# Surf fishing at night



## afout07

I'm thinking about giving surf fishing at night a try. Anyone have any pointers for nighttime surf fishing. I'd be alone if I went. I've been night fishing lots of times before but never on a beach. How does it compare to sitting on a river bank or a lake at night?


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## Bryan_bro

Never turn your back to the water


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## Fish'n Phil

For safety reasons I would not surf fish at night by myself. If you really want to fish at night just go to a pier.


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## afout07

Fish'n Phil said:


> For safety reasons I would not surf fish at night by myself. If you really want to fish at night just go to a pier.


I wouldn't be actually getting in the water if I went. What other safety concerns would you have? I'd love to go with someone from here if anyone would like to go


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## snedfish

keep your night vision, do not use a lot of light and when you do, do not look directly into it. Make sure that you, you equipment and your vehicle if you are driving are out of the reach of the waves. Never shine your lights onto the water. Fish with your rod in your hands.


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## Aristokles

And forget any booze. I never found dark fishing and Rebel Yell a good combo.


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## afout07

Thanks for the tips. Doesn't seem like it's that much different than fishing a river at night


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## saltwaterrunner

agree with fishing phil. Always have someone with you. You can say you won't get in the water but if you get a big bite your adrenalin will fire and you'll be in it. The ocean is not your friend when you can't determine wave heights or current speed. I did that 40 years ago and wound up being dragged into a rip current. Lost my gear but was able to swim my way out. Last time I ever went alone!


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## George Gravier

Get you a good headlamp with a red filter


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## GotchaMack

LOL, some of you guys make surf fishing at night sound like it is terrifying. Surf fishing at night is very relaxing and peaceful to me. Take something to sit on and watch your rod tips against the ambient light if available. If not take a lantern along to light up your rods, and I always have a small flashlight I'll hold in my mouth for cutting bait/rigging/unhooking. I just never got used to the feeling of wearing a headlamp, they annoy me too much. To me, going in the water is out of the question due to what feeds in close at night and not having all senses available to judge the water properly. I have preached for years that if VA fisherman would get off their butts in the fall and early winter and fish at NIGHT in the surf there may actually be a viable surf fishery for stripers in VA. You ask 90% of the guys in New England, New York, and NJ when they do their bass fishing and they will tell you it is in the dark.....with lures for the most part to boot.


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## Islander80

Go to the dollar store and get some of those glow in the dark bracelets. Tape or zip tie them to the end of your rod. The red head lamp is a must. I put reflective tape around my sand spikes.


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## Bryan_bro

Gotcha is correct about the fishing up North. Born and raised in Massachusetts, growing up, we fished 75% of the time in the dark, throwing plugs, in the water, when a big blow came through. With that being said, all the guys knew who was in what spots and when. There is so much beach down here for night fishing and is a great fishery. Don't be afraid to fish at night, just be smart about it. Let someone know where you are and know your limits. We bring out minimal gear (pre-tied rigs and just the lead you will need.) read the beach at low tide the day before so you have an idea of what to expect at night. We go in the water at night during heavy weather for drum and stripers, never any issues because we have the wading boots, and suits to handle colder water and rough current. Night fishing is a blast, opens your eyes to a new way of doing things. Find a suicide run specialist and tag along with them. Tight lines.


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## afout07

GotchaMack said:


> LOL, some of you guys make surf fishing at night sound like it is terrifying. Surf fishing at night is very relaxing and peaceful to me. Take something to sit on and watch your rod tips against the ambient light if available. If not take a lantern along to light up your rods, and I always have a small flashlight I'll hold in my mouth for cutting bait/rigging/unhooking. I just never got used to the feeling of wearing a headlamp, they annoy me too much. To me, going in the water is out of the question due to what feeds in close at night and not having all senses available to judge the water properly. I have preached for years that if VA fisherman would get off their butts in the fall and early winter and fish at NIGHT in the surf there may actually be a viable surf fishery for stripers in VA. You ask 90% of the guys in New England, New York, and NJ when they do their bass fishing and they will tell you it is in the dark.....with lures for the most part to boot.


I have to agree about striper fishing at night. When I lived in ohio, I used to fish below a dam on the ohio river. I always seemed to absolutely crush the stripers at night. Never caught anything huge but got lots of fish in the 20-30 inch range. I wouldn't get into the surf at night regardless of if there are sharks or rays anyways. I think I'm gonna give it a go tomorrow night. I'll report if I go


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## John Smith_inFL

wow -every bit of the above is spot on correct for night fishing !!
I tried night surf fishing a few times years ago . . . 
the cool breeze, the soft constant splashing of the waves, I just wanted to lay
down and sleep LOL ..... (i am not a night person)
all are great tips !! especially the red or blue LED head lamp. (found in the camping section in box stores)


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## REKER

Nope, surf fishing in the fall/winter around these parts is terrible. Stay away and stick to the piers.


Some wise wisdom from Geo, GotchaMack, Islander80 and BryanBro.
Respect the surf like you normally would and the ONLY time you'll wish you had someone with you is when you try landing a big shark or ray. That can be a doozy.


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## pods

We surf fish at night without problems. We set up before dark to get a mental note of the area. They make cheap headlamps that have white and red LEDs. Red for watching stuff and white when needed.
It can be dangerous, but not anymore dangerous than daytime fishing. 
Just know where your gear is to make things easy. Oh, and make sure your basecamp is far up from the waves.
I love the beach at night. Cool, calm and productive.


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## afout07

Well I went out this evening to try night fishing but no luck. Got to the beach around 7 or so hoping to catch some smaller fish for bait. The surf was absolutely full of seaweed. Seemed like as soon as my bait the water it was covered in seaweed so I called it a night. I'll have to try again later. Is there a specific reason why there was so much seaweed? Does wind or anything effect it or is it just random?


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## John Smith_inFL

STORMS at sea stir up the weeds and grass something fierce.
Then, the tides bring them to shore. It could be days after a storm
when you start seeing debris in the surf. So it could have been nice weather
couple of days before you go fishing then the surf is horrible from a storm last week far out at sea.
Just something we have to deal with. We can sometimes predict a trashy surf by watching
the weather patterns at sea where we fish...... just try again - don't give up.
LOL LOL and if you catch a 2 pound fish and pull in 65 pounds of seaweed, makes for a good tussle.

and yes, sometimes it can be completely random. Also, there is a difference between seaweed and grass.
the weed is big mats of stuff stuck together floating on the surface. the grass is long individual stems of the plant 
floating randomly on or below the surface.
the grass can be just as aggravating as the weed mats sometimes. not to mention the garbage that we HUMANS
contribute to the ocean debris.


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## Kam

Curious, why no white lights? Mine has red, blue and I think green in addition but I don't know what is for what.


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## John Smith_inFL

Florida has instituted the NO NIGHT LIGHTS on the beach because it confuses
the newly hatched sea turtles into thinking the lights are the moon light and go in the
wrong direction onto the roadways and get run over.
it is called Project Dark Sky. Even hotels and restaurants on the beach must have blocked
lights that shine towards the beach. in some places, street lights are blocked on the ocean side.
Florida has experimented with the red and blue lights with mixed results.

http://myfwc.com/research/wildlife/sea-turtles/threats/artificial-lighting/


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## Kam

BarefootJohnny said:


> Florida has instituted the NO NIGHT LIGHTS on the beach because it confuses
> the newly hatched sea turtles into thinking the lights are the moon light and go in the
> wrong direction onto the roadways and get run over.
> it is called Project Dark Sky. Even hotels and restaurants on the beach must have blocked
> lights that shine towards the beach. in some places, street lights are blocked on the ocean side.
> Florida has experimented with the red and blue lights with mixed results.
> 
> http://myfwc.com/research/wildlife/sea-turtles/threats/artificial-lighting/
> View attachment 12948


That makes sense for FL but does VA have the same issues. It was sounding to me like a safety issue.


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## Islander80

The thought is that white lights spook fish but red lights do not.


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## gilly21

White lights cause you to loose your natural night vision. Red and blue lights do not hit your corneas as hard and so you return to natural night vision quicker. Try it in your dark closet one time and you will see the difference.


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## afout07

BarefootJohnny said:


> STORMS at sea stir up the weeds and grass something fierce.
> Then, the tides bring them to shore. It could be days after a storm
> when you start seeing debris in the surf. So it could have been nice weather
> couple of days before you go fishing then the surf is horrible from a storm last week far out at sea.
> Just something we have to deal with. We can sometimes predict a trashy surf by watching
> the weather patterns at sea where we fish...... just try again - don't give up.
> LOL LOL and if you catch a 2 pound fish and pull in 65 pounds of seaweed, makes for a good tussle.
> 
> and yes, sometimes it can be completely random. Also, there is a difference between seaweed and grass.
> the weed is big mats of stuff stuck together floating on the surface. the grass is long individual stems of the plant
> floating randomly on or below the surface.
> the grass can be just as aggravating as the weed mats sometimes. not to mention the garbage that we HUMANS
> contribute to the ocean debris.


I believe the stuff was grass. It was just long strands. Either way it was pretty annoying. I don't plan on giving up. Surf fishing is too much fun lol. I might go again this week depending on my work schedule


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## Kam

gilly21 said:


> White lights cause you to loose your natural night vision. Red and blue lights do not hit your corneas as hard and so you return to natural night vision quicker. Try it in your dark closet one time and you will see the difference.


This makes absolute sense, I should have known that as a 36 year old adult. Lol! Thanks!!


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## REKER

Yup, you'll wash your natural night vision ability out pretty quickly with white light. 
A lot of guys think the white light will "spook" fish, which it can and will if you're fishing in close proximity to fish. However, in the surf you don't need to worry about it b/c your light washes out after so many feet (unless you've got one of those Surefire torch headlamps). Fish that are 20+ yards out aren't going to see your light. Plus, they are underwater so there is that filter also.


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## Kam

REKER said:


> Yup, you'll wash your natural night vision ability out pretty quickly with white light.
> A lot of guys think the white light will "spook" fish, which it can and will if you're fishing in close proximity to fish. However, in the surf you don't need to worry about it b/c your light washes out after so many feet (unless you've got one of those Surefire torch headlamps). Fish that are 20+ yards out aren't going to see your light. Plus, they are underwater so there is that filter also.


Then why do people like fishing under the lights if it may spook the fish? I always see plenty of fish at Buckroe under the lights...


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## Kenmefish

Kam said:


> Then why do people like fishing under the lights if it may spook the fish? I always see plenty of fish at Buckroe under the lights...


Good question. The pier lights are permanent and draw bait fish, so the bigger fish come to feed on the little fish. But surf fishermen do not want light because it messes with their night vision. Also headlights that flash out into the ocean may scare the fish close to shore.


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## REKER

Kam said:


> Then why do people like fishing under the lights if it may spook the fish? I always see plenty of fish at Buckroe under the lights...





Kenmefish said:


> Good question. The pier lights are permanent and draw bait fish, so the bigger fish come to feed on the little fish. But surf fishermen do not want light because it messes with their night vision. Also headlights that flash out into the ocean may scare the fish close to shore.


Pretty much it. A constant stream of light is different than a moving light that flashes in and out of the water. Say you're fishing the light line at the CBBT and you can see the fish staged to ambush the baitfish. Now take your flashlight and shine it around and you'll scare those fish off.


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## m30power

Just go at night. Most species around here mainly feed in the shallows at night (Cobia, Sharks, Flounder, Drum, etc.). Cobia come into the surf in groups and sit on the sand bars at night picking clams/crabs and other crustaceans. Ive seen it a bunch in Florida and also here. At first light they all disperse...The bite is best at night. Learn to read the beach and fish the structure on the appropriate tides. You will catch LARGE...so be ready.


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## afout07

m30power said:


> Just go at night. Most species around here mainly feed in the shallows at night (Cobia, Sharks, Flounder, Drum, etc.). Cobia come into the surf in groups and sit on the sand bars at night picking clams/crabs and other crustaceans. Ive seen it a bunch in Florida and also here. At first light they all disperse...The bite is best at night. Learn to read the beach and fish the structure on the appropriate tides. You will catch LARGE...so be ready.


I wouldn't mind some large fish. Not at all. I'm still willing to tag along with someone if anyone plans on hitting sandbridge at night.


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