Under the Cover of Darkness by Jarrod Day

Fishing is one of the most enjoyable hobbies. It's such a joy to take the kids out and teach them all about fishing, and mostly to give them memories that will stay with them forever.

But in today's busy lifestyle we rarely get the time to get out on the water as often as we'd like. To work around the hustle and bustle of every day life, the prospect of night fishing has become an inviting proposition.

NIGHT BENEFITS

There are two major benefits to fishing during the night (and by night I don't mean all night, just a few hours after dark); quiet ramps and less boat traffic.

During the peak of snapper season, how long have you had to wait to launch your boat in the morning...1hr, 2hrs or maybe longer? When fishing during the night there's no waiting at the ramps and more than adequate car parking.

The other benefit is much less boat traffic on the water. During the day, especially during the weekends when there is good sea conditions, fish can shut down due to the boat noise. This is certainly the case in the estuary systems. And will also be for Port Phillip Bay and Western Port when fishing for whiting, mulloway and calamari in the shallows.

During the night hours, noise and boat traffic isn't really a concern since most anglers have spent their energy pursuing their trophy fish during the day.

DO FISH SLEEP?

A frequent question asked about night fishing is whether fish sleep. The answer to this is quite simple, yes. All animals do sleep at one time or another but with fish it's a little different. Fish tend to go into more of a trance than actually sleep.

Many freshwater fish, such as bass or perch, hide under logs and rest during the night. Saltwater fish, such as wrasse and other reef species, rest in crevices and cracks to avoid being eaten. Minnows and other small baitfish that are extremely active during the day, tend to scatter and remain motionless in shallow water at night. Sharks and other pelagics have to keep moving to keep water cycling through their gills in order to breathe, however they can still sleep while doing so.

I was once told many years ago, that fish have the ability to shut down one side of their brain for it to rest, then after a period of time wake up and rest the other half. This is a very clever and unique trait to have, especially in the marine world.

Although fish do sleep to some degree, they still need to feed whether it is day or night.