10 Things We Love About Night Fishing!

1. Switching off
If you tell family, friends or work colleagues that you’re going night fishing then they don’t expect to hear from you. It’s the perfect opportunity to not check your phone and recharge your own mental batteries, free from emails, crying babies and nagging partners.  

2. Being a hero
You can show off to your non-fishing friends with pics and vivid descriptions about being on the bank in sub-zero conditions. They won’t know that modern sleeping bags, hot-water bottles and bivvy heaters make it much less heroic than your temperature-stamped Instagram stories suggest. 

3. Eating outside
Whether it’s an amazing meal you’ve somehow cobbled together on the bank, or a massive takeaway delivery you’ve been handed at the fishery gates, there is something satisfying about proper al-fresco dining. It’s even better when it’s shared with good company.  

4. A ceiling full of stars
Sleeping without a bivvy on a clear summer night is an absolute joy. It’s like those glow-in-the-dark stars you had on your bedroom ceiling as a kid have come to life. But with actual moving satellites and scudding meteors. 

5. Making a den
We don’t care how old you are. Putting up a bivvy and positioning your cosy bedchair perfectly inside is the closest adults are allowed to get to building a den. And building a den will always be cool.   

6. Sunset
Or maybe sunrise? It’s definitely more comfortable to see the former rather than the latter, but whichever direction the sun is moving in relation to the horizon it looks pretty damn special over water. 

7. Sleep-shattering runs
Nothing quite matches the surge of adrenaline and moment’s disorientation you feel as a 3 a.m. run tears you from your slumber. It’s a buzz that’s hard to describe to non-anglers, but one we all know and love. 

8. Being at one with nature
‘You must see some amazing wildlife’, a non-angler will innocently ask you when you mention night fishing. Sure, there are kingfishers and deer, but we all know the reality is more often a procession of bait-thieving rats and brain-dead geese.

9. Startling members of the public
Come on, we’ve all enjoyed accidentally scaring an unsuspecting late-night dog-walker (or just straight up dogger!) every now and again on rarely fished public spots. It’s amazing how quickly the beam from your head torch or a deliberate cough can send someone running! 

10. Buying junk food
There’s a switch in our brains that justifies eating family-sized servings and multi bags of crap when out on the bank. The pre-night-trip Tesco dash results in a basket full of guilt-free delight you can only get away with when you’re off fishing.