Usually the first three hours of darkness and the last three hours are best but as we all know muskies seem to break all the rules. Bucktails, Spinnerbaits, Surface and Crankbaits are all good choices. Color seems to be important and as long as it's black, black, black or mostly black you can't go wrong. Lakes seem to have their own idiosyncrasies with regard to what lures work best, so experiment. Speed is also important, bucktails, spinnerbaits and crankbaits should be worked at a medium speed and slow down your topwaters to a crawl.
I am not scared of the dark however I don't care for the bats that dive bomb me and even hit a buddy of mine in the back. They are attracted to the sound of the reel. So here is a tip, make sure your reels are well oiled!
For baits I have had success at night with crankbaits such as jointed shallow raiders and depth raiders, Jakes, Ernies and Burts. I like twitching the cranbaits slower at night and slowly working the Burts. I like the weighted Burt because it is louder. I like trolling the crankbaits also around 2.5 MPH especially in the heat of summer in 18 to 25 feet of water. I will also troll large spinnerbaits. Nice thing about night fishing is the occasional Walleye to take home! For color, I like black, white and firetiger. All have been equally productive for me. I like white on darker nights and black on brighter nights. It has worked for me. Have fun and watch out for those bats!
Tom
LOL! The bats will make you flinch once in a while. They'll buzz you as you hang your lure to check for weeds. They need to get close before their sonic sense will tell them that it's not food. I've had more bats than I can count fly between me the tip of my rod. I've never had one hit a lure as it's flying but have had them hit the line. It's nothing to be worried about but it will sometimes add a little pucker factor to night fishing.
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