Yes – more excitement in the River's section. And this time we're fishing in the dark. Manshit. You will need:

[1] some dark. The darker the better. In fact if you can't see your hands in front of your face this is perfect. If the moon is out then it's time to go meet the ladies (Carl). Now some anglers will disagree with that, and say that the moon is a good thing. It isn't; they've obviously never been night fishing and are all charlatans.

[2] a headlamp. Don't try it for fish spotting; this annoys the fish and you won't catch any. But a headlamp does come in handy for tying on flies, finding your way through the bush and unhooking fish. You should try not to use your lamp for landing fish – if you can avoid it.

[3] a spare headlamp – so you don't spend an hour feeling your way through the bush when your first one packs up (Paul).

[4] waders are pretty handy, especially if it's cold and you're wading. Just don't tell anyone I said so.

[5] Some flies. Big black ones. Bigger than you think.

[6] sometimes you'll need big dries as well. Like big sedges and mice.

[7] there is no [7]

[8] some strong tippet. I use ten-pound copolymer unless I'm fishing the Terminator. In which case I use 12 lb conventional mono and an eight-weight.

[9] some fuller's earth to piss off Bob.

So assuming you have all of that you are ready to go fish. Now here's some important advice: know your enemy. If you know your enemy then he's not an enemy any more, you're less likely to fall in the river and drown for example. And you'll know where the overhanging trees live and you'll find your way to the river and home again.

You'll also know where to cast and where the Big Fish lives.

Interestingly he may not be where you think.

He may be in very shallow water, perhaps he's roaming the banks. He'll definitely be where the most food is, which could be right under your feet. And any time from late spring through to late autumn he'll be active and feeding. So fish the shallows and tails of the pool first. Try sending a cast downstream and working it along the edge. If that fails then try across the main current before moving on.

Fishing in the dark, more so than fishing in the daylight, is about being organised. For one thing it's dark and difficult to find anything. So have one place for your forceps and always keep them there (and tie yourself to them). Always keep your tippet and flybox in the same places. Know where your spare headlamp lives.

During mid-summer, night fishing can be so good, I'll spend more time fishing nights than daylight. I hardly ever bump into anyone – even in the US where there are more flyfishers than fish – and hooking up with the big fish after dark is a quite thrilling experience (just be careful not to fall in).

I'm not really into Lumos [luminous flies] by the way. Some of my friends swear by them but I don't think you can beat the plain black lure. That's there just to make the column disjointed.

Women don't night fish. [apart from Jeanie]