On Marco Island, we have the unique opportunity to fish dock lights. Dock lights, the green lights found underwater off of people’s docks, provide a unique way to target a type of fish called snook. With snook season upon us, here are some tips and tricks to make your dock light fishing successful.
When fishing dock lights, you will be on a boat looking for green lights. These lights hold small baitfish and shrimp, creating a mini ecosystem. Bigger game fish are attracted because of this, and they can be found swimming around these lights. People fish dock lights because they get to see the fish and watch them eat the lure.
The moon phase is significant for dock light fishing. The new moon and full moon have the most gravitational pull, this means the tides will be higher and lower than usual, creating more moving water. Snook use this moving water to their advantage, by sitting there and letting their prey come to them. The full moon also helps with fishing at night, due to the increased amount of light a full moon gives off. Because of this, try and schedule your trip around a full moon.
Finding dock lights is a lot like hunting. In both hunting and dock light fishing, the fun is in the search and the reward of seeing a light with fish already stacked up. Look for green lights underwater, or white lights shining above the water. Avoid blue or any other color besides green and white, the fish seem to only hold up on these colors. You may come up to your first light and see over 20 fish or you might see none. No matter what, keep searching and it will pay off.
Your next question might be what to do once you have found the fish. First off, give them space. Keep your boat as far away from the light as possible while still being in casting distance. You will want to use small presentations like live shrimp, 3-inch soft plastics, or even a fly. Live shrimp can be found at tackle shops, along with soft plastic lures. Clear, pink, or white are your best bet when choosing a lure color. You will want to skip your lure under the dock by keeping your rod tip low, this can take some practice but it’s an important cast to learn. Then reel your bait through the light at a slow pace. Keep your drag pretty tight so that you can pull those big fish out of those docks, you don’t want to leave them any advantage.
Dock lights help attract fish such as snook towards the fishermen.
Planning your night trips in advance is very helpful for dock light fishing. You should watch the weather and wind, you’ll want a night with winds less than 5mph. If this weather happens to fall on a night when the moon is full, get out there and start the search. Always try to stay quiet by not talking loudly, not walking heavily on the boat, or casting and hitting the dock. If you manage to get into casting position without the fish knowing you are there, you will have a huge advantage. Keep in mind that people have tried to catch these fish before
Fishing dock lights have made some of the most memorable nights of my life, it’s one of the most rewarding and visual ways to fish. I highly recommend using what you learned in this article and getting out on the water to make memories for yourself. Just work on skipping your lure, and get prepared for the next full moon. So you can get on some dock light snook yourself.
