Watch the Light

• Fishing at night can be a problem if you can't see your float. Lighted floats fix this problem by incorporating lights powered by batteries in the float. Some are lit using lithium batteries to power a small light, some are lit up by replaceable glow sticks and others have glow-in-the-dark paint that must be charged using a flashlight. The glow-in-the-dark floats usually are not as bright as the glow stick and battery-powered floats. Fixed floats, where the float hooks firmly onto the fishing line, work well down to about 3 feet. After that, they become more difficult to cast. A slip float, which is a float that slips down the line to a tiny stopper, is ideal below 3 feet.
  
  Besides the lighted float, you'll also need some bait hooks and live shad along with your rod and reels. By using multiple rods and reels, you not only can fish more areas but you can also test out different depths to see which is more effective. Drive your boat and anchor or drift over prime walleye areas. Walleye feed on bait fish at night along points, drop-offs, cliffs, underwater structures, brush and other anomalies on and in the waters. Hook your shad, adjust your floats to the desired depth and cast your line out. You can let your line drift or you can try a slow retrieve. You may also throw out additional lines. When you cast multiple lines out, make sure to keep them far enough apart from each other to prevent tangling.
  
  Once you start hooking walleye, anchor your boat in that area and continue to fish. Also, be sure to note at which depth your bait was suspended and repeat that setup with your other rods and reels. Cast out your lines, watch the lights of your floats to move or disappear and then set your hook. If the fish stop biting, then reel in your lines and motor to a different area. Scouting the waters during the day for bait fish is a good way of not only getting some fishing in during the day but figuring out where the walleye will be during the night. Where there is bait, there is walleye. And with a lighted float and some live bait, you should be catching walleye at night.