Myth: You have to fish at night to catch catfish.įact: Catfish feed during all hours, even in the day. I’ll cover them in a future episode of the Catfish Edge podcast. I have some theories about night fishing and some of these myths listed below but they’re pretty long winded. Much of this is due to the fact that there’s a number of patterns and techniques that work really well during the day that are impossible at night. In fact, if given the choice I’ll choose fishing for cats in the day every time.ĭon’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a good night fishing trip now and then but fishing during the day is consistently more productive and generally much easier as well. This can be a huge advantage if you’re trying to beat high winds but can also be a disadvantage as well.įor years summer catfishing for me meant heading out a few hours before dark and driving home at sunrise.Īs I’ve evolved as a fisherman I spend less and less time fishing at night. The wind usually blows less at night so the water is generally much calmer.On busy lakes or rivers there are fewer boats on the water, and rarely any jet skis (jet fleas).The obvious advantage is being much cooler at night than during the day in the summer months, allowing you to beat the heat.I’ll never forget the first time I ever fished at Lake Fairfield here in Texas, skeeter’s the size of hummingbirds. There are simple catfishing techniques that are incredibly productive that night fishing eliminates.More difficult to navigate a boat in the dark, regardless of how well you know the body of water, even with GPS it can be a challenge.Even the simple task of making up a new catfish rig takes longer. If you’re not an experienced angler or have others with you that aren’t experienced, it’s much more cumbersome to fish in the dark. It’s more cumbersome to fish at night due to lack of light (but there’s some ways to help with this).If you think you need to fish at night to catch catfish (or any species of fish for that matter) and never venture out during the day, you’re missing out on some of the best fishing there is. There’s a large group of anglers also that never fish outside of the cover of darkness, and know nothing but night fishing (and they are really missing out). Here in Texas, it’s like fishing on the sun when you hit the lake or river during the day in the summer.įishing during the day (even in the heat) can also be incredibly productive and is preferred by many catfish anglers.
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The truth is night fishing has more to do with the angler than it does the actual ability to catch catfish.įishing during the day in the heat of the summer can be brutally hot, especially if you live in the south. The slight glow of the lantern dimly lights up the night and he’s lazily dangling a fishing rod waiting for old mister whiskers to come along. Think of a guy sitting in a boat or on the shore fishing next to the light of coleman lantern waiting on a catfish to come along. There’s this image people have of catfishing. There was a point and time many years ago that I though that catching good numbers of catfish meant you had to fish at night.Įven flathead catfish can be caught in the day with a little skill and modification of your techniques.
![fishing in the dark mean fishing in the dark mean](http://2bonthewater.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/fishy_today_wp.352153212_std.jpg)
When I respond “usually around first light” then they immediately respond with a rather shocked tone, “you mean you aren’t night fishing, I thought you had to go night fishing to catch catfish?” Starting around March my phone starts ringing off the hook with people who want to fish with me or get information on booking guided catfishing trips.Īfter they get some of their basic inquiries out of the way regarding cost and other pertinent details the next thing that often gets asked is “what time do you start fishing”. There’s also a lot of misunderstanding and bad information surrounding night fishing and catfishing. When it comes to catfishing though, there’s even more interest in night fishing than there is with any other species of freshwater fish. Night fishing is a popular topic among all anglers and something that’s completely misunderstood. If your Uncle Joe handed down his list of catfishing tips and told you that you had to fish at night to catch catfish, you’re doing it all wrong. Let’s take an in-depth look at these common questions and get to the truth about catching catfish at night! Many people think you have to think that you have to fish at night to catch catfish or that catfish bite better at night.