night fishing lights pics now up!

[sonny]

Ok i have a question for all you night fisherman,,,as the new season is here i would like some suggestions on what types of light you all use to light up your boats at night time,,,i would really like something that can be removable while not in use and to light up the boat to be able to tie line,,,see rods ect,,,but also not be blinding,,,any suggestions?? i mostly still fish at night with a little trolling when i know the lake well!

Edited April 30, 2008 by sonny

[brickNblock]

Ive installed 2 black-lights on my boat for this.

Just hooked it up to the accessory terminal..as for temporary, Im sure you could get battery operated.

[ccmtcanada]

Fishing in the dark? Who catches fish then?? LOL.

 

We have a light on the side of one of our benches in the tinny that is wired to the battery and is switch operated. It doesn't seem that bright....but when it's truly dark out, it's plenty bright enough to see what you are doing out there.

[forrest]

Fishing in the dark? Who catches fish then?? LOL.

 

We have a light on the side of one of our benches in the tinny that is wired to the battery and is switch operated. It doesn't seem that bright....but when it's truly dark out, it's plenty bright enough to see what you are doing out there.

 

 

Sitting in the middle of a big lake unable to see anything 3 feet past the boat. Strange noises surrounding you.

 

Hasn't anyone here watched a horror movie before?

[nel]

I use a small led flashlight. It's called a tac torch, and it has a red LED. I've been told that red light isn't as blinding as white, and it let's you recover your night vision faster...never really timed it out myself, but red was easier on the eyes...

[lew]

Sonny, I ran a string of 6 orange clearance lights around the inside of my boat down close to the floor and hooked them permanently to a switch. I know you said you'd prefer temporary, but these only stick out about 1" and never get in the way. In addition to those 6 I also put one up underneath the consol and one in front to give some light in the bow area and you can see that one in the photograph just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

 

I'm on the water till 10 or 11 almost every night and these orangle lights work perfectly yet they don't interfere with your night vision. I turn them off though when I'm fishing as I'd rather fish in the darkness and then just switch them on when required.

 

I also wear a headlamp incase I need a bit of extra light for fine work, plus it keeps my hands free and also comes in very handy when I'm alone in the boat and trying to land a big fish in total darkness.

 

Hope that helps you some.

 

[sonny]

Thats what i am looking for lew,,,i just didn't want to be blinded by a strong white light,and if they are not in the way it's not a prob

,,,maybe i'll run down tomorrow to princess auto and pick a couple up,,,if ya don't mind,,,where do you have then situated,,i see the one at the front,,

Edited April 26, 2008 by sonny

[lew]

Sonny, I put them all about 5" above the floor and find that works well for me, but you may find something different would suit you better. I keep some stuff on a shelf up under the consol and the one under there is nice too when I'll searching for anything.

 

You'll like the orange as it gives off a decent light without ruining your vision.

 

I'll be on Hay Bay on the long weekend in May and hopefully see you guys out there too.

[cranks bait]

I tried the rope light trick. Boat got nicknamed disco for that I had to take them off because they were blinding to me, and I could not see anything outside the boat. I did not have a trim to hide them under to reflect the light down. If I did it would have been perfect, just like Lew's setup. I now use a 25 watt led headlamp (designed for mountain biking) and have an atv flood light to see all over the boat.

[OhioFisherman]

I got some from one of the marine stores(West Marine?), two mounted up front, small, a large in the middle and rear, stainless steel with independent switches built in. Not removable though, not really used much, digging thru the tackle bag mostly.

 

Once your eyes adapt to the night and you avoid looking at bright lights you can see pretty well, I would shut off my running lights if I was the only boat on the lake at night and flip docks. I could tie an improved clinch knot in the dark so I was good.

 

Some times we wouldn`t go till 10 pm, just to make sure most of the traffic was off the water.

[GbayGiant]

I just bring a lantern, the new style ones, its a led light but not bright at all to look directly at and lights the whole boat area, to top it off they don't use batteries you just wind the handle every once in a while. You'll find them at most stores, Canadian tire, walmart, etc.. for cheap and they are perfect for night fishing.

[livinisfishin]

Moonlight works wonders!

[SlowPoke]

I find these very helpful. They mount flush except for a little half-dome hood protruding. I have one mounted now and it provides about 4'x4' of usefull lighting aimed on the floor. The hood eliminates glare ad provides indirect lighting. I've purchased a few more to add to the boat.

http://tinyurl.com/49tyx5 (Cabela's is the cheapest I've found)

-Brian

 

[sonny]

Well just got back in from working on the boat,,,earlier on i went to princess auto to pick up supplies,,,and did i!! lol,,,,anyway i took lew's advice and picked up the orange lights,,(on sale 1.99),,,great except for on thing .... they use a body ground instead of a seperate ground,,,hmmm,,,no good,,,but i did grab somefog lamp that were on sale for like 13 bucks and just finished mounting them underneath my console,,,one on each side,,,works great,,lights up the floor with no light to blind you,!!,,

 

I will add picks later after i get the proper lights for the bow,,thanks again everyone for the advice,,,and would love to see some picks of other mods people have done to make the fishing experience easier!!

[sonny]

lights will be done tonight,,,will post pics tomorrow!

[sonny]

Well as promissed here are the pics of my latest endevour,,,i'm good to go for the weekend now!!,,,check it out lew,,thanks for the idea!

 

floor all lit up

 

front all lit up

 

little switch to the relay

 

 

the total cost of this job was around 40 bucks and a couple hours work!

[cityfisher]

great job !!

[bpsbassman]

What a great thread. Great idea Lew. Fabulous job Sonny!

[irishfield]

Lookin good lads. I need to do some of that as well as the one front.. one rear LED yellow lights that Lund installed in a 22 foot boat just don't cut it. As matter of fact.. they're USELESS and I always have to get my flashlight out after dark.

[danbouck]

I was reading this earlier thinking How am I going to run them on my boat!

 

Turns out we have the same one, thanks

[Musky or Specks]

I think Im going to do the orange lights on my boat as well thanks for the great idea.

[ccmtcanada]

Sweet job!! They look amazing.

[The Urban Fisherman]

NICE - i'm going to have to look into some lights for the Extreme Personal Pontoon if I plan to chase chinooks in it this fall! hahaha

 

great job on the install and great advice lew...

 

cheers,

UF

[LeXXington]

Humm, I see some boat mods coming

[sonny]

hey dan,,,just to let ya know,,,fishing that wire between the two consoles was the hardest part as the livewell is about a half of an inch behind it all,,,once that wire was in the rest was stieght forward,,,,,but definatly you'll need a Fish tape,,lol