Photo by Michael Skinner

Methodically, you lift your rod tip a few inches, hold the rod steady until you feel the "tick" of the bait hitting the bottom, return the rod to its former position, reeling a bit to keep the line taut. And then you lift again. You repeat the process until your jig is almost back to the boat and then make another cast into the darkness. And so it goes.

Then something changes, albeit only slightly. You never feel the tick of the bait hitting the bottom. You don't feel a strike either and the line doesn't race off; however, something isn't right, so you set the hook hard. Your instincts were true, and the bass is solidly hooked -- and it feels like a pretty good fish.

Night-fishing often is a touch game. Much depends on what an angler can feel, instead of what he can see, and that is a big part of the appeal of the after-hours approach. Fishing in the dark forces anglers to really focus, and an extra sense of pride comes from feeling an isolated cluster of grass right before a bass thumps a spinnerbait, or from recognizing an absurdly subtle strike without the benefit of seeing the line. Plus, tuning in to everything around causes anglers to notice and enjoy the sounds of frog conversations in the backs of coves and bass busting the surface in the distant darkness.

Other appeals of night-fishing include the opportunity to escape hordes of recreational boaters that invade many reservoirs on summer days, to reduce competition from other fishermen and to stay out of the heat of July afternoons.

Also, of course, there is the fact that bass often feed better at night during midsummer, and they tend to move shallower into areas where they are easier to locate and to catch.

Night-fishing calls for different approaches than most anglers commonly use during the day. Veteran night-fishermen generally use slow approaches, relying on baits that bump along the bottom or swim slowly. Good choices include a jig with a big trailer and rattle chamber, and a big dark-colored, plastic worm or tube. A large red or black spinnerbait with a single, oversized Colorado blade also will account for a lot of nighttime bass.

On calm moonlit nights, some anglers also like topwater lures, especially plugs that gurgle slowly and steadily across the surface and also big buzzbaits. Around marinas, streetlights and other areas that remain illuminated through the night, faster-moving topwater baits and other more aggressive lures like crankbaits and soft-plastic jerkbaits can come into the equation.

Along with altering angling approaches, fishermen must consider lights needed for safe and legal running and for doing things like tying on baits and unhooking fish, and they must carefully consider nighttime navigation. Running lakes after hours calls for more map study, slower speeds and greater care to stay in marked channels than does the daytime approach.

Finding offshore structures or even key areas along banks also can be more difficult at night, especially if an angler does not have a GPS. A good approach if a lake is somewhat unfamiliar to an angler is to arrive a couple of hours before dark and spend those last hours of daylight scouting and setting plans for a night of fishing.

Anglers who want to venture out after hours can find good opportunities on most major reservoirs in South Carolina. However, some lakes are extra appealing to night-fishermen because of the amount of daytime use they typically receive, the normal stinginess of the lake on summer days or the ease of navigation after hours. We've selected a handful of lakes in all parts of the state that are extra appealing for night-fishing. Let's dig into how and where to find the best action on each.