What Is a Night Fishing and Shrimping Trip?
This one is for the folks who like their fishing after dark. We rig the boat with pole lights, ease out onto the St. Johns River, and let the glow pull fish and freshwater shrimp up out of the tea colored water. The reds and greens off the poles look wild on the surface, and the bite turns on once the sun is gone.
A night trip is $1000, gear and lights included. Part fishing, part shrimping, all of it under a big Florida sky with no crowd around you. When the shrimp are running, you will dip net them right alongside the fishing, and they cook up as good as anything you will pull out of this river.
When Is the Freshwater Shrimp Run?
The St. Johns has a freshwater shrimp run that old timers have chased for generations. The shrimp move through in waves, and the run comes and goes with water temperature and rain. It tends to fire up on the darker nights of the month, when there is little moon and the lights do the work.
Timing shifts every year, so I will be straight with you: some weeks the shrimp are thick and some weeks they are not. Call before you book and I will tell you honestly whether they are moving. When they are, you dip them out under the lights by the bucketful, and a shrimp boil after the trip is hard to beat.
Prefer to keep both hands on a rod? The catfish do not care about the moon. They bite under the lights all season long.
Why Fish at Night From an Airboat?
Two reasons. The heat is gone, and the fish are hungry. A summer afternoon on the St. Johns can cook you, but by night the air is cool, the bugs settle after a bit, and the water comes alive under the lights. It is a calmer, easier trip that still puts a bend in the rod.
It also makes a great family night. Kids who would fry in the midday sun do just fine after dark, and there is something about a lit up boat on black water that hooks them for life. We launch from Christmas, FL, about 30 minutes east of Orlando, so the drive is short and the memories are long.
Looking for a different flavor of night trip? Try bow fishing if you want to hunt fish with a bow, or go frogging for a batch of frog legs.
Pricing
Night Fishing & Shrimping
Guided Night Trip
$1,000
Per night trip. Boat, lights, and gear included.
*Shrimp availability depends on the run. Check current Florida rules for any license needed to keep fish.
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Night Fishing and Shrimping Questions
What do you catch on a night fishing trip near Orlando?
Catfish are the bread and butter after dark, along with panfish and other biters that move up to feed under the lights. When the freshwater shrimp are running, we dip net those too, and they are excellent eating.
When is the freshwater shrimp run on the St. Johns River?
The run comes and goes with water temperature and rain, generally in the cooler months, and it is strongest around the darker nights of the month. Timing shifts year to year, so call ahead and we will tell you if the shrimp are moving.
How much is a night fishing and shrimping trip?
A night trip is $1000 and includes the boat, the lights, and the gear. It is an after dark trip on purpose, because both the fish and the shrimp are far more active once the sun goes down.
Do we keep what we catch?
Yes, within Florida limits. Catfish and freshwater shrimp both make a great fish fry. Bring a cooler if you plan to take your catch home, and check current state regulations for any license you may need to keep fish.
