiggling out of the well like bats from a cave just at twilight. i often go out there on hot august evenings and drift dead sucker halves right around the opening on twenty pound test with a stainless steel leader. they'll bite right through monofilament like a bluefish if you don't have that leader. many nights i have taken forty to fifty of the big eels before dark. some of those eels have gone more than twenty-five pounds. you have to gaff and kill them before you pull them on board, because their fangs are like daggers and their incisors are like razor blades. that's how my buddy Ed lost his thumb.
but as dangerous as they are, that sweet meat makes it all worthwhile. I fry them with chili peppers in peanut oil and serve them over white rice. and keep a cooler full of home-made beer handy for washing it down, yum, yum!
I'd just hate to see what those hungry razor-toothed eels would do to a swimmer if they came up and caught one wading by that hole some evening. that would be quite a feeding frenzy to see.
FJ "

I love this site!

upthesaukee · 08-09-2007, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineedles

OK, I'll be the gullible one, what's an Ell?

That would be a misspelled eel, or a singular Ernie, the golfer.

Winnipesaukee Divers · 08-10-2007, 06:41 AM

I guess this would make an habitual offender sort-a-speak. There, I went back a fixed it for you. Man, you guys are tuff, but not that tuff. How would you like to be married to an English Major? If she saw that last post from me, there would be red ink marks all over my computer screen and a dam good scolding to boot. I'll try to do better next time or maybe I won't, to me, it's like water off a duck's back...

Besides, do you know how hard it is to type on this dive computer with dive gloves on??? Well, do you?

Pineedles · 08-10-2007, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee Divers

I guess this would make an habitual offender sort-a-speak. There, I went back a fixed it for you. Man, you guys are tuff, but not that tuff. How would you like to be married to an English Major? If she saw that last post from me, there would be red ink marks all over my computer screen and a dam good scolding to boot. I'll try to do better next time or maybe I won't, to me, it's like water off a duck's back...

Besides, do you know how hard it is to type on this dive computer with dive gloves on??? Well, do you?

Especially when your 300' under water.

Winnipesaukee Divers · 08-10-2007, 07:52 AM

Have you ever been to 300' or even 100' in this lake? That's where the 14' blood sucking ells live... I'm never going there again... Heck, I'm never going to night dive either. They're down there... just waiting for you.

Island Life · 08-10-2007, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winnipesaukee Divers

Have you ever been to 300' or even 100' in this lake? That's where the 14' blood sucking ells live... I'm never going there again... Heck, I'm never going to night dive either. They're down there... just waiting for you.

Thanks a lot WD! After all these years, I'd finally quieted my crazy imagination and let go of a lingering childhood fear of swimming in the lake at night. And now . . . .

secondcurve · 08-11-2007, 11:54 AM

SC:

I believe it is illegal to leave a fishing line unattended unless you are fishing for Cusk. Maybe Skip can clarify this?

hilltopper · 08-24-2007, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

SC:

I believe it is illegal to leave a fishing line unattended unless you are fishing for Cusk. Maybe Skip can clarify this?

That is correct for all fishing except ice fishing for cusk where lines only need to be checked once over a 24 hour period. Careful SC. If you're unlucky enough to run into a Game Warden, you will get ticketed.

Coolbreeze · 08-24-2007, 08:33 PM

We had a natural cavecavern near our old place. Back in the eighties when there was a drought in the region, the lake water level was lower than normal and we attempted to go into the cave with masks and snorkels. Much to our surprise, we made it in at least twenty feet and had to retreat becuase it was too dark. There was enough space at the top surface and bottom of the cavern to get a breath but it was really roky and slimey to try and hold on to. We skillfully put a flashlight in a baggie and taped it up and went back in. We made it about five feet further than before. We spent a few minutes exploring the bottom and saw what we thought were small bones of raccoons. Just before we finished and were leaving, the light of the flashlite illuminated at least 2 sets of glowing green reflective eyes staring at us under water. The rough size of the heads was about the size of volley balls. We made them out to be some knid of catfish or eel. We never did venture back in again. However we did loose our dog to the lake on fall evening and never recovered her, the waves took her ball into the opening of the cavern and she disappeared into the darkness. We freaked out, tried to go after her hysterically crying, but she was gone and never did resurface. We sold the place two years later.

08-08-2007, 10:57 PM	#1
s_c Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Night fishing A few nights ago I wasn't very tired so i went down to my dock and casted a night crawler with a bobber into only six feet of water. My worm was down about 3-4 feet. I walked away from my rod for about half an hour and came back to a 3 lb smallmouth. Off of my dock there is a large line of rocks for structure so that probably had somthing to do with catching the fish. I was wondering if bass are more active at night then they are around mid-day?

08-09-2007, 09:11 AM	#2
Winnipesaukee Divers Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Exeter, NH or @ WCYC on weekends Posts: 250 Thanks: 7 Thanked 46 Times in 28 Posts	Night diving is more fun... When we are night diving most of the fish are sleeping and you can touch them, however when they wake up they're gone like a shot. The only things active at night are eels, cusks (I know, it’s not the way it’s spelled), and cat fish and of course the lake monsters... "Lake monster"... that right, you read that right; Monsters... The famed 14' long, 12" diameter, blood sucking eels.... You couldn't pay me enough to swim in that lake at night without my suit of armor, bang stick and super high powered dive light. On second though... How much money, you got? Maybe we can work something out... Last edited by Winnipesaukee Divers; 08-10-2007 at 06:21 AM.

08-09-2007, 12:23 PM	#4
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,535 Thanks: 1,059 Thanked 652 Times in 363 Posts	Ells? OK, I'll be the gullible one, what's an Ell?

08-09-2007, 02:04 PM	#5
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	I would think WD is refering to eels not ells,which are a snakelike fish. __________________ SIKSUKR

08-09-2007, 06:31 PM	#6
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,535 Thanks: 1,059 Thanked 652 Times in 363 Posts	fourteen foot EELS? With a 12" diameter??? That's it no more skinney dipping for me! But, now that you mention it, That must have been what was headed for our dock 2 years ago when I posted the "strange waves" post. Winnipesaukee Divers, have you seen one, ever? Pictures? I say all of this, full well knowing that I am being set-up.

08-09-2007, 10:24 AM	#3
JTA Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Fort Pierce, Florida Posts: 233 Thanks: 33 Thanked 25 Times in 21 Posts	My take is that the larger basses are actively feeding in the early evenings and that they come into shallower waters and closer to shore. Thus "surface poppers" are effective (and fun) at night.

08-09-2007, 07:51 PM	#8
SteveA Deceased Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilford, NH Posts: 2,311 Thanks: 1,070 Thanked 2,054 Times in 497 Posts	OK... someones leg is being pulled here (LOL) Forum Archive Eelin' at the Weirs Bay Hole Posted By: Fat Jack Date: Monday, December 18, 2000 at 5:08 p.m. " i know the Weirs Bay Hole very well. it is indeed 300 feet deep, or more. but it is hard to locate because it is only 30" in diameter. it is actually an old artesian well that had been dug by the colonists back in the eighteenth century, before the lakeport dam was built. at that time, Weirs Beach was some 400 feet closer to Stonedam and the knoll on which the well was dug was some 12 feet above the water surface as it then existed. you have to float right over it on a perfectly calm day to see it, but since the water is less than ten feet deep around it, it is pretty easy to spot if you know where to look. i don't have a GPS, but find it regularly by lining up my landmarks. the only way to measure it is to drop a weighted line down. an electronic depth finder cannot get an accurate reading down such a narrow hole. but it is filled with eels sleeping near to the bottom during the day, which makes even an accurate sounding with the weighted line tough to take. sometimes the line seems to bottom out at 270 feet, then the eels squirm aside and it drops down another fifty feet. the eels come squiggling out of the well like bats from a cave just at twilight. i often go out there on hot august evenings and drift dead sucker halves right around the opening on twenty pound test with a stainless steel leader. they'll bite right through monofilament like a bluefish if you don't have that leader. many nights i have taken forty to fifty of the big eels before dark. some of those eels have gone more than twenty-five pounds. you have to gaff and kill them before you pull them on board, because their fangs are like daggers and their incisors are like razor blades. that's how my buddy Ed lost his thumb. but as dangerous as they are, that sweet meat makes it all worthwhile. I fry them with chili peppers in peanut oil and serve them over white rice. and keep a cooler full of home-made beer handy for washing it down, yum, yum! I'd just hate to see what those hungry razor-toothed eels would do to a swimmer if they came up and caught one wading by that hole some evening. that would be quite a feeding frenzy to see. FJ " I love this site! __________________ "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry he'll be a mile away and barefoot!" unknown

08-10-2007, 06:41 AM	#10
Winnipesaukee Divers Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Exeter, NH or @ WCYC on weekends Posts: 250 Thanks: 7 Thanked 46 Times in 28 Posts	Busted by the spelling police again.... I guess this would make an habitual offender sort-a-speak. There, I went back a fixed it for you. Man, you guys are tuff, but not that tuff. How would you like to be married to an English Major? If she saw that last post from me, there would be red ink marks all over my computer screen and a dam good scolding to boot. I'll try to do better next time or maybe I won't, to me, it's like water off a duck's back... Besides, do you know how hard it is to type on this dive computer with dive gloves on??? Well, do you?

08-10-2007, 07:52 AM	#12
Winnipesaukee Divers Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Exeter, NH or @ WCYC on weekends Posts: 250 Thanks: 7 Thanked 46 Times in 28 Posts	Who dives 300' down? Have you ever been to 300' or even 100' in this lake? That's where the 14' blood sucking ells live... I'm never going there again... Heck, I'm never going to night dive either. They're down there... just waiting for you.

08-11-2007, 11:54 AM	#14
secondcurve Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 2,084 Thanks: 1,267 Thanked 557 Times in 286 Posts	SC: I believe it is illegal to leave a fishing line unattended unless you are fishing for Cusk. Maybe Skip can clarify this?

08-24-2007, 08:33 PM	#16
Coolbreeze Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 332 Thanks: 0 Thanked 51 Times in 26 Posts	We had a natural cavecavern near our old place. Back in the eighties when there was a drought in the region, the lake water level was lower than normal and we attempted to go into the cave with masks and snorkels. Much to our surprise, we made it in at least twenty feet and had to retreat becuase it was too dark. There was enough space at the top surface and bottom of the cavern to get a breath but it was really roky and slimey to try and hold on to. We skillfully put a flashlight in a baggie and taped it up and went back in. We made it about five feet further than before. We spent a few minutes exploring the bottom and saw what we thought were small bones of raccoons. Just before we finished and were leaving, the light of the flashlite illuminated at least 2 sets of glowing green reflective eyes staring at us under water. The rough size of the heads was about the size of volley balls. We made them out to be some knid of catfish or eel. We never did venture back in again. However we did loose our dog to the lake on fall evening and never recovered her, the waves took her ball into the opening of the cavern and she disappeared into the darkness. We freaked out, tried to go after her hysterically crying, but she was gone and never did resurface. We sold the place two years later.