Rise and shine. This is Early Bird Fishing. Prepare for world class fishing instruction, stories, and news, in less than 5 minutes.

Here’s what we got for you today:

  • With the days getting shorter, have you tried night fishing? 🌙

  • Theo Von + Steve Rinella = a podcast that everyone needs 🦃

  • Please learn how to make clam chowder for your family - they’ll appreciate it 🥄

🎣 Night Fishing Magic

When the sun drops and the lake quiets down, fishing doesn’t stop—it just changes. The fish feed differently, the water feels different, and your approach has to shift. Here’s how to turn darkness into your advantage.

1. Target the shallows.
Predators like bass, stripers, and catfish move closer to shore at night. They’re hunting baitfish that creep into skinny water under the cover of darkness. Cast parallel to the bank or toward docks and weedlines where ambushes happen.

2. Use noisy or scented lures.
Fish rely on vibration and smell more than sight in low light. Topwaters that gurgle, crankbaits that rattle, or live bait that kicks naturally all work. If you’re soaking bait for catfish, don’t skimp on scent—stink baits and oily chunks shine at night.

3. Light it right.
A bright lantern over the water will spook fish. Keep lights low and behind you. A small green or submersible light draws in plankton, which brings baitfish—and then the predators. For moving around, switch your headlamp to red mode to keep your night vision intact.

4. Slow your retrieve.
Fish aren’t sprinting down meals at midnight. A slower, steadier retrieve gives them time to find and commit. Think methodical, not frantic.

5. Stay quiet and sharp.
Sound travels differently at night—drop a tackle box lid and you’ll clear the whole lake. Keep things stealthy. And since you’ll be tying knots and unhooking fish in the dark, bring fewer rods and keep your rigs simple.

💡 Pro Tips:

  • If you’re fishing still water, listen before you cast. Slurps, splashes, and surface pops tell you exactly where predators are feeding—sound becomes your best fish finder after dark.

  • Add a strike indicator: clip-on bells or glow-in-the-dark bobbers make it easy to detect bites without staring into the dark all night.

  • Keep backup batteries for your headlamp in a pocket (not the tackle bag)—you don’t want to play “find the zipper” when the light dies.

Here’s an example of some of the glow in the dark strike/bell indicators. You can find them on Amazon for reasonable prices.

🎣 IN THE FIELD

  • A team of deep-sea explorers unexpectedly bumped into not one, but three brand-new snailfish species—among them an odd wonder that looks like it was sculpted by aliens—thousands of meters beneath the Pacific. These gelatinous oddballs remind us that even in the darkest, most remote corners of Earth, nature still has a trick (or three) up its sleeve.

  • A great watch - a podcast with one of our favorite comedians (Theo Von) and outdoorsman (Steven Rinella):

  • If the mosquitos are tearing you up while night fishing:

AI CORNER

Every week we generate fishing related AI images. See the coolness/weirdness below:

💋 CHEF’S KISS - RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Making clam chowder doesn’t actually have to be complicated:

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