How To Inshore Fish At Night (Where To Go & What Lures To Use)
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
It’s night fishing time!
Night fishing is a ton of fun (and you can catch monsters)!
But you’ll want to know where to find fish at night, what NOT to do, and what lures work best for night fishing conditions.
Check out this new video to learn more about inshore night fishing!
Inshore Night Fishing Tips [VIDEO]
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Where To Find Fish At Night
Look for fish in the same areas that you’re finding fish during the day.
Especially if you find fish during the day and they aren’t feeding (it could be because they are feeding at night).
Also, keep an eye on docks that may have lights.
Those could be ideal spots to hit at night!
But never go to a new spot at night because you won’t be able to see hazards.
You want to make sure you can safely navigate the area you are fishing.
And a quick tip on using lights at night: the constant lights you see will attract fish.
But you can spook fish when you are using a headlamp and the light is moving around erratically.
Try to keep the light from shining into the water or use the red/green lights made for using at night.
The Best Lures For Night Fishing
Fish focus on sound, vibration, and scent at night.
Here are my go-to lures for inshore night fishing:
- Slam Shady Bomber (big tail causes more vibration)
- Moonwalker topwater lure (causes a lot of commotion on the surface)
- Aqua Dream Weedless Spoon (for flash and vibration)
*Alternatives for the Moonwalker until they are back in stock:
Conclusion
Night fishing can be very productive if you know where to find fish, what lures to bring, and don’t spook off fish with lights!
Do you have other tips and tactics for inshore night fishing?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to try night fishing, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Aaaahhhh sh!@$#% I knew my secret would get out if all of you notice that’s pretty much all I talk about is night fishing you crazy people who love the relentless horribly hot and ungodly humid daytime fishing can have it you all dressing like a Halloween mummy all wrapped up with long sleeve shirts that supposedly keep you cool well that’s a joke because I not only tried it and almost went insane by how much hotter I was but common sence tells me the more cloths you wear the hotter it is for you and for me that’s spot on i personally dont know how you central and south florodians can stand the heat down there to me its maddning to say the least I start fishing late in the evening and go throughout the night then get a little sleep then around a half hour before sunrise start again then at about 10am unless im really into them im off the water i let the crazies have the heat of the day not to mention the more fishing pressure more wind and those extremely selfish thinking they own all the water themselves jetskiers but like i said you all can have it ill take the nights everytime and be home with my catch before you all even break a sweat works for me😁😉
Haha well I prefer to only fish super early in the morning in the summer. I can’t really take the heat after 10am. The long sleeve performance shirts actually do help when you sweat. As your sweat evaporates it takes the heat with it. I also will pour a bottle of water on my shirt to help cool off as well.
Yeah buddy! totally agree with you! Night fishing rocks! Day fishing has been very unproductive with all the pressure from boats and I can’t stand Jet Ski people especially over the weekends! Usually they are punk kids that disrespect running over your lines. I love it when it’s nice and quiet when all the beast fish up. I’m starting to notice a better trend at night than day especially with this hot weather!
I normally don’t fish at night, but now that I’m working night shifts, this was some great information. I’ll have to try this my next night off.
Thank you for the great feedback Steven!
You guys have great videos.
Thank you John!
Thanks
You’re welcome Jerry!
How about a vid on bug repellent and other methods of keeping the bugs off. Especially no see ums. Maybe some product recommendations that have worked for you. Thanks.
Hi Bob! Just chiming in here because I’m the person who gets bit by everything! The only thing I’ve found so far that repels everything is Avon Skin So Soft. But I know different things work for different people!
I can second that Skin So Soft works! We used to stock up on it before going on field exercises when I was in the Army. Definitely keeps the bugs, and nearly everything else, away!
I use “SunSect” SPF15 with deet sun tan lotion, works great in early evening. Can get at BassPro.
Courtney is absolutely correct with Skin so Soft. Many years ago, I pulled into Suwannee River to get fuel just as the sun was setting. the bugs were so bad, I couldn’t even fill up due to the number of bites I had on me. The guy in the store gave me a small bottle of bug spray and I would have paid him anything he wanted. He said it was free since I didn’t know about skin so soft. It was a life saver for sure!
Hey Bob! As many have mentioned, Skin So Soft does work very well. I prefer to not have to mess with any liquids on my hands so I just cover up from head to toe wearing lightweight nylon rain gear. I also use a Thermacell unit that clips on to my belt. Works great as long as it is not too windy since it works by creating a smoke/fog that repels insects.
Yep, rain gear is wonderfully impervious to flying, biting insects. Works well at night when the air is cooler and you can tolerate the lack of circulation. I recall doing evening fieldwork in the Michigan UP and estimating 20,000 blackflies on my rainsuit at any given moment. The pelting of little insect bodies against the nylon was so loud we couldn’t hear the songs of the birds we were there to census. But those rainsuits saved us from being completely exsanguinated by the horrid little beasties.
Tony great points on head lamps. I use red, green, or blue. Purple lures work well for me. I like dark color lures that have a better silhouette.
Thank you for the great feedback Willie!
Tony really enjoyed this. Especially not going to new spots at night. Very sound advice.
I appreciate the great feedback Jonathan, thank you!
Good stuff. Any tips / preferred artificials when bioluminescence is present?
Hey Greg! I have used the same lures and tactics with bioluminescence. The bite can be a bit tougher because the fish will not be moving around as much, so you want to make a lot of casts, and cast to ambush points. Fish don’t want to move until they need to since they can be easily seen when they do.
Hey Tony have you tried going out at night on ML or IR? I get tempted but then I think of how bad the mosquitoes would be and forgot about that idea lol.
I have been on the lagoon at night and yes the bugs can be horrible haha. I wear my lightweight rain gear, gloves, and face buff at night to help keep them at bay. A thermcell unit works wonders as well.