Thread: Night fishing at docks question

What makes fish bite at night at some docks, like Arcadia (the way they used to), Fuqua in S. Oklahoma, and others? Is it the automatic lights?

I've gone out to the dock at CB and never had a bite.

i have always thought it was the lights as well as the heat from heater/lights. as u know the lights and slightly warmer water bring the bait fish then come the crappie.

bugs......


light works better in the summer when bugs are present. light attracts bugs, bugs attract minnows, minnows attract crappie, crappie attract crappie fishermen.:D

bugs.....

if u want to get technical the light attracts small microorganism similar to plankton that bait fish like minnows and shad feed on then u know the rest of the story.

I would say it's a combination of the concentration of brush under most heated docks and the lights. but what will really make the fish bite good nowadays is dont use any weight on your line it takes alot longer to reach the right depth but the past couple years i found that this seems to catch'em more often than trying to sink it down to'em in a hurry. good luck!

Great question. I too, have been out to LCB many times at night (in all 4 seasons) and haven't had much luck. Another lake that I frequent, Shawnee Twin, is the same way. But then you've got others like Ft Cobb, Arcadia, Gibson, etc. that have better night bites than daytime. I just attribute it to the individual lake's feeding times.

Have you ever noticed that most lakes that have a strong dawn/dusk bite, usually have a midnight bite? It's like the fish feed in waves every 3-4 hours. If you miss the dusk bite, it'll be several hours before anything bites again. But the lakes that seem to have a good night bite don't tend to have a dramatically active dawn/dusk "happy hour."

Usually, but not always, you'll find a better night bite when the water is at it's warmest, and/ or clearest. When lakes have off color, or stained water, the bite is better during the day.

i say this knowing I have caught fish in downfight dirty water at night w/ lights.

The zooplankton rises from the depths at night to feed near the surface. The lights attract and concentrates the zooplankton. You know the rest of the story. The lights that come on automatically every night, night after night creates a pattern. The minnows and predators follow the nightly pattern.