This stuff actually works. You shine a light on the surface near your bait, the fish think it is morning and go out to feed. It is surreal fishing at night, and probably breaks some regulations, but everyone should try it at least once. It's uh... science! Yeah.

It's a legit way of fishing, though. It's also practiced by artisan fishing, though nowadays it's often used for small-scale squid fishing.

Before the advent of modern generators on fishing boats, some small fishing canoes have outriggers with white boards attached to the side parallel to the ocean. Going out at night with the white boards slapping against the water, the fish would be startled by the white board against the water and often times they'll jump straight out of the water into the boat.

I suppose it's a common SE Asian artisan fishing boat design, though I can't seem to find the common name for this kind of boat. The, uh, Thai name could be more or less translated as a "Spooking Boat" (เรือผีหลอก).