# Night Fishing Indian River New Smyrna



## swaddict

Try the docks just north of the north causeway.  Also the docks in Daytona, fish the docks with the bigger boats


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## phishphood

We were out there too and ran into pretty much the same thing. We had one dock give up two 16"ers and one 13" mangrove, but that was it. We saw lots of bigger fish way back under the docks that were content to watch their younger brothers get flat worn out. We finished with 35 trout and the grover in just over 3 hours. Fun fishing for sure.


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## skinny_water

I don't really know what you have for an ecosystem over there compared to what we have in Sarasota/Tampa.

I will speak for what I know of my area, and hope it translates over for you.

Not all dock lights are equal. I can go any night of the week and see 200 lights. Of the 200 only 15 or so actually hold good fish. Some things they have in common. 

The larger numbers of fish will be in the higher current areas. They like the food to be brought to them. They are usually juvenile fish. There are larger fish mixed in you just have to know how to feed them. If you are throwing smaller baits you will be robbed by the babies. Quick story from a couple weeks ago. We were sitting on this dock with fish that had been heavily pressured, probably 2 or 3 boats there before us. We were fly fishing. There must have been 30 or 40 Snook sitting on these 2 dock lights and all of them were under 20". We casted at them for at least half an hour with no success. I hooked the dock and actually had to go and retrieve the fly. We pulled up to them using the trolling motor, I got my fly and we pushed off. The fish didn't even flinch! As I was about 15ft away from the light a pinfish the size of my hand (not small) came into the light on the surface. It made a run for it and it looked like it spooked out the little fish. I quickly thought... I didn't spook them with the troller, WTF?!?! The pinfish made a second dart across the light and up from the bottom came Snook. None of them were under 6-7lbs. They were on a mission. They killed that pin, without hesitation. The dink Snook knew there place in the food chain. In the higher current areas start sizing up your baits until you get the fish you really want.

Large Trout seem to like medium current areas. Look for canals just off the ICW. The larger Trout are harder to feed. They are less reckless. Down here the big trout and the small trout don't hang out together. If you catch a small one don't expect them to size up. I find my larger Trout on docks with medium sized Snook. They don't stack up like higher current areas. They tend to swim around the lights. Follow the basic 2x2 rule (lead the fish) and put it in front on them, you will get an eat!

Last is resident fish. The biggest Snook we are getting on fly are resident. They are the hardest to find, but usually the best eating fish. Key is to be QUIET! These fish don't have chop slapping around on docks, or boats going by all the time so if they hear something they are on high alert. Look for larger boats with bottom paint. The Snook like the heat that is given off by the bottom paint! Look for docks that are older than 3 years. Most canal systems are man made and they don't have the ecosystem to support fish. It usually takes about 3 years for them to develop. Keys for a good ecosystem are barnacles and feeder fish. The fish on these lights lay in them like logs. They sit still and wait for something to come into there view. If you are super quiet you can hit them on the nose and get an eat. If you are live bait fishing. Cast over the light and keep your rod tip high. Reel your bait just into the light and let it swim freely. You should be able to pull out a couple before they spook. This is a resident fish. He chased the fly from 5ft away!









The key is to be quiet and do your research. If you catch a couple of fish on a dock move to the next one. Watch your tides. Fish in higher current areas eat better with moving water. Fish in canals don't care.

Hope this helps a little bit! If you have any questions I will try my best to help you out!

-Richard


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## luckovertme

i recently moved to the NSB area, and have tried the dock light fishing, a first for me. and i have never had any luck. i understand the tide has a lot to do with it but what about time at night? i think i always go too early like 9pm-11pm is that too early?


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## deerfly

time can be a factor but generally things can get going once it's dark enough for the lights to attract and hold bait. Current will be a factor in bringing quantities of bait through the lighted areas. Local boat traffic can be an issue too. If you had to pick a time window though, barring better local knowledge, the couple hours or so before first light is usually a good bet.


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## JRH

I have not night fished NSB since the freeze this past winter, but all my past success is summed up here:



> Try the docks just north of the north causeway.  Also the docks in Daytona, fish the docks with the bigger boats


Outgoing tide. As you get closer to the inlet make sure you have a good anchor.


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