Why Do the Fishing Rods Glow Red and Green at Night?
Blacklights. That is the whole trick.
We run ultraviolet lights across the deck, and anything treated to fluoresce lights up under them. The rod blanks are wrapped in it, the line picks it up, and the whole rig turns into a neon stick standing off the gunwale. It is not a gimmick either. A line you can see is a line you can watch, and at night watching the line is how you know you have a bite well before you feel it.
The green rod and the red rod also give you an easy way to keep four or five people from crossing each other in the dark. Call your color, everybody knows whose fish it is.
The other set of lights goes in the water. Green and red both, hung over the side, and they bring in bait, which brings in everything that eats bait. Nights like this are how a lot of people at Switchgrass Outfitters would rather spend an evening than anywhere with a roof on it.
What Do You Catch Fishing After Dark?
This redfish came in against the current with the causeway lights strung out behind us, and it took both hands to hold up for the photo. Big shouldered, copper across the back, exactly the fish everybody hopes shows up.
Speckled trout are the steadier bite. They sit right at the edge of the light where the dark water starts, which is the single most reliable piece of advice anybody can give you about fishing under lights. Do not cast into the middle of the green. Cast at the line between the green and the black.
Nights run hot and cold. Some you catch until your arms hurt and some you sit there watching two neon rods do absolutely nothing. Anyone who tells you otherwise has not fished enough.
Bait is the tell. Give the underwater lights fifteen or twenty minutes and watch what gathers in the glow. If shrimp start flicking through it and small baitfish stack up in sheets, stay put. If twenty minutes go by and the light is still empty, pick up and move, because nothing is going to change by waiting longer.
Tackle stays simple. Live shrimp or a soft plastic on a light jig head covers almost everything that swims through after dark.
The causeway in that photo puts you closer than you would guess to the coast. Guests booking our Port Canaveral airboat tours are within a short drive of water like this.
See the Rods Light Up
Dixie shot this one on the same kind of night. The color you are seeing is real, straight off the blacklights on the deck.
Is Night Fishing Any Good with Kids Along?
Better than daylight, and this photo is the argument. That is a speckled trout, and she caught it.
Kids do well out here because there is something to look at the entire time. The rods glow. The water glows. Bait flickers through the underwater lights in little silver sheets and shrimp come up on the surface, and none of that requires a fish on the line to be interesting. Compare that to sitting in the sun at noon waiting.
It is also cooler after dark, which in a Florida summer matters more than people from out of state realize. A July afternoon on the water will wear a kid out in an hour. A July night will not.
Same reason families end up on our night airboat tours and go home saying it beat the daytime run. Florida is a different place once the sun is down.
If you are making a trip of it, we have lodging on the property, which saves you a drive back to a hotel at one in the morning.
One practical note for parents. Bring a hoodie no matter what the forecast says, bring more bug spray than you think is reasonable, and let them nap in the afternoon. A kid who has slept will fish until two in the morning and talk about it for a year.
How a Night Trip Goes
Night fishing is not on our standard booking page the way the airboat tours are. It is something we run when the tide, the moon, and the weather cooperate, so ask us rather than assuming a date is available.
Blacklights on Deck
Ultraviolet lights across the boat make the rods, the line, and anything else treated for it glow. You watch your line instead of squinting at a rod tip in the dark.
Lights in the Water
Green and red submersible lights hang over the side. Bait stacks up in the glow within twenty minutes or so, and the fish follow the bait in.
Fish the Edge
The bite happens on the line between lit water and dark water, not in the middle of the light. This is the one thing that separates a good night from a slow one.
Cooler Than Daylight
Summer nights on the water run far more comfortable than summer afternoons. Bring a light layer anyway, because running back in at midnight is breezy.
Who Is Taking You Out There?
Captain Seth Whitaker holds a Master Captain license from the U.S. Coast Guard. That is the highest level of professional mariner certification, and it takes thousands of hours of documented sea time, written exams, and regular renewals to hold onto.
He has been running the channels and marshes of the St. Johns River for over 15 years. This is not a side job. He grew up here, raised his family here, and knows which slough holds water in a dry spring and where the eagles nested last year.
All Switchgrass Outfitters boats are inspected and meet U.S. Coast Guard safety regulations, including fire extinguishers, life vests in every size, communication equipment, and maintenance logs.
You are not getting a seasonal hire reading off a script. You are getting somebody who lives on this river.
Real Reviews from Real Guests
"I'm going to tell you, this is the airboat guide you want. We had Seth, he was great. Showed us around and we saw well over 100 gators... A++++"
Erik B., Oviedo
(Google Review)
"Captain Seth has extensive knowledge of the area as he not only grew up there, but he is also raising his family and uses the land for sustainability... I highly recommend if you're in Christmas, Florida."
KeiLani B., Titusville
(Google Review)
"Just amazing, first time and it was the greatest experience ever. Seth was a fantastic guide... You won't regret it!"
Jessica S., Orlando
(Google Review)
Switchgrass Outfitters holds 314 five-star reviews across Google and TripAdvisor. We've earned TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice Award, which places us in the top 10% of attractions worldwide based on traveler ratings.
Read More Reviews on GoogleFrequently Asked Questions
Why do the fishing rods glow red and green?
We run blacklights on the deck. Ultraviolet light makes the treated rod wraps and the line fluoresce, so each rod glows in its own color. It looks good, but the real reason is that you can watch your line and see a bite before you ever feel it.
What do the underwater lights do?
Submersible green and red lights hang over the side and pull in bait. Shrimp and small baitfish gather in the glow, and the fish you want come in behind them. Give it fifteen or twenty minutes after the lights go in before you judge a spot.
What kind of fish come in at night?
Speckled trout are the steady bite and redfish are the fish everybody hopes for. Both hold along the edge where the lit water meets the dark, so that seam is where you want your bait.
Is night fishing safe for children?
Yes, and it usually suits them better than a hot afternoon. There is constant movement in the lights to keep them interested, the temperature is far kinder in summer, and life vests are aboard for every size.
Service Area: Nearby Cities We Serve
Switchgrass Outfitters is located in Christmas, Florida, and serves guests from across Central Florida. We are the premier choice for Port Canaveral airboat tours, offering a quick and straightforward drive from the cruise terminals. We're an easy drive from:
- Chuluota (9 miles)
- Bithlo (10 miles)
- Mims (15 miles)
- Geneva (16 miles)
- Titusville (17 miles)
- Oviedo (18 miles)
- Port Saint John (18 miles)
- Sharpes (19 miles)
- Cocoa (20 miles)
We're also convenient for visitors staying in Orlando, Sanford, and Altamonte Springs.
Want to Fish a Night Like This One?
Call or text and ask. We will tell you what the water has been doing, whether the moon is helping or hurting, and what a realistic night looks like right now. No point in booking you into a slow week.
And if you have never been out here at all, the airboat tours run every day and are the fastest way to see this country. Plenty of people ride first and fish later.
