Back to the presentations. I like spinners with big blades. It's tough to beat nickel (silver) with a darker body. I like bigger targets in general at night, so I'll choose a big lure like a 10-inch Jake rather than smaller crankbaits. Depending on the structure I'm fishing and its depth, I choose lures to run effectively in that zone. If it's shallow, the in-line spinner gets the nod, or a shallower-running crankbait like a big Stalker. If it's deeper, I run with the heavy spinnerbait, the Jake or a deeper diver. Both of these presentations are very efficient and offer great hooking percentages. Try different things with retrieves -- don't stick with slow and straight only. Be aware that spinner hits at night can be very soft, so stay on your toes.

I mentioned jerkbaits, and they do work well. I've caught many muskies on a weighted Burt jerkbait. Sometimes this will just be what they are in the mood for. Soft plastics like the Bulldawg can work very well, especially on breaks.

One of the last lures I'll choose to try, and they are always tested from the back of the boat, are surface lures. Most of the time, a hungry muskie that would hit a topwater at night will also hit spinners and cranks. I love topwaters, but muskies miss them often at night -- and people twitch -- which results in a very low hooking/landing percentage overall. Try them if nothing else is working.

Trolling can be very effective at night, too, and is definitely the way to go on large, flat areas or open water -- where legal. Yes, I've caught suspended muskies at night, too.

Here are a few other things to consider. You have to be able to see, so headlamps for all are a must. A spotlight isn't absolutely necessary, but nice. I haven't done it, but I know some successful anglers who have basically rigged their boats so they are lit up so they can actually see their retrieve finishes and do figure-8s. They say "soft" light and gradual change don't bother the fish at boatside. I do know that "surprise" light is a problem though from filming TV shows. They hate camera lights, and they leave quickly.

I use glow tape on the backs of lures, and small squares or circles on spinner blades just to help see the lure return to the boat. Use Super Glue around edges of tape. Boatside figure-8s or circles are vital at night. I have much higher percentages of boatside strikes at night than during the day. Do them every time -- large and wide.

Finally, the one thing that can mess with you at night is looking at bright light after having your eyes adjusted to night vision. This is where some of the new technology is tremendous. I don't want to have to concentrate on the graph much at night anyway, so what I will do on some of my popular spots is save a plotter trail on my GPS, or just run the edge of a spot I plan to fish later during the day, and that trail will still be up. What's nice is on the big Lowrance 111C that I use, I will go to night-vision mode and be only looking at the GPS. It makes boat control much simpler and precise, and you don't have to wait for your eyes to readjust.

Tight night lines!