[roostertail24]

Rainy day, not working so i'm recklessly starting threads ha ha. Going fishing anyway now tho. I looked up speckled trout on Wikipedia and it said a technique for catching them at night is to throw out a light stick and then cast around it. There is even a short video of it on there. Anyone tried this? I can imagine you would want to leave it sit for 15 minutes or so first in a trouty area before you started casting.

 

[hawkdawg]

I tried finding the video on YouTube but no luck. Anything I can search to find it easier? Sounds like something is like to look at.

 

[roostertail24]

The video is here on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynoscion_nebulosus

 

[TarheelFishing88]

I tried finding the video on YouTube but no luck. Anything I can search to find it easier? Sounds like something is like to look at.

Yeah. The video is just on wikipedia if you search spotted sea trout. You'll see if you scroll down.

 

[sundrop]

Lights at night are used for a lot of species. Lights draw baitfish and shrimp, so the fish will follow if they are around and hungry.

 

[dbeam]

That is interesting

Darrell

 

[steven.brewster]

Specks

I ran this down some time ago and I have experimented with it a little. First I'll give you the facts.

- I saw a guy put out a light with a styrofoam frame to keep it out of the water. Regular bulb (yellow light) that was run off a car battery and within about 1 hour there were mullet schools swarming it but no predators.

- I tried my LED flounder light bar (much brighter than the styrofoam base light but it is white light) for several hours in the same area and it appeared to have no effect.

- There are lights (about 5 feet off the water) under a bridge on the ICW where I fish that will draw SWARMS of blues and ladyfish there eating the mullet and glass minnows drawn to the light. Literally a fish every cast but no trout that I have ever caught or seen caught.

Now I will give you the suspicion/wild goose chase stuff.

- It is suggested that the color of the lights matter and from what I have seen this is true. The lights in the videos I have seen are green, extremely bright, and usually submerged. If they are submerged it is in a way that they point directly upward and I have no idea why but I think this matters as i have never seen lights work unless they are over the water and point directly down or on the bottom and point up.

- I think the lights wont work very well unless they are still. If you've ever shined a very bright light over a lot of mullet laying on a flat at night you know it does anything but attract them.

- I don't think a glowstick or even a wad of glowsticks will do the job very well in water that is even a little murky unless it is the only light in the area at all and even then the effect will probably be small.


I am very interested to know if your idea works and if you are at all local to Jacksonville and would like some company I would be happy to come run some tests with you.

 

[Tackleboxhero]

When I was young, I used to catch gray trout up north around pier lights. The good fish always prowl the edge of the lighting.

 

[roostertail24]

There is dock on a creek I often fish that has a light on the bottom of the dock pointing down into the water. I was night fishing once last year and heard that slurping sound coming from there every so often so I went over to investigate. There were probably 15 trout of all sizes swimming around in the light. I had been cut bait fishing so I backed up to tie on a doa shrimp to throw under there and by the time I got back all that was there were croaker and pinfish swimming around the light. The trout went there for a few minutes, ate until they were full, and left. At least that's what I think because they weren't payin me or my yak any mind.

 

[yellowdog]

I fish the west coast of Florida several times a year and can say the dock lights hold fish. Rarely will I see the trout or snook, but they are there. We put a live shrimp on a small hook and toss it at the edge of the lights for the trout. The snook hang deeper near the pilings. You toss that shrimp under the dock and hold on. After you catch a few trout, they either get wary or, you catch'em all, because they quit biting. You then move to the next dock.
The bridges there hold fish also. Snook, trout, and tarpon. Once again the edges of the lights are the place to start.
Hope this helps.

 

[brickphil]

I'm putting my floating light out here soon to see what happens.....

 

[brickphil]

Battery end was corroded......will try tomorrow night.

 

[sundrop]

I used the old floating lights (car headlight surrounded by Styrofoam is all it was ) for Crappie for years. I do think the green underwater lights would work better because light from above can mean predator, and might spook the older smarter fish, or skittish species. Always fish outside of the light not in it. I have watched cats and striper wander into my lighted area then sink back with their tails to the light. I think they keep their eyes adjusted to the darkness and grab baitfish that are blinded by the bright light and wandering into the dark. YOu might have one blast through once in awhile but they primarily stay out of the lighted circle.

 

[brickphil]

All I got was a bunch of glass minnows and some really weird looking (maybe tiny baby eels?) 2" long worm looking things. Small shrimp would cruise thru and the quik moving mullet would blast by to.

No fish.....targeted fish anyway.

 

[philjam]

For many years fished the rt.50 bridge in OC MD at night around the bridge lights. Would slowly swim a tout rig in circles and it was usually a sure thing for gray trout. Then one year we were skunked and that was that. The next time I went back people were fishing for rock at night off the bridge and nobody even heard of a trout being caught. Have no idea what happened but it was good while it lasted. Oh by the way, punks would throw things from cars. It got so bad the city put up a fence like you would see at a roadhouse to protect the band.