Surf Fishing with Lures at Night. Can it be Productive?

Surf fishing at night is generally more rewarding than during daytime.

Fish feel more comfortable approaching the shore during low light hours, as darkness makes it much safer to leave the shelter and search for food.

In turn, predatory fish take advantage of the darkness to ambush and deceive unwary prey.

So in shorter terms, you are likely to find more fish in within your casting range at night. That means more bites, more rod shakes, and eventually, more catches.

But can we consider this to be true regardless of the bait we use? Are there baits that perform better during the day and work poorly at night? What about lures? We know lures are very effective for surf fishing. Are they also good for the night?

In other words, can you surf fish with lures at night and still have a good catch rate?

That’s what we’re going to answer today. In this article, we will discuss the effectiveness of lures when surf fishing at night and the most rewarding lures for this purpose.

So let’s dive in

Yes, lures can be very effective when surf fishing at night. Retrieving lures creates vibrations and sounds in the water body, which draws the attention of fish and entices them to strike. However, surf anglers should choose lures that mimic prey behavior for best results. Additionally, dark surface lures tend to be more productive when fishing at night because they create sharper contrasts.

Why use lures for night surf fishing?

I mean, fish can’t see well in darkness. So isn’t it better to go with smelly chunks of dead bait to attract them at night? Why use lures here?

Well, fish do not rely solely on their sight and smell to feed. Their hearing plays an important role too.

Many experienced fishermen believe that fish are attracted to subtle sounds in their surroundings. This is where lures can be very useful at night.

When it’s dark out there and fish can’t spot your offerings easily, the clicking sound some lures produce as they move in the water can draw eyes to your hook and therefore bring in some bites.

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Such lures can therefore compensate for the low visibility and expose your offer to a larger number of fish.

In addition to this, you should know that fish are very sensitive and can detect (thanks to their lateral line) the slightest movements and vibrations around them. This is another way they can detect nearby prey to feed on and also to avoid predators before it’s too late.

So when retrieving and animating lures in the water body, you also create vibrations that get transmitted directly to the fish, and so your lure can be mistaken for an injured baitfish swimming alone.

An easy prey, some might think 😀

So surf fishing with lures at night can be very rewarding. Yes, when it is difficult to see in the water, fish are likely to rely on their smell to feed. But when there is no smelly food around (this is usually the case unless there are a lot of anglers next to you) they will use their hearing and ability to detect vibrations to find prey.

Now, on top of all that, let’s be honest. Surf fishing with lures is just so much more fun.

Yes, natural bait, if well-chosen and properly presented, will always outperform artificial bait. But landing a large tarpon, bluefish, or striped bass with a plastic or metal lure gives us something to remember for a long time.

I don’t know, but there’s something special about tricking fish into hitting a lifeless object.

Or maybe it’s just the rod work and animation we use to make the offer more tempting for the fish.

It’s a more active (and hence more exciting) way of fishing.

The other traditional type of surf fishing where you simply cast the bait, place the rod on a sand spike, and wait for a bite, can be very productive and fun. But sometimes, especially when the bite is low, it can be boring.

So this is an extra reason to try lures when surf fishing, even at night.

Will fish see my lures?

You shouldn’t worry too much about fish seeing your lure. As we said, fish have other tools in their arsenal to find food and prey.

When it’s hard to see, they use their smell, hearing, or lateral line to detect nutrients around them.

So, in general, darkness shouldn’t be a concern when surf fishing. This will be the case if you rely solely on the sight of fish to get bites.

Now, to answer the question, let me confirm that fish can definitely see in the dark. In fact, some species of fish have exceptional vision and can even see in the ultraviolet spectrum.

However, and like any other creature, the sight of fish becomes limited in low light conditions. This is because objects and things receive less light in the dark, which makes them less visible to the fish.

Moreover, water absorbs a good part of the available light at night, making the environment of fish less visible than one might think.

So at the end of the day, fish probably won’t see your lures at night. Not because they are blind or cannot see well, but simply because it’s dark.

Having said that, let me reassure you that fish have an exceptional ability to spot silhouettes and movements around them, even when it’s dark.

This means that they can easily spot things that generate sharp contrast, without necessarily being able to see all the details of those things.

And by the way, this is also the case for humans. When it is dark, we cannot see all the details and all the colors around us. We can’t tell if what’s on the table is a pen, a pencil, or a marker.

However, we can easily tell that there is something on the table, and it’s small and pen-shaped.

We can also see moving objects near us, without necessarily knowing what is actually moving.

This is exactly what happens with fish at night. They can’t tell what they see, but they know there’s something there, and they rely on its size and movement to tell whether or not it’s good to eat.

This is all your lures need to catch lots of fish at night.

By choosing suitable shapes and sizes for your lures, and by animating them appealingly, fish will be able to detect them in the obscure water body and may mistake them for food.

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How to choose your lures for night surf fishing?

Dark lures should be at the top of your list when surf fishing at night. This is because dark objects receive more wavelengths of light, creating sharper contrasts and clearer silhouettes.

You can test this yourself. When it is dark, enter a closed room, turn off the lights and observe the various objects around you. You will notice that dark objects are the most visible, while light-colored objects are much harder to see.

This is why it is necessary to favor dark lures at night. They are more likely to be spotted by fish in low-light conditions.

Besides color, the depth at which your lures sink is also something to consider.

As a general rule, top-water lures produce better results at night. Fish lurking at the bottom of the water body can easily spot moving lures on the surface as they create clear silhouettes against the moonlight above them.

Surface lures also generate more water turbulence and splashing, which draws the attention of fish and makes them more curious.

In the same context, the more your lure wobbles when you retrieve it, the more vibrations and turbulence it creates, and therefore, the more fish it attracts.

Now, with that in mind, remember that you shouldn’t rely solely on how your lure moves to tempt the fish. You also need to work on animating your lure and making sure the way you retrieve it is what your target species likes.

Try different retrieval techniques and speeds and then stick to the one that brings the most action.

Another thing to consider about night surf fishing lures is the amount of noise they create when moving. The rule here is simple. The louder your lure, the more eyes (or ears) it will draw in its direction.

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