AS SEEN IN THE NOV/DEC 2005 ISSUE

A sketchy look at pulling inshore gamefish from the shadows.

“Holy cow, you’ve got to be kidding me!” I could barely believe my own eyes. She was huge and she was a lying right there where I though she would be.

It had all the important elements; strong tidal flow, attractive structure, a really bright light, and most importantly, it always held plenty of bait. Nevertheless, the fat 40 incher’ still caught be by surprise.

I ended that chilly December evening just after midnight, having released about a dozen snook, a handful of trout and a small bluefish. Not a bad evening in anyone’s book, and definitely not uncommon when fishing the endless dock lights illuminating the St. Lucie and Indian River Lagoon.

I should mention, regardless where along Florida’s seaboard you reside, this same level of success can be had in your neck of the woods. And since it comes as no surprise that fishing the ICW after dark can produce outstanding results, let’s just take a closer look at a few important tips & tricks to help make the most of every moonlit opportunity.

Pitching baits to residential dock lights has always been a proven method for connecting with snook under the cover of darkness. The beauty of fishing dock lights is the simple fact that it usually only takes minutes to determine if you’ve found a productive spot.

The most yielding lights are those mounted close to the water, which attract the most bait and allow you to see the fish. If the water is murky or your eyes can’t penetrate the glare, just sit tight and study the area. Snook, trout, bluefish, or other species that may be present, will soon reveal themselves by popping on the surface.

At one time or another, many of you may have run across a dock light inhabited by plenty of bait and the snook that are feeding on them, but the fish won’t strike anything you throw at them. If this has ever happened to you, keep reading. I’m confident you’ll run across a few tips in the upcoming paragraphs to overcome this scenario.

Lesson #1 when approaching any dock light believed to be occupied by your intended quarry, kill the engine and take control of the trolling motor. Characteristically, residential docks are generally fairly shallow and most often you’re fishing private areas in someone’s backyard, so stealth is key! The last thing you want is to blow the fish out or worse yet, disturb Mr. & Mrs. Jones from their slumber.

Depending on conditions and your level of experience, it may take minutes or hours before you stumble across a series of dock lights with fish on them. When you do, your goal isn’t to catch one fish; it’s to catch multiple fish, another reason to keep noise and commotion to a minimum.

Once you’ve hit pay dirt, determine which way the tide is flowing and present your fly, jig, or bait, way up-current. How far up? That’s a question that always has a different answer. Depending on the velocity of the current, you may have to throw your bait 3 feet – or in some cases, 30 feet away from the illuminated area. Ideally, your goal is to present your offering in as natural a fashion as possible with each specific situation calling for a slightly different approach.

For the sake of brevity, let’s take a closer look at a few simple guidelines which will help in just about every dock light situation.

*Keep baits small; 3-inches or less. Snook, trout, juvenile tarpon, snapper and other shallow water inhabitants prowling the shadows around dock lights are usually picking off minnows, small pilchards and juvenile crustaceans. A good rule of thumb is to pay close attention to what’s happening right in-front of you and match-the-hatch in both size and pattern of prevalent forage.

*Can’t beat soft plastics include D.O.A. glow shrimp, root beer TerrorEyz, or a CAL shad tail on a bare hook.

*Avoid throwing noisy plugs. This is a common mistake made by many nighttime anglers. Save your bulky stick-baits for bridges, jetties and sea walls.

*If fly-fishing is your cup-of-tea, I recommend a small white polar fibre minnow or clousers.

*For live bait applications, frisky shrimp or finger mullet impaled on a circle hook both make hard to resist offerings.

*As rule, don’t attack the light! First, pick at the edges of the shadow around the perimeter. A big-time error made by many is landing their bait right in the middle of the illuminated sphere. Yes, you may pull one, but good luck catching anything else. Rather, direct your casts so the retrieve sweeps the bait along the edges of the shadow. Your retrieve should be just steady enough to stay in touch with your lure as your bait quarters the fish rather than attacks them head on. Have you ever seen a pilchard take on a big snook head on? I didn’t think so.

Let’s round things out by discussing appropriate tackle and terminal gear for flipping baits at residential docks. To insure the best probable results, keep things simple. Most linesiders lying in ambush in the vicinity of the shadows are usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 28 inches. Yes, on occasion you’ll encounter better quality fish over 15 pounds, but that’s not an every night occurrence. Arm yourself for the average size fish knowing that proper angling skills will still allow you to land the big ones.

Personally, I’m a firm believer fly-fishing provides the stealthiest approach when targeting fish hiding in ambush around residential docks. I throw a range of 6 to 8 weights with clear intermediate lines. Leaders are typically 25 lb. to 30 lb. test and six to nine feet long. There’s no need for IGFA leaders in this application. If you prefer, you can fish with a lighter class tippet, but you’ll lose too many fish to the unforgiving structure. The Stuart Homeboy leader I just described will provide a better chance of pulling fish out from the encrusted docks. Once the fish is in the clear, continue the fight as if you were using a lighter leader. If you don’t, you may end up applying too much pressure and straightening the hook or ripping the fly completely out of the fish’s mouth.

For conventional anglers, rod of choice should be a med/heavy graphite stick in the 10- to 15-pound class. Exact length is a personal preference, but for versatility you can’t go wrong with 7 footers’. To prevent frustrating break-offs, I recommend 20 lb. PowerPro with 30 lb. fluorocarbon leaders somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 to 4 feet long. Do your best to avoid swivels and excess terminal gear. With stealth playing a key role in dock light success, a double uni from super braid to leader and your favorite loop knot to connect the lure or hook will be all you need.

Beware; when fishing dock lights you’re typically around residential properties. Treat homeowners and the area with the utmost respect. Avoid busting off lures on backyard docks for the sake of ruining a great spot, few anglers ever go back to retrieve the excess.

Plan B
If you’re looking for slot size snook and bigger tarpon, the many bridges traversing the inland waterways should be your next go-to spots, especially during the late night hours when vehicle and boat traffic is minimal. All of us know fishing directly off a bridge can be productive, but for the sake of this editorial we’ll be looking at how to effectively approach this fish attracting man-made structure directly from a boat. If you’re a shore-bound angler, continue to read closely as you too will pick up a few tips to help increase your inshore score.

At one time or another just about all bridges hold fish, and while some are more productive than others, most are worthy of your attention. Look for these important elements when determining the best strategy for targeting any particular bridge; current, bait and well defined shadow lines. Are you starting to see a pattern here?

Each bridge holds its own unique characteristics, but there are a number of common factors that come into play with all of them. Once again, avoid excessive noise and approach any bridge with a trolling motor. Ideally, before making your first cast, figure out where the fish will be positioned at any given time, or I should say, at any given tide. Two places you can rest assured both snook and tarpon will be utilizing as ambush points are the shadow lines around the perimeter of the structure, and the structure itself.

It’s obvious where and what the structure is, but on occasion the shadow lines can actually be difficult to define. Depending on lighting conditions, some bridges have an inside shadow line and some an outside shadow-line, while many have both. Regardless, to even stand a chance at success, you need to present your offering directly in the optimal strike zone parallel to these defined shadow lines. This is where proper boat positioning becomes crucial.

During periods of very little moving water, position along the outside shadow line and cast parallel to the bridge. Once the water starts moving again, you’ll need to resituate since the increased velocity of the current will continue to sweep your bait out of the kitchen. To solve the problem, just reposition farther up-current. Simple, right? Not so fast, because in order to attract attention, you still have to present your bait in the optimal strike zone.

Aim your casts carefully. After your lure lands, vary your retrieve accordingly to keep the lure or jig along the most likely ambush points for the maximum period of time.

When you feel it’s time for a change from the outside shadow lines, turn directly toward the structure. Most modern day bridges rest on large concrete abutments built into piling caps, which are the big cement bases that the bridge actually sits on. What many don’t realize is that there are exposed pilings underneath these concrete bases. These secluded hangouts are generally deeper than the surrounding water and provide perfect ambush points for snook, grouper, drum, you name it.

Since depth now comes into play, 9 or 10 weight fly rods loaded with full sinking or intermediate lines are the way to go. I still use the Stuart Homeboy leader system but move up to 40 lb. or 50 lb. fluorocarbon and heavy, 5 inch flies. Proven examples would be big deceivers, large mullet patterns and beefed up polar fibre minnows.

Conventional anglers should also step it up to heavy action, 20 lb. class outfits with 30 lb. PowerPro and 50 lb. leaders. Same as before, avoid swivels by only using line-to-line connections. Start with a heavy drag setting and ease off a bit once you’ve managed to horse the fish far enough away from the jagged structure.

Throwing baits at these concrete bridge abutments is where boys and girls can finally whip out the heavy artillery with Bomber Long As and big Storm swim baits. With the tide, swim your lure along the structure with a bit of a quartering retrieve. These dark areas situated well inside of the shadow lines are where the biggest snook generally hang out, so be prepared for a fight!

For live bait, it’s tough to beat a finger mullet impaled on a jig-head or free lined into the depths with a small shot.

For the sake of everyone involved, night time fishing should only be done in areas where you are very familiar with the waterways. Navigating unfamiliar territory in the pitch black can be hazardous, so extra attention should be paid to details.

Hopefully, this brief refresher course will help you make the most of your late night ICW adventures…just because its wintertime doesn’t mean the action isn’t still red hot!

Bio:
Capt. John Meskauskas is a full time fly and light tackle guide priding himself on patience and professionalism. Stuart, Florida is not only where he was raised but is home to his charter business Grand Slam Guide Service. The business is a tribute to both fishing and baseball. John spent 3 seasons with the Colorado Rockies organization and will always be an avid baseball fan. He guides out of a 2200 Pathfinder and specializes in fishing the St. Lucie and Indian River Lagoon as well as the beaches from Stuart to Fort Pierce. John is a pro staff member for Minn Kota, Oakley, Humminbird, DOA, and Crowder rods. He’s also endorsed by Sage, Tibor and Maverick Boats. Contact Capt. John by visiting www.StuartFlyFishing.com or calling 772.529.4484

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