Fishing Lights – the Key to Successful Night Fishing

An exciting, exhilarating, and memorable experience – these are words oftentimes used to describe the sport of night fishing.  It’s a recreational activity that is full of enjoyment and expectation, yet it’s uniquely mysterious.  You’re hoping that you land a trophy fish if you hook something and yet and yet you can never be sure of catching anything.  You never know what’s lurking beneath your boat or off the dock and never will until you get it up to the surface.  Therein lies the mystery of night fishing.

Although you can catch lots of fish during the daytime, fishing between dusk and dawn is unlike any other pursuit.  However there are certain species of fish and times during the year when night fishing greatly improves your odds of being successful.  However, if you do go fishing at night, fishing lights are vital components of such an adventure.  It’s not just about being able to see what you’re doing.  It’s about attracting fish to your boat or the dock you’re fishing from.

The Progression of Events

For those of you who are unfamiliar with night fishing in freshwater or saltwater, the progression of events usually transpires as follows.  Fishing lights attract tiny creatures known as plankton (or zooplankton in technical terms).  The plankton attracts the smaller fish (baitfish) such as herring, minnows, and shad which feed on them.  In turn, the larger predator fish such as bass, crappie, redfish, speckled trout, walleye, and other species (depending on where you’re fishing), move in to feed on the baitfish.  At that point, the angler is ready with his or her live bait or lure.  Game on!

3 Types of Fishing Lights

There are three types of lights that are used when fishing at night – submersible fishing lights, floating fishing lights, and black lights.  Not only are these lights used to attract the fish, they can be used in combination with one another.  For example, you can place two floating lights above two submersible ones in order to stretch the amount of visible light from the depths to the surface.  Using different fishing lights in conjunction with one another is a highly effective method for attracting and catching fish at night.

Furthermore, black lights will help you see you’re fishing line, thereby allowing you to determine what’s going on below the surface by not only feeling your line move but seeing it as well.  With the floating and submersible lighting combination, you can see above the water as well.  This is very handy for baiting your hook, tying on hooks and lures to your line, and unhooking the fish you catch.  Remember, there are certain fish that often work the night shift.  And you should be, too.