With the long hot days of summer almost here, fishing during the day can be a real challenge. Jet skis, houseboats, runabouts and the hot sun will run any fisherman off the water. But there is a world of fishing available to anglers that venture out after dark. Night fishing has been an accepted practice for a long time and the reasons multiply with practice. Your senses are keen at night. And even though it's impossible to see the fishing line in the dark, here is where the touch for worm fishing is improved.

This is a great time to learn how to fish a plastic worm and the tackle is easy to set up and use. If feeling a strike on a plastic worm has been a problem night fishing will almost always solve it.

Keep it simple on the first few trips. Rig up two sets of spinning outfits, one in a medium tip and the other with a medium heavy tip. On the medium tip rod use 8 pound test line and on medium heavy rod use 10 pound test. Make sure to use fresh line to avoid getting kinks in the line in the dark.

Use small Zoom dark colored finesse worms and a 3/16 ounce slip sinker on both rods with a 1/0 Owner hook. Either the straight or offset hook will work. Rig the outfit with the weight on the line first then add an 8 millimeter plastic or glass bead. The last item is the hook and use the Palomar knot. The worm should be set up on the hook to hang straight. Head to the lake an hour before dark and pick out 5 points and 5 docks close together. This will allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness and let you find some places to fish. It's a good idea to fish close by the ramp to insure you can find your way back. A Lowrance G P S unit can get you back to the ramp too.

When fishing at night be patient and try to fish the worms very slowly. And try to fish the baits all the back until the lure is almost right under the boat. This will allow the baits to get into deeper water where some of the bigger fish spend the summer. Bass can see very well at night and they will be more likely to feed at this time avoiding the noise and the boat traffic. Night fishing is fun and it beats the summer boat traffic.