Fishing Shallow At Night

[FISHINGURU]

So there seems to be differing opinions on how light and noise effect fish at night.

Some guys will say light and noise don't matter one bit so they keep the lights on and jam to tunes while other guys won't make a sound and turn off light or dim them.

I like to be quite but I'm not sure on the lighting, on one hand it might be best to keep it dark and natural but on the other hand it might actually bring in baitfish which then brings in the bigger fish.

What's your opinions?

[Stick in Mud]

Funny...I was having this exact conversation with a friend the other day.

I don't know the answer, but I do know that my grandpa used to dig a hole in the ice for the lantern to sit in, thereby making it as light as possible under the ice. And another of my friends fishes in almost complete darkness with only a headlamp.

Regarding sound: I think it matters what *kind* of commotion you're making. Augers, trucks, and stomping on the bottom of the fishhouse can definitely spook fish. I've never worried about radios or voices, though.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

A guy I know that consistently catches big walleyes in shallow water through the ice swears by zero noise, zero light. the only light in his shack at night is the vex. I've seen first hand how fish react to different noises while watching them on the camera. If I'm in 5 foot or less, I try to drill my holes and get set up well ahead of time, so come prime time, it's quiet and the fish have moved back in.

[busse3775]

I think it really depends on how deep you are fishing and how clear the water is on the lake. If you are fishing in shallow water I think being quite and not having much light is the way to go but I have caught several nice walleyes in 20+ feet late at night while having all the lights on and the radio blaring.

[Northlander]

If Im 8' or less I really try to stay quiet and keep the light dim in the house. I even bought a dimmer switch from FireBrite_LEDs led's and it works awesome. I also try to set up as far away from others as possible. Noise and light do effect shallow fish. I have seen it on the camera.

[pikerliker]

I have done this a few times on a lake that I fish for walleye/crappie in 5-6 ft of water with just the light from my flasher and heater and it's worked for me. I'm usually quiet too. I have a small flashlight along if I need to re tye something, etc. I enjoy it. Your eyes will adjust to the light. I usually set my heater close enough to my set line hole to see the bobber go down and I can see and feel the strike on the other line that I am jigging with.