One of the truly best times to night fish is during the full moon. Think about it: no sun first of all to burn your skin, no bathers or jetskiers to bother the fish and you, and there is silence and stillness around you, broken perhaps by the occasional splash of a jumping fish or the cry of a bird. It is a time to relax, think about profound subjects like where your budget goes, and have an intimate conversation with your fishing buddy, all while waiting for the fish to bite. Depending on where you are fishing there might be an errant mosquito but what is that in the quietude and magic of a moonlit night?

Plus, if you got to the right place and time, there will be the pleasure of hauling in sizeable fish after fish, all bigger that you might expect perhaps. It is true that the larger fishes go hunting for food during the night, and they range farther when the night is moonlighted. Likewise, they explore the shallows in search of prey or to corner small fishes against the shallow shore where they may bushwhacked more easily. So the best places to fish during the nights of the full moon are probably:

Mangrove lines. Small fish seek protection in the standing mangrove roots and preying fish know this. So they seek out the mangrove roots during high tide to thrash any prey that went momentarily careless. Mangrove snappers, catfishes, small sharks and groupers are what you will more probably find prowling the mangrove line.

Shallows and flats near deeper water. Most fishes use the deeper water of troughs, canals and depressions as sanctuary to run to in case of danger and as throughways to travel from place to place. When no danger threatens, the fish go shallow to seek food and prey. Anchoring at the mouth of known deeper water places can give good dividends, even if it is mostly a waiting game. As the fish leave the deeper water or return to it during the slack tide, they would pass near your baits and, hopefully, be enticed by the morsel.

Topside of underwater hills. The sunken ‘hills’ may consist of crushed corals, seaweeds, or just plain sand, but they will magnets for fishes hunting for small crabs, shrimps, small fishes and even any edible debris. Snappers, jacks, barracudas, and sharks often patrol these areas, and they mostly come in marauding groups. So if you hit one you would have a quick and sudden bonanza until the others wisen up. If they do you can return the next night and they will, too.

Sandbars and dock pilings. Fish use sandbars as places to find smaller fishes, crabs, shrimps and squids. Surf fishing sandbars during moonlit nights should produce catches individually larger than usual. Meantime, dock pilings are structures to hide behind to ambush passing prey. Jig the pilings.

Moonlit nights are indeed magical for both the fisherman and the fish. No matter the season, the fish seek food in greater ranges during such times. Thus the chances of hooking large ones are proportionately bigger, too, and should not be overlooked. However, for the same reason, it is mostly the time for waiting and being always ready, for the bite, when it comes, can engender pandemonium for its strength and frequency. Fish the moonlit night and you will see.