Night fishing can be another way to add a different dimension to your fishing, there are many benefits including lack of boat traffic, calmer winds and more comfortable temperatures. It definitely  has some disadvantages also but these can usually be overcome with some careful preparation.

The lack of light can be a concern when there are a lot of boats out and you are floating around in a 4.5m piece of plastic in the middle of the night. I use an all round light that I keep on at all times, a reflective safety flag and also a good quality headlamp for tying knots, re-baiting and removing fish. DONT FORGET YOUR GLASSES! (if you require them) this can be frustrating, I speak from experience here with knot tying at night being impossible without them these days. I try and fish nights when there is a decent moon out which increases your long distance vision and also helps you to feel more comfortable.

If fishing saltwater at night I tend to stick to bait fishing using either yabbies, worms or live bait but I also have been successful with poppers and surface lures after the sun has disappeared. Poppers and surface lures are deadly on the impoundment Barra  after dark with soft plastic frogs and large bubble poppers being my “go to” lures.

A 48cm Grunter taken on Yabbies

Winter time sees large numbers of quality Whiting run through our estuary systems but some good specimens can definitely be extracted during the summer months. My bait of preference for this species has always been Yabbies but lately I have found that sand worms catch consistently larger fish and in more numbers. Targeting Whiting at night can lead to unsuspected by-catch such as Tarpon, Grunter, Bream and the usual unwanted Stingray’s and Shovelnose.

A 38cm Whiting caught on Yabbies

Blubber lip bream are a species caught a lot at night

Large Shovel Nose such as this are great sport but always a little disappointing

Tarpon are a great sportfish and a real handful on light gear

With the full moon approaching with the easter long weekend it might just be the chance to avoid the fishing crowds and drop a line at night. Whether it be in a Yak, Boat or Landbased be safe and ensure that you can be seen by others.

“MACKAYAKKA”