Night fishing and lighting

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LowRange
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Night fishing and lighting

Post by LowRange » Sat May 14, 2022 12:29 pm

I had been heading out after work at the local lake and getting in some evening and night fishing in. I bought some clip on navigation lights to be legal but I have to beach it and get out to go turn each one on individually. Is there a wired setup or battery powered ones with a remote to turn them on? Sucks having to stop fishing and go to shore to fumble around with turning lights on.
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Jeffbro999
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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by Jeffbro999 » Sat May 14, 2022 1:27 pm

Do you actually need red and green to be legal where you are? Never heard of needing anything other than a 360degree white light in some states. We aren’t required to have anything other than a headlamp to signal with(would always recommend using more though)which is why I ask.

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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by MeatHead » Sat May 14, 2022 5:46 pm

My local kayak store used to have an event once a year where they got vendors in from around the country to show off their products, as well as their local beers for people to try. Loved going to that for both reasons lol. Saw a few kayaks rigged up with Yak Power https://yak-power.com/systems that looked amazing. Only downside is they're on the high side price wise. I don't personally know of any cheaper options as we only need a 360 degree white light for kayaks here in Louisiana to be legal.

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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by hoohoorjoo » Sat May 14, 2022 6:48 pm

Here in GA, the colored bow lights and white stern light are only required on powered vessels, so that you know what direction a craft is travelling in at night, much the same as requirements on aircraft. A sail boat or kayak only requires a single white indicator light to indicate the presence of a craft.
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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by LowRange » Sat May 14, 2022 9:17 pm

I don't know what my state requires but I do have heavy party barge night traffic. Having nav lights let's them know which way I am pointing and where my arse end is. A single white lamp looks too much like a buoy.

That yakpower looks like what I want but maybe the nav lights are a bit too bright.

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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by Jeffbro999 » Sun May 15, 2022 11:32 am

hoohoorjoo wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 6:48 pm
Here in GA, the colored bow lights and white stern light are only required on powered vessels, so that you know what direction a craft is travelling in at night, much the same as requirements on aircraft. A sail boat or kayak only requires a single white indicator light to indicate the presence of a craft.
This is how I understand it, and the only reason I’m posting on here is because it could be a safety issue. Some states will write tickets for kayaks using red/green. Supposedly boats will react differently to the red/green vs. a single white light, and you could be putting yourself in more danger. Lots of info out there on this subject. I would get in touch with the local game warden first and ask him.

YakAttack makes the Visicarbon Pro light, mount it behind the seat so you can reach it and should be good to go. They also have the VisiPole 2 and Visilight available for cheaper options. Many options on EBay as well. My suggestion would be a 360 light like the ones above, and a bright handheld spotlight or headlamp to signal those party boats that still get to close.

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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by Redfish » Tue May 31, 2022 5:20 am

The problem with a yak having red/green lights is that boaters see those lights and assume it is another powered vessel. Clearly powered vessels move much faster than a yak, and this could cause problems for both parties.
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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by LowRange » Wed Jun 01, 2022 1:22 pm

Redfish wrote:
Tue May 31, 2022 5:20 am
The problem with a yak having red/green lights is that boaters see those lights and assume it is another powered vessel. Clearly powered vessels move much faster than a yak, and this could cause problems for both parties.
I'm in no wake areas per the lake rules but still had party barges idle within 10 feet of me until I got the navigation lights. Now they can see me better and know my front from back and left from right. I think they thought I was a buoy with the single white light clipped to my hat. I haven't have any drive around me up close yet since I got the cheap lights. They treat me like another vessel and practice the lake's passing distance rules.

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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by toddmc » Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:19 am

I'm a tournament bass fisherman. Night tournaments are my specialty. When I am in the back of a cove where there won't be any high speed vessels, I illegally turn off my lights when the big engine isn't running. I know that I am nowhere near another boat. It's just what most guys do. Your eyes will adjust a lot better to fishing in the dark and the fish will be less likely to be spooked. I've always got a crazy bright spotlight right next to me ready to signal other boats when I hear them coming. I also turn on my front and rear lights whenever I hear another boat start up.
When I am fishing on the main lake, I keep my deck lights on at all times for safety. A lot of tournament dummies on our idle only small SoCal reservoirs illegally run around on plane with their lights off because they get to their spots quicker than having to idle. I've exchanged a few strong words with these dummies over the years. You can't fix stupid.
You can never be too careful in a yak. I see way too many of them out in the main channel on Lake Havasu in the day without any bright colors. Many of the cigarette boats travel at over 100 mph. You aren't very bright if you get very far from shore in this situation.

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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by LowRange » Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:15 am

toddmc wrote:
Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:19 am
I'm a tournament bass fisherman. Night tournaments are my specialty. When I am in the back of a cove where there won't be any high speed vessels, I illegally turn off my lights when the big engine isn't running. I know that I am nowhere near another boat. It's just what most guys do. Your eyes will adjust a lot better to fishing in the dark and the fish will be less likely to be spooked. I've always got a crazy bright spotlight right next to me ready to signal other boats when I hear them coming. I also turn on my front and rear lights whenever I hear another boat start up.
When I am fishing on the main lake, I keep my deck lights on at all times for safety. A lot of tournament dummies on our idle only small SoCal reservoirs illegally run around on plane with their lights off because they get to their spots quicker than having to idle. I've exchanged a few strong words with these dummies over the years. You can't fix stupid.
You can never be too careful in a yak. I see way too many of them out in the main channel on Lake Havasu in the day without any bright colors. Many of the cigarette boats travel at over 100 mph. You aren't very bright if you get very far from shore in this situation.
I stay in coves mostly because they are no wake and outside of no wakes I am limited to 75 feet from shore. There were till instances where party barges would idle 80 from shore and go around the whole lake including all the coves. I had them get within 15 feet of me when I had just the white light. They either didn't see me or couldn't tell where I was going. They definitely see me now.

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Re: Night fishing and lighting

Post by Vooden » Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:40 am

I second something like the Yak Attack pole light. I have a buddy who has a Navisafe light which is pretty nice too, and seriously bright, if you need it.

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