# The easy way to learn how to fish dock lights



## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

If you have the opportunity, lay down on a quiet dock and watch how the critters act. Shrimp mostly just drift by. Notice the color of the shrimp. Most are dang near transparent so use clear materials when tying. At night, a lot of the bait fish are nearly transparent.

When tying flies for night time use, make them as sparse as possible. Fake polar bear works for me. Of course, real polar bear hair is better but illegal.

Actually, all of my flies are sparse. They cast easier and fish better too. A few strands of spinner bait skirt adds color and a little flash. Maribou really moves.

My Snook flies are a lot bigger than flies I use for other inshore species but still get eaten by Bass, Trout and Redfish. Generally, my Redfish flies are pretty small. I tie a few flies for Mangrove Snapper on #4 hooks but most everything else is 1/0-4/0. My Tarpon trolling flies are usually tied on circle hooks.


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## olvart (Dec 25, 2014)

Captken,I have the tanned,back half,of an Alaskan Mt Goat.
I had a shoulder mount made many years ago.
What is your opinion of mt goat hair for tying?


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Never tried it.*

I use bucktail or doetail from road kill mostly. Lots of squirrel tail too.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

captken said:


> I use bucktail or doetail from road kill mostly. Lots of squirrel tail too.


deer hair is the best for tying clousers cause it it hollow and if you watch the fly on retrieve it seems to float in the water. i tie a little flashabou with the lead eyes using deer tail hair. like captken said, road kill.
clousers are good for just about any fish from crappie to redfish.
i dye deer hair with cheap coolaid in vinegar overnight. yellow and green makes chartreuse which is the best color in my opinion.

jack


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## tiger297 (Jan 13, 2018)

coolaid and vinegar that is a new one to me. 

I tie mostly with white and use colored sharpies. Buddy says my colors are inconsistent but I just tell him they are unique


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## shadowwalker (Sep 9, 2010)

My best night under the lights for speckle trout, 137 between the 16 and 23 in. We did not count any under fifteen inches, there were a few but not many. There was two of us on the boat. All the fish were caught on #8 white clauser tied with white calf tail and bead chain eyes an a few strands light green crystal flash.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

shadowwalker said:


> My best night under the lights for speckle trout, 137 between the 16 and 23 in. We did not count any under fifteen inches, there were a few but not many. There was two of us on the boat. All the fish were caught on #8 white clauser tied with white calf tail and bead chain eyes an a few strands light green crystal flash.


Those docks still producing or is the bay getting barren? I'm seeing less every year.


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## Fishboy56 (Mar 2, 2013)

what size tippet material are you using under the lights for night fishing


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Man you dug up an old thread.*

8# Fluorocarbon ought to work better than the 8-10# mono I've always used. Down here, I fish mostly for Snook so I use 20# Fluoro at night. Snook head back under the dock as soon as you set the hook. While most are 3# or less, there are plenty that weigh 30# around. If they head for open water, you have a chance if they head for the dock you are screwed as is your fly line. That's why I fish with old lines and beg old lines from fly shops. I had a charter client ruin 3 lines one night. At $50 or more a pop, fly lines are too expensive for me

If you learn to use a level line, you can just keep cutting it back as it gets torn up Distance casting isn't required at night and it doesn't have to be pretty casts either.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*I just noticed the goat hair question.*

I never tried it because there aren't too many Mountain Goats in Florida. I could tell you a little about Black Bear hair but the internet police and tree huggers would cause me too much grief.

I'd definitely try Mountain Goat hair if I had the opportunity.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*I had to amend the original post a bit.*

Lay down on the up-current corner. As a shrimp drifts by, watch how quickly the fish key on him. Shrimp must be confused or blinded by the light and they are easy pickings for predators. On docks with above the surface lighting, approaching bait fish (or shrimp) are back lit and become easy targets for subsurface predators.

I use the little work lights that are often freebies at Harbor Freight. I seal them in heavy duty plastic bags or even vacuum bag the lights. I float them on the surface over spots that hold fish in the day time. This gives me my own private dock lights that I can deploy wherever I want them. No competition other than AH's that try to crash my party. The West jetty at P'cola and the east "wing" jetty in Orange Beach used to be great for your own private lights as was the north wing wall under the Interrarity Point Bridge. Of course, that was in the late 50's through the early 70's.


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