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Cast into the darkness: Attract tons of bass with portable green lights
(the accidental discovery that transformed my night fishing game)
Keith Lusher
June 04, 2025
Hey, Keith here.
Are you missing out on trophy bass after dark? On a recent trip to Union Springs, Alabama, I discovered a game-changing tool that transformed my night fishing.
Most anglers pack up at sunset, but with the right light setup you could be catching bass when they're most active.
That night in Alabama, my friend Collier Thornton and I caught eight quality bass in just a couple of hours using a portable green light that took less than a minute to deploy.
Many anglers still struggle with bulky, permanent lighting setups or avoid night fishing altogether.
Today, I'm going to teach you the benefits of bass fishing over a green light and how you can fish a green light anywhere.
BEST LINKS
What I looked at this week
Fishing lights at night (In-Fisherman)
3 proven techniques for catching summer bass at night (LureNet)
Do you use lights when night fishing? (Ultimate Bass)
Underwater light from Amazon, does it work? (LakeForkGuy)
Underwater green lights attract hundreds of bass! (Florida Bass TV)
Deals of the week
Amazon is offering 2-piece 12V 10W Green Underwater Fishing Lights for $31.99.
Tackle Warehouse has a 7-piece bag of 13 Fishing Vertigo Minnow Swimbait marked down from $5.99 to $1.97.
BassPro marked down its Lew’s Custom XP Speed Spin Spinning Combo from $169.99 to $129.99.
DEEP DIVE
The portable green light revelation
Everything changed for me on that trip to a private lake in Union Springs, Alabama, where my friend Collier and I were invited to help control the crappie population that was competing with the bass.
Instead of bringing complicated lighting equipment, we brought something I'd never tried before: a portable green light that simply clamped to a marine battery.
The setup took less than a minute—clamp, drop, done. As darkness fell, the transformation was almost magical.
It took less than a minute for these threadfin shad to swim into the green-lit water.
Within minutes, threadfin shad began circling the underwater green glow. Fifteen minutes later, crappie appeared, hovering at the edges where light faded to darkness.
"They're hiding in the dark water waiting for shad to dart out of the light so they can eat them," Collier explained. We easily picked off our limit of crappie within two hours, but what really caught my attention were the bass.
After catching our crappie limit, we switched to Rat-L-Traps and ran the crankbaits through the illuminated water.
The bass went absolutely nuts!
We caught and released 20 bass that night, including five that were over three pounds. I immediately purchased my own portable green light when I returned home, and now it's permanently tucked in my tackle bag.
Collier shows off a stringer of crappie caught over a green light.
The science behind the success
Green light isn't just randomly effective; there's solid science behind it.
Fish retinas have specialized cells that detect light in the UV and blue-green range, and green light penetrates much deeper into water than other colors.
Plankton are particularly attracted to green light for photosynthesis, which attracts baitfish, which then attracts larger predators like bass.
It creates a perfect feeding chain right at the end of your line.
Maximizing your green light success
Based on my experience and research, here are the key tactics for catching more bass with portable green lights:
1. Be patient with the setup.
It usually takes between 45 minutes and an hour for the light to work its full magic. Don't be too quick to switch spots if you don't see immediate activity. What starts as a few curious shad can transform into a full-blown feeding frenzy if you give it time.
2. Fish the edges strategically.
While baitfish will swarm in the green glow, predatory bass typically hunt at the periphery. Place your offerings where the green light fades into darkness for the biggest strikes. This matches exactly what Collier and I witnessed in Alabama.
3. Position for maximum advantage.
If possible, set up your portable light to intersect with existing light sources from bridges, piers, or docks. Fish will be drawn to the broader area by the larger light, then concentrate at this intersection point.
4. Keep the light near the surface.
These lights work best when set just under the surface. Lowering them to the bottom rarely produces more fish and increases the risk of tangling your line around the power cord.
5. Try black lures in the light.
When casting lures around your green light, black is surprisingly effective. The stark silhouette against the green glow triggers aggressive reaction strikes from bass.
BONUS TIP: Anchor up for structure fishing.
If fishing near structure, anchoring and then deploying your green lights works best. While fish will follow a drifting light to some extent, you'll need to restart the attraction process if you pull the light to reposition.
My recommended gear
After testing several models, I recommend the Samdo IP68 12V LED portable green fishing light. Here's what it offers:
10,000+ hour LED lifespan
fully submersible design
16-foot power cord
1080 lumens
