OF ALL THE angling principles his dad taught him during countless nights on the Coosa River, Will Davis Jr. points to pier lights as the most profound. Sure, it’s partly about fish attraction, but there’s much more to the picture.
The second-year Bassmaster Elite Series pro out of Sylacauga, Ala., has enjoyed nighttime bass fishing for as long as he can remember and, while solitude is a common after-hours benefit, it’s not guaranteed. Thus, the generational wisdom.
“Dad and I used to fish a lot of Tuesday-nighters at Lay Lake, and he always showed me how to run pier lights — the glow on the water,” Davis said. “When you’re running, if something blocks that light, you need to turn or shut it down, because something’s in your line of travel.”
“That could be another boater running or a flat-bottom boat that broke away from a dock and [is] drifting in your [path]. It can be a lot more dangerous, especially way upriver where there aren’t a lot of
