Nighttime in the city is great. It is dark, cold, and windy. It is even better in the winter. It is really dark, really cold, and really windy. So what better activity than to stand outside and watch fish ignore your bait for 2 hours? That is right – night fishing.
Night fishing can be especially exciting because at the right location, you can actually watch the fish ignore your bait. We headed out to the pier on the Hudson and 125th. It is right off the bike path and well lit. Most importantly, the light fixtures on the pier point downwards towards the water. This allows you to get a great view of the fish, trash, and other NYC detritus in the Hudson. Some of the fish might even be alive!
You will notice the water is a bit choppy. It was a windy day, with gusts up to 30 knots (which apparently means fast enough to make your fingers feel like they will fall off).
For bait, we were using skinless squid we had picked up from the H-mart on 110th and Broadway. The fish didn’t seem terribly interested overall. The pack of squid cost $4, but we only used about a quarter of the pack. The rest went into the freezer for next time.
For beer, we had a Makku Mango Makgeolli – a traditional unfiltered rice beer from Korea. It was a bit on the sweet side, but at 6% abv, was a nice can to split to on a Tuesday night. Next night fishing outing will hopefully feature something warmer – like a hot toddy in a thermos.
Additional lessons learned: 1) wear gloves 2) don’t drop your reel into the water