Night fishing during a heatwave

Every summer, heatwaves push water temps up, stress fish, and slow the bite across much of the US. And summer 2026 is shaping up to be one of the hottest on record. That's why this summer, we're trading the sun for the moon.

Night fishing is often an overlooked option for a lot of anglers, but if you can skip some sleep, you'll find active fish, no crowds, and cool temps.

Below, we highlight some of our favorite options for night fishing across different environments and how Fishbrain can help you make your hoot owl catches.

Southern Atlantic

The Fishbrainer: Albrey Arrington 

Snook fishing at night in lights (dock lights or bridge lights) is super fun to me because a lot of times you’re sight fishing for fish that are actively feeding at or near the surface. This is one of the few types of fishing that I actually prefer to do with fly tackle rather than conventional or spinning tackle. 

Basically, snook will sit looking into the moving tide and ambush whatever small prey drift through the light (e.g., shrimp, small prey fish like mullet, sardines, glass minnows, or herring). As the prey are carried in on the moving tide, they pass from the darkness into the light, and snook will sit facing into the tide and pound the prey as they are completely illuminated by the light.

Prey fish, or shrimp, will often flee towards the surface, resulting in explosive topwater bites.

When I’m fishing for snook in the lights, I typically take quite a while to watch the fish feeding and get the boat positioned just right (which is critical if you want to catch more than one fish). If you have them, power poles are great when getting your boat positioned just right, otherwise I pay close attention to how my boat is drifting in the current and I set my anchor. Also, remember to be as quiet as possible in the boat while you’re getting set. The snook can hear you if you’re banging around in the boat.

Once the boat is positioned, I like to fish one bait at a time. If I’m using a fly rod, I like to fish an 8 or 9 weight, floating line, and a 20 pound test tippet. Yes, I could go with a lighter rod, but I prefer to go with a heavier rod because you never know if a big girl is going to show up hungry and want to dance. For fly selection, I like to throw a small clouser minnow tied with gold flash and small weighted eyes (shrimp mimic) or a gummy minnow (glass minnow mimic).

When fishing, start casting focused on the shadow/light line. I like to cast so my fly lands in the darkness and strip it into and tangential to the light. (I’m not sure how to say this, but imagine the light is lighting up the water from 12 to 6 on a clock. I like to start casting so my fly lands in the dark and passes from 1 to 3 or from 3 to 5). 

Often snook will sit deep watching that line and they’ll come up and absolutely pound it as it passes along the edge of the light.

Ok, this may be controversial to some, but if I want/need to have lots of action, I like to have a live well full of 3-4” live baits (glass minnows, small sardines, or small herring). I’ll pitch two or three baits at a time into the center of the light. It won’t take long for the snook to get absolutely fired up. Here is where patience is key. Once the fish are fired up, take your time and position one cast precisely where the fish have been seeing the biggest blow ups. Strip your fly to mimic the action of the baits you have been watching in the light. Sometimes the snook want them slow. Sometimes they want them speeding through the light. Observe the fish to figure out how they are feeding, and present a fly that matches what they’re after.

Once you hook up, enjoy the fight. Keep the fish off the dock pilings (this is where a heavier rod is so helpful). If the fish runs towards open water, you can lighten your drag and take your time. Remember, don’t over stress the fish. Get a quick pic and get the fish back into the water quickly. Also, when handling snook, if you place your hand in the middle of a snook and lift up on the lateral line area, the snook will generally chill much more than if you just grab them by the mouth or if you try to hold them by the mouth and belly.

Lots of times, after you’ve caught a snook out of a light, the fish will totally shut off. That’s ok. Give them a few minutes. They’ll turn back on. If you have any live chummies, you can pitch a few every couple minutes to get them going.

How Fishbrain helps

Snook are tide-driven, and timing is everything. Use Fishbrain's fishing forecast to check incoming and outgoing tides before you head out: slack tide is dead time, so plan your session around the moving water. BiteGuide will also tell you the peak activity window for snook at night, so you're not just showing up and hoping.

Midwest bass/garpike

The Fishbrainer: Ryan Hearn

The midwest is home to a lot of species that thrive in warmer fresh water. Bass, walleye, catfish, crappie and pike all can thrive in freshwater temps unsuitable for Western species like trout, salmon, or steelhead. These species may be used to warm water, but even they can shut off and head for deep holes during a heatwave. 

Walleye

Walleye are actually nocturnal hunters anyway and many anglers prefer to fish for them at night. They can live in temps up to the mid 70’s, but because of their physiology, are more likely to strike at night anyway. Walleye see incredibly well at night and will brave much shallower water than they do during the day. Because of your impaired sight, try fishing a weedless setup to help keep you from snagging anything in the shallower water. Rocky points, reefs, under weed cover and transition areas next to deep water are all great options.

• Usually most active right as the sun sets. Nocturnal hunter.

• Sight predator - special membrane that allows them to see excellent at night (why they have glowing white eyes)

• Deeper waters in the day, shallow as it approaches dusk.

• Effective walleye baits and lures are minnows, leeches, flicker shad, jigs.

Catfish

This shouldn’t come as a shock, as most anglers know that low light conditions, including night, are the best times for catfishing. But what better time to dive into night fishing for catfish, than an oppressive heatwave, that make the night seem cool and welcoming. Catfish are generally nocturnal hunters and scavengers as they rely on sensitive membranes and whisker-like barbels to sniff out prey and carrion. Catfish like deep, dark and slow holes where they can cruise, feeling around for food. You are most likely to be ok with shining a headlamp around as catfish will be too dark to notice, but just in case, try using a green light, which will allow you to see, but not spook the fish.

• Most active in the dead of the night. Nocturnal hunter/scavenger.

• Relies on sensitive membranes and whiskers to "smell" prey.

• Target deep holes. Blue catfish and Channel catfish baits can be cut bait, live bait, stink bait, liver or anything that smells!

Goldeye/mooneye

Goldeyes and mooneyes are a similar species of herring-like fish. Not a traditional game fish, but their lack of cones, mean they are well adapted to hunting at night. These are a toothy fish that can grow up to 20 inches and offer a nice fight, for anyone willing to wait for sundown. These fish feed on insects, mollusks and baitfish, so live bait, cutbait, or jigs and lures will incite a bite. Goldeyes and mooneyes are found predominantly through the midwest and upper midwest and Canada. 

• Usually most active right as sun sets. Nocturnal hunter.

• Feeds largely on topwater. Use worms, minnows, small topwater baits, small jigs or rooster tails.

• Underrated sport fish - can get up to 20in and several lbs and make excellent catfish bait!

How Fishbrain helps

Whether you're after walleye, catfish, or goldeye, use Fishbrain's catch filters to see what's been landed recently on your target water, and what it was caught on. Filter by species and tap individual catches to see the gear, bait, and tackle other anglers used. For walleye especially, check BiteGuide for the best window around dusk, when they move shallow and the bite turns on.

Rocky Mountain West trout

The Fishbrainer: Jack Mckinney 

The problem with trout is that they're trout. Beautiful wimps, every one of them. Hoot owl restrictions on most rivers kick in after three consecutive days above 73°F, but on rivers designated as cutthroat streams, that threshold drops to 66°F. And honestly? Every river in western Montana should be a cutthroat stream. Hoot owl should run 24/7 until temps consistently fall back below 66. But the recreation economy won't allow a full stop, and here we are.

When the tourists have gone to bed and the bars are full, post up under some bridge lights. You'll hear violent slaps, smacks, and the occasional delicate sip. When the Clark Fork caddis hatch is on, trout don't wait for sunrise – there are big fish sipping in the slack water long after dark. And look, I'll always back a double bunny or a sparkle minnow over a size 18 on 5x tippet, and that holds doubly true when you can barely see what's happening. Splashy and flashy is the name of the game at night. Mouse patterns and small gurglers are especially fun. Nothing beats a big topwater smash you felt before you saw it. When water temps allow it, there's no better place to be.

How Fishbrain helps

Before you go anywhere near the water after dark, check your local hoot owl restrictions: water temps in western rivers can change fast during a heatwave. Fishbrain's River Gauges feature pulls real-time data from over 10,000 USGS gauges across the country, so you can check water temperature before you make the drive. Once you know it's safe to fish, use waypoints to mark the holes and runs you scouted during the day. Navigating rocky riverbanks in the dark is a lot easier when you already know exactly where you're headed.

Don't let the heat keep you off the water. Night fishing delivers something the midday summer crowd never gets: active fish, empty banks, and a sky full of stars reflecting off your favorite spot.

So charge up your headlamp, grab your gear, and get out there. We'll bring the green lights.

Ready to fish smarter after dark? Check out Fishbrain for fishing spots, tide and weather forecasts, real-time water temps, and everything else you need to own the night.