A fold out fishing chair for providing an easily portable seating and rod holding apparatus that provides shade for daytime fishing and illumination for nighttime fishing. The fold out fishing chair includes a base seat with an integral holder assembly and an integral shade assembly, each of which can be selectively moved into a deployed position. The holder assembly defines a fold out fishing rod holding structure that can hold fishing rods at a desirable angle without requiring ongoing user attention. The shade assembly includes a roll out shade having integrated lighting elements so as to improve comfort in direct sunlight and low lighting conditions. The holder assembly and shade assembly can both be moved to a retracted position in which the base seat can be folded into a closed configuration sized substantially the same as a folded conventional fold out chair.