The Dallas Morning News Ray Sasser column Fishing doesn't stop when the sun goes down

ALBANY, Texas -- It's 2 a.m. under a clear West Texas sky. The night is pitch black, the inky backdrop aided by the darkest moon phase. So many stars are visible that it's difficult to pick out even the most prominent constellations.

The confusion is palpable, akin to spotting family members as sideline cameras pan the crowd at a sold-out football game. Only the Milky Way stands out, resembling wispy clouds a million miles away. Maybe it's raining in the next galaxy. It's not raining in West Texas.

A particularly brilliant shooting star streaks across the horizon, burning itself out in a flash of white-hot fire. It's about the 10th such meteor I've seen since darkness descended, and I was about to mention to David O'Keeffe that night fishermen should mesh their fishing hobby with astronomy.

About then, my companion grunted as he set the hook. In the darkness, a heavy bass slung water as she rose above the surface but could not rid herself of O'Keeffe's hook. He won the brief but violent tussle, then reached down and grabbed the 4-pounder. He admired the fish, unhooked her and slipped her back into the lake.

"I thought that fish was bigger," drawled O'Keeffe in a West Texas accent thick enough to slice. "Everything seems bigger and badder in the dark."

The sky certainly seemed bigger. There's a good reason they call this area near Abilene the Big Country. O'Keeffe is a retired fishing guide who now fishes for fun. To beat the summer heat, he sometimes fishes at night.

With humidity of about 20 percent, the West Texas night was a pleasant 75 degrees, nearly 25 degrees cooler than the blistering heat of the day. There were no other boats on the small lake. We had the place all to ourselves.

I'm not a big fan of night fishing because I've never been a night owl. Besides, fishing to me is a visual sport. I like to see where I'm casting and I like to watch, rather than hear, a fish jumping on my line.

O'Keeffe has the night vision thing figured out. He uses a cap light that clips to the bill of a baseball-style cap. The cap light has three green LED bulbs that cast a wan glow over the water, creating enough light that you can see about as far as you'd care to cast.

I still had trouble with depth perception, but at least I could make out the brush tops that usually hold fish in the small lake. O'Keeffe also positioned a pair of black lights on the gunnels of his bass boat. He fishes with fluorescent line, which glows like an evil serpent in the black light's glow.

Switch the cap light to its emergency flasher mode and it's like disconcerting flashes from a muted disco ball. Mix in a couple of black lights and the whole thing seems pretty retro. Even the fluorescent line appears psychedelic.

"A lot of times, you'll see the line jump before you ever feel the fish bite," O'Keeffe said. "The black light and the fluorescent line is a real asset when you're fighting a big fish. You can instantly tell which way the fish is running and react accordingly."

Another trick used by the veteran angler is to insert rattle chambers into the soft-plastic lures that he favors for night fishing. The rattle chambers are small plastic tubes that contain tiny steel ball bearings. When the plastic worm or lizard is twitched, the ball bearings click against one another, creating a subtle sound that O'Keeffe swears is necessary to attract night bass on this particular lake.

O'Keeffe likes to launch his boat before darkness falls. It's a necessary measure on this small lake, Lake McCarty. The lake has no concrete boat ramp. Launching is done from a rocky shoreline, and daylight helps, particularly since the water level is so low that the usual launch site is not usable.

Once he's on the water, O'Keeffe uses marker buoys to pinpoint submerged structure where he expects to catch bass during the witching hours of darkness. The buoys are hard to see in the dark, so he marks each one with a fluorescent glow stick that makes them easy to see from as far as 100 yards.

"I've got about three spots on this lake where I expect to catch fish," O'Keeffe said. "I just keep moving from one spot to the next. The fish could move up and start feeding at any time. You've got to be there when the fish are there and feeding. I may not catch anything on my best spot until the third or fourth time that I try it."

TIPS ON NIGHT FISHING

O'Keeffe says the moon's gravitational pull is strongest on the full moon or the new moon. Night fishing is usually best three or four nights either side of a bright moon or a dark moon.

Safety is a key concern while night fishing. It's safest to pick one key fishing area, get there before dark and stay until daylight. Operating a boat at night at anything faster than idle speed is very dangerous on most fishing lakes. It's also a good idea to wear a life jacket while night fishing. It's much easier in the dark to become disoriented and fall out of the boat.

Slow-moving, soft-plastic lures are effective at night, but so are lures such as spinnerbaits or Chatter Baits, which create a vibration fish can locate in the dark.

Night fishing works just about any month of the year but is most popular during hot months. This month's new moon is Wednesday. The full moon is Aug. 23. Next month's new moon is Sept. 7, and the full moon is Sept. 22.

Use LED lights such as a cap light (about $16 from Bass Pro Shops). They create enough light to aid visibility but not enough to spook fish. Keep a small flashlight in your pocket or on your belt so it's always handy.

If you get too tired, lie down in the bottom of the boat for a nap. Make sure to leave your running lights illuminated and that your boat is not in a boat run that may be used by other night stalkers.