Night time canal lights SLP.

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TxAquatics
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Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by TxAquatics »

Hit the Treasure island canal lights on 7/2. Launched at 1130pm, several boaters were coming in, stating water was low and dirty. Only 1 boat was filleting fish, not a good sign. Oh well nothing beats fishing the night. My kayak bud and I paddled out to the first canal, several green lights were on. 2nd cast, hooked dink speck trout, 6th cast get a hit and cut off, might have been a gar. 3 inch DOA shrimp in gold flake and gold glitter were the choice of lures working. Same canal another light I had a hit right by the kayak, good trout, I panicked, tried to boat flip him and got caught on my net and my knot failed. I cursed silently and moved on. There was a house with huge overhead green lights, hooked up with dink specks n sandies for about 10 minutes before owners turned off the lights. The second canal was dead, no lights. The third canal had a last green light with big fish in it. I set up to cast and they disappear after 2 casts. It sucks I think I spooked em by casting too close to light. The odds are against me too, cuz the light was real close to a dock. Oh well my 3rd night outing. Still have yet to get a keeper fish, :(. Gotta keep trying. I tried a suspension bait, gulp curly tail, and small paddle tail. I always went back to the DOA shrimp. What are y'alls fav lures for night time canal lights??
No pics, sorry, hope y'all had a great 4th of July.
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kickingback
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by kickingback »

:clap: Thanks for sharing! :clap:
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Neumie
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by Neumie »

Great report. Just keep pounding and you'll soon get the pattern.

I fish the rockport area, but my favorite under the lights lures are:
2-3/4" Glow DOA Shrimp
Real Glass Minnow Yo-Zuri 3DR
Silver Luminecense MirrOlure MirrOdine Mini
Glow White TTF Double Shad Rig I think these are discontinued.
Yakety_Yak
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by Yakety_Yak »

TxAquatics wrote:The third canal had a last green light with big fish in it. I set up to cast and they disappear after 2 casts. It sucks I think I spooked em by casting too close to light. The odds are against me too, cuz the light was real close to a dock.
Something to try next time you see a situation where the light is too close to the dock is instead of casting at the light from in front of the dock, move to the side and cast beyond. That will give you the clearance you need to cast beyond the light and retrieve through the light. You will still have to be a strategic caster but at least now you can have a chance to do what you wanted with your cast.
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impulse
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by impulse »

I'd also point out that, tempting as it is to target fish in the lights (after all, that's where you can see 'em), we often catch them out in the middle of the canal.

I look out at the underwater lights to gauge how much activity there is. If there are fish moving, they'll show up in the lights. But I don't target the lights exclusively.
mwatson71
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by mwatson71 »

I have probably fished canal lights 10 times since the start of COVID. My lure of choice has been Vudu shad, followed by self-made tandems. For my tandems now, I use the trout eye jig heads and vary the bodies to fit my size/color choice of the night. Previously I used a lot of the 2" Tsunami Pro holographic swim baits but I had a couple of bent hook issues so switched to stronger hooks. Costs a bit more, but my success rate has greatly improved.
TxAquatics
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by TxAquatics »

Thanks for the tips guys, I appreciate it. I will apply them for the next trip. I did forget yo mention, there was a huge splash n commotion to my rear, I quickly paddled away, gar or shark who knows.
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Johnny5455
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by Johnny5455 »

Keep at it, thanks for the report.

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impulse
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Re: Night time canal lights SLP.

Post by impulse »

TxAquatics wrote:The odds are against me too, cuz the light was real close to a dock.
Even fishing from the dock itself, it's best to have the green lights out quite a ways to avoid spooking the fish. Sadly, if the lights aren't close to the dock, they often get taken out by power boats, especially when the tide is low. Even when they're real close, it's not uncommon to cringe when a weekend warrior in a go-fast cruises a few feet from the docks, even at idle speed.

The service invoice for replacing a typical green light that's been run over is well over $200. Here's my next door neighbor's light after a busy 4th of July weekend... The design typically has the bulb suspended 2 or more feet off the bottom, and that makes them vulnerable when the water's only a few feet deeper at low tide.

If you're running a power boat on one of the many canals, please try to keep close to the middle. The kayakers who will be fishing the lights that night will appreciate it.
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