Fisherman all across the country are trying to beat the summer heat. Some men hide out in their air conditioned homes only fishing the spring spawn. Real fisherman beat the heat by strapping on their headlamp for some summer night fishing.
Different Lights For Night Fishing
More and more people are getting out onto the water and trying night fishing. Unfortunately most of us have no idea what kind of equipment you actually need. Thankfully you probably have most of what you need and the rest is relatively cheap.
Most fisherman stick to the basic lighting options when night fishing. Bring along a headlamp and everything else is optional. Personally I have some fishing lights permanently installed on my boat. Others use a portable submersible light or hands free light.
What are The Best Night Fishing Lights?
1. Headlamps For Night Fishing
It doesn’t matter how lit up you think your boat is everybody needs to bring along a headlamp. Personally I use this Black Diamond Headlamp, but any cheap headlamp will work.
You’ll need to use your headlamp for just about everything you do. After the sun goes down even the little things can become a challenge. You’re hands need to be free when you’re tying a knot or pulling in that big bass. Nobody wants a mouthful of flashlight when they’re reeling in a trophy fish.
So How Much Light Do You Actually Need?
Don’t be tempted by that cheap headlamp you saw at Harbor Freight. They might work for occasionally tinkering around in the garage, but when the sun goes down you’ll need something brighter. That’s where your lumen rating comes into play.
Lower Lumen rating flashlights aren’t going to give you enough light when all you have is the moon over your head. Thankfully LEDs offer a nice bright package at an affordable price. At the bare minimum you should aim for 150 lumens(Most Ratings are Exaggerated). My Black Diamond Headlamp is rated at 300 Lumens, but you can save some cash and go with the 300 Lumen Energizer Headlamp that’s a little less comfortable.
2. Night Fishing Boat Lights
If you’re taking a boat out at night you need to have some type of light. Most of the time it’s going to be required by law just for your own safety. Nobody wants to get sideswiped by a bass boat in the middle of the night.
What Kind of Lights Do You Need?
In my state all you legally need is a headlamp and one running light, but that’s not going to cut it for most people. Even on my little Jon Boat I installed 30ft of cheap LED Strip Lighting. I use the strip lighting around the floor boards so I can move around without tripping in the dark. You can control the brightness and there’s loads of different color options. Just make sure you spend the extra cash and get the ones that are waterproof.
Underneath the water I have a set of these T-H Marine Blue Underwater Lights. Whether or not I actually turn on the light in the water is going to depend on the moon. When there’s nearly a full moon I’ll typically leave my underwater lights off, on darker nights they get turned on.
3. Submersible Fish Attracting Lights
Sometimes you just don’t need a permanent lighting setup outside your boat, but that doesn’t mean you need to go without light. Instead of a permanent setup just toss in a couple submersible fishing lamps.
They’re available in a few different colors and really light up a dark lake. Before I installed lights on my boat I used one of the green lamps, but they’re also available in blue and white.
Why Choose a Green Lamp?
You would think a unnatural green light dropping into the water would scare away fish, but it’s actually the exact opposite. Green lights are used to attract Insects to your fishing spot.
There might be a slight increase in mosquitos, but all the baitfish they draw in is sure worth it. During the summer heat monster bass only come out to feed when the temperatures drop. So if you attract a ton of baitfish fat bass are sure to follow.
What about The Other Colors?
When you venture into saltwater fishing you should consider ditching the green lantern for a blue one. Blue LED’s are more likely to attract krill and phytoplankton. Just about everything in the ocean eats krill so they’re great to have around.
Honestly I would probably just pass on the white submersible lights. They’re great all purpose lights, but they look unnatural and don’t really offer much other than illumination.
4. Pocket Work Lights
Even the best headlamp and boat lights aren’t a substitute for a good hands free flashlight. When I went through school I worked loading semis and I always had a light sticking out of my pocket. I used it constantly and definitely got my moneys worth out of that cheap dollar tree pocket light.
Headlamps are great and they’ll light up just about anything that you need them to, but they have one fatal flaw. They only light up where you’re looking at. Imagine you’re reeling in the big one and trying to grab the net with your other hand. A headlamp can only shine in one place that’s why I always bring along my Cat Pocket Worklight. For less than a case of beer it’s saved my butt more times than I can count.
Will Lights Scare Away Fish?
Seems like every time I bring someone new onto my boat they ask if the lights will scare away the fish. It would seem like dropping a foreign object into the water would scare away every fish in the lake, but that’s just not the case.
Some fisherman are completely against using any lights or sonars on their boats after dark. The light and sonars vibration might scare away some nervous nellies, but all the bugs and baitfish they bring in more than makes up for it.
Plus how are you going to tie your fishing lines or navigate the water without at least some light. I’ve found that the benefits far outweighs the cons.
Fishing Around Lit Up Docks
If you aren’t sold on fishing lights by now do yourself a favor and find a nearby dock with a light on it. Lit up docks are by far one of my favorite places to fish.
After the sun goes down it’s like a feeding frenzy on all the little baitfish. I’ve caught some of my biggest largemouths just after dusk. Think about it, your boat light works just like a light on the dock. Fish are pretty stupid, if you throw anchor and sit still long enough they’re sure to swim on by.
Do You Need A Light?
Whether or not you need a fishing light on your boat is a matter of serious debate. Old school fisherman all over the world don’t have time for lights. They think fishing lights are just a gimmick and their old school ways work so much better.
Well they might be right about some things, but who wants to sit in the dark with so much fishing equipment around. You’ll knock over your tackle box, get hooks in your hand and have a hard time casting into the darkness. Once you try fishing with lights once you’ll be hooked for the rest of your life.