Night Fishing for Catfish

Question
I am new to the sport of catfishing at night.  I have a boat and I fish on a public lake.  When I am fishing at night what type of light should I use?  They are coming out with all the new black lights that you have to use the glow in the dark line.  Are they worth the money or does a lantern work better?

Answer
Lucas; This is going to bring back some very old memories as I have not fished for catfish at night for many years but I still remember doing it.  My brother, brother-in-law and a cousin all used to fish for catfish at night.  Those were good times.  The cousin is no longer with us and the other two live far away now.

Most of the time we did not fish from a boat although there were some times in the later years of our living close together that I had a boat and we fished from it.  Actually we did better when we fished without the boat.  I think the conditions were the major factor though.  I am talking about the 1950s and early '6os long before those fancy black lights etc.  All we had was a Coleman gas lantern which we hung from a tree so all of us could see.  At other times we just carried a flashlight in a pocket and used it only to tie on a new hook if needed.  It wasn't hard to bait on a nightcrawler which is the bait we mostly used.  I always felt it was better to keep the light off the water. I understand the idea of the black light is so the fish do not see the light.  Personally I doubt the value of these for catfishing.  Here on the lake some people use them for fishing for crappie but I haven't heard of using them for catfish although there might be some.

There were two or three ways that we fished for catfish.  Often I used a spinning rod and occasionally a couple of them.  If you are careful with light your eyes will become accustomed to the dark and except on extremely dark nights I could see my white rod tip. Another way is to get a tiny bell to clip onto the rod which rings when the fish bites.  I often used two forked sticks stuck in the bank to hold my rod.  Often in the boat I simply held the rod and could feel any bites.  I never used a bobber fishing at night.  I used a small weight and a relatively small hook about a #1.  I would ball the worm up on the hook leaving the ends dangling.

When we used the Coleman lantern we always kept it well behind us away from the water.  I do not recommend using a gasoline lantern in a boat however. It is too dangerous.  Personally I never needed much light to fish for catfish.  I did it mostly by feel and used the flashlight very sparingly to avoid messing up my night vision.
Later on I got a red lens for my flashlight to avoid doing that.

I hope I have answered your question.  If you prefer to use a light and have the money the black lights and special line are probably nice.  A bright white light will keep your eyes changing from light to dark unless you keep it on all the time.  

If I can be of further help please don't hesitate to call on me again.  I hope you catch lots of fatcatfish.

I am
Jack L. Gaither (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia.