Night Lights- too many to choose!

[Angela]

undefinedNight Lights- too many to choose! what is your choice of fishing light (white, green, black) brand and why?
I have heard talk about green, where can you get them? Thanks
Starting to fish southern Toledo bend for crappie, any tips for fall?

[fatboy]

Angela, i haven't tried many lights, but my boat has four guitar amp style plug ins for lights. I use the Stan Sloan Piggyback lights. It has a black light and a white light with a lid that is moveable so if you need light to see how to retie or just look around, it reflects it upward. These lights are made just two counties over from me and i guess that is why i went with them. Around here, Stan Sloan is very well known, but it may be just a regional thing. Take care.

[ncnat]

If your looking for the green lights, Bass Pro carries them. I tried the green lights and I'm not impressed. I fished one night and had both white and green lights out, of the 40 some fish caught that night only 2 came from the green light. Some of the other guys in this area have had bad luck with green lights, ain't that right cspen. I like my Brinkman Starfire the best, very bright. I also use the Fish-N-lite, it's not as bright but it has a rattle to it. All of the lights mentioned are around $15.00. Check with the fisherman in your area to see if they are catching anything on the green lights.

[CrappiePappy]

yeah, I guess you'd say my "preferences" are based on "case history" ....LOL!! I like the Coleman lanterns (gas) over most all the others - but, that's mostly because it's what I've used the most.
You don't really need much light to draw baitfish ... even a "blacklight" will draw a following. But, most people like to have "one" light do double duty - light up the water, and light up the boat's interior. With the new "battery" operated types of lights, the "fuel burning" lights have taken a backseat. Less muss and fuss, less chance of fire, and less heat damage possible with the "electric" variety.
About the cheapest way to go, is to purchase one of the 12V "headlights in styrofoam" setups. They work fine - but be sure and have a "backup" battery (just in case).

Don't know about Toledo Bend in the Fall ... but, deep brush along a channel, bridge supports in deep water, rock cliff banks, isolated stands of standing timber around a creek mouth or point, and large docks with deep water under or nearby are all good starting points. Try a spot for no more than 30mins without getting some action, before moving ... you've got to go find them, not wait for them to come find you.
Be careful, be safe, and ........luck2ya ..........cp

[rango]

ive tried the green lights without sucess. when they first come out i bought three of em at 25 bucks each without liking the results at all. I tried to give em away several times but had no takers. I take a lot of different folks with me and when i carried the greens id ask if they wanted green or white and nobody thats ever used em before coming with me chose a green light. some guys like em and occasionally ill see one hanging in the water but its not my cup of tea. ive been a fan of the qbeam starfires since 1991 and would reccomend them to anyone whose considering a nightlight .

[ncnat]

crappiepappy, I still use the propane lanterns myself. I got 2 that I use, 1 on a 6' pole to light the boat and 1 sitting on the boat to shine on the rods. I hav'nt seen Rango's set up yet but I've heard he could light a small city with his lights.

[rango]

i hang three northstar lanterns in my boat. usually two at the front and one at the back so i have plenty of light inside the boat. i dont have no problem seein my bites and with the submersibles below the water, they help light up from underneath the rods making it even better. years ago i used to hang gas lanterns over the side for light but the older i get and the more stuff they come up with to make it easier on a man, ill change with the flow and keep on a ticking

[Moose1am]

Well I just got started with the night fishing for crappie this summer. I was reading all the posts in here about everyone catching the crappie at night and decided to give it a try. I purchased a Coleman Northstar Propane lantern and build a lantern holder out of PVC pipes and hang that lantern on the back of my boat. That provides lots of light so that I can see and by putting the lantern in the back of the boat it keeps the bugs away from me as I sit in the front of the boat. I also purchased one of those green fluorescent lights that runs on 12v dc current. I put a cigarette lighter type electric plug on the end so that I could plug that light into my boat's cigarette lighters. I have a cigarette lighter on the front deck up by the trolling motor platform and one at the steering console. So I can use the lantern at either end of the boat. I also have a 12v dc power pack that can run the lights and save my trolling motor and cranking batteries for other uses like starting the boat to get back home at the end of the night. The portable 12v dc power supply is also used to jump start another car, truck or boat when their batteries are drained down. It also had a light and built in jumper cables in the unit. I use that for cleaning fish as I can attach a 12v dc powered electric filet knife to the power plug outlet. The other light that I purchased was the quartz like starfire II that is very bright. It does attract a lot of minnows and shad. I have not really used any of these lights that much yet. I also tried to fish with jigs only at night and don't recommend that. I should have used live bait and anchored in one spot. I tried to just hover in one spot one night but the light breeze kept my boat moving and I had to use the trolling motor to put the boat back in position. I suspect that by moving the boat so much I scared away any fish that where attracted to the lights ohter than the shad. I was fishing at night by myself most of the time. I didn't stay out all night but only fished until about midnight then called it quites. My only crappie that I caught after dark came from the bank one night when I first got my colemen lantern. I just put the lantern along the boat ramp's edge and set out a slip bobber rig. I caught one crappie about 30ft out from the end of the boat ramp.

Setting up in the right spot is important and using the right bait can make or break the night fishing trip.

I would say that the starfire II quartz light was the best but remember that it takes more amp to run than those fluorescent green lights. You can run the green light all night long on a small battery pack but the quartz light will drain a battery faster. So like the ohters said make sure that you have a spare battery. I have three batteries. One for the trolling motor (deep cycle blue top marine optima battery) one for starting the boat's gasoline motor ) Blue Top Optima Marine Cranking Battery) and a VECTOR Jump"n Charger Smart 12v Battery Charger and Jump-Start System. The latter can charge your other batteriese at 2/4 or 6amp charge rate. And there is 450 amps engine start. Veco128 is the model number I think. You can hook up an extention cord to the unit and charge up it's internal battery. With the extension cord attached it can be used to charge other batteries as well. I use the heck out of this new battery Jump'n Charge system. I use the 12volt outlet to supply power to my filet knife. I used it this summer to run my quartz underwater fishing lights. I can put this battery anywhere in the boat and that is nice. I carry it in the cab of my truck as a security blanket and to take it fishing with me where ever I go.

Next summer I hope to find some good spots to night fish.

Don't forget the deet bug spray and don't get any bug spray on your plastic tackle boxes tops. It will ruin the clear plastic and spot the plastic where you can't see though the plastic as easily as before. I made that mistake last summer on night when I sprayed myself and got the overspray all over my brand new Plano Tackle Box's clear plastic top. That was a bad move on my part.

My final answer is the starfire Quartz Underwater light with the 10ft cord that attaches to a battery. It's bright and portable and the only problem with it is that it gets very hot and will only work when under water. You have to turn the light off and leave it in the water for several minutes to cool down the light. If you take the light out of the water before it's cooled down you can ruin the light and destroy the light bulb. You never want to give power to the light when it's not under the water or it will overheat and be lost.

[ncnat]

Well I just got started with the night fishing for crappie this summer. I was reading all the posts in here about everyone catching the crappie at night and decided to give it a try. I purchased a Coleman Northstar Propane lantern and build a lantern holder out of PVC pipes and hang that lantern on the back of my boat. That provides lots of light so that I can see and by putting the lantern in the back of the boat it keeps the bugs away from me as I sit in the front of the boat. I also purchased one of those green fluorescent lights that runs on 12v dc current. I put a cigarette lighter type electric plug on the end so that I could plug that light into my boat's cigarette lighters. I have a cigarette lighter on the front deck up by the trolling motor platform and one at the steering console. So I can use the lantern at either end of the boat. I also have a 12v dc power pack that can run the lights and save my trolling motor and cranking batteries for other uses like starting the boat to get back home at the end of the night. The portable 12v dc power supply is also used to jump start another car, truck or boat when their batteries are drained down. It also had a light and built in jumper cables in the unit. I use that for cleaning fish as I can attach a 12v dc powered electric filet knife to the power plug outlet. The other light that I purchased was the quartz like starfire II that is very bright. It does attract a lot of minnows and shad. I have not really used any of these lights that much yet. I also tried to fish with jigs only at night and don't recommend that. I should have used live bait and anchored in one spot. I tried to just hover in one spot one night but the light breeze kept my boat moving and I had to use the trolling motor to put the boat back in position. I suspect that by moving the boat so much I scared away any fish that where attracted to the lights ohter than the shad. I was fishing at night by myself most of the time. I didn't stay out all night but only fished until about midnight then called it quites. My only crappie that I caught after dark came from the bank one night when I first got my colemen lantern. I just put the lantern along the boat ramp's edge and set out a slip bobber rig. I caught one crappie about 30ft out from the end of the boat ramp.

Setting up in the right spot is important and using the right bait can make or break the night fishing trip.

I would say that the starfire II quartz light was the best but remember that it takes more amp to run than those fluorescent green lights. You can run the green light all night long on a small battery pack but the quartz light will drain a battery faster. So like the ohters said make sure that you have a spare battery. I have three batteries. One for the trolling motor (deep cycle blue top marine optima battery) one for starting the boat's gasoline motor ) Blue Top Optima Marine Cranking Battery) and a VECTOR Jump"n Charger Smart 12v Battery Charger and Jump-Start System. The latter can charge your other batteriese at 2/4 or 6amp charge rate. And there is 450 amps engine start. Veco128 is the model number I think. You can hook up an extention cord to the unit and charge up it's internal battery. With the extension cord attached it can be used to charge other batteries as well. I use the heck out of this new battery Jump'n Charge system. I use the 12volt outlet to supply power to my filet knife. I used it this summer to run my quartz underwater fishing lights. I can put this battery anywhere in the boat and that is nice. I carry it in the cab of my truck as a security blanket and to take it fishing with me where ever I go.

Next summer I hope to find some good spots to night fish.

Don't forget the deet bug spray and don't get any bug spray on your plastic tackle boxes tops. It will ruin the clear plastic and spot the plastic where you can't see though the plastic as easily as before. I made that mistake last summer on night when I sprayed myself and got the overspray all over my brand new Plano Tackle Box's clear plastic top. That was a bad move on my part.

My final answer is the starfire Quartz Underwater light with the 10ft cord that attaches to a battery. It's bright and portable and the only problem with it is that it gets very hot and will only work when under water. You have to turn the light off and leave it in the water for several minutes to cool down the light. If you take the light out of the water before it's cooled down you can ruin the light and destroy the light bulb. You never want to give power to the light when it's not under the water or it will overheat and be lost.

Moose you had everything but the anchors. Better fishing for you when you anchor.

[Nathan Giles]

Most of the methods I use have already been discussed. When I night fish I use a combination of the Propane lantern and the battery operated floating headlights that are in styrofoam.

The pros and cons of each.

I like the Floating Lights because they seem to be fairly bright but they do run off batteries and if there is any drift or wind, they will push right up against the side of your boat and it makes it tough to see the tips of your rods if you are tightlinin'.

Thats why I use a lantern as well. It helps light up the surface enough to see any bobbers or rod tips. But, last time I went night fishing, my lantern has a hard time keeping the top piece on and when I pulled it back in the boat it fell off and burned a round ring in my carpet. Melted right in, I had to take a flat screwdriver to pry it out with.

There was a good article in the Crappie World Magazine (I think it was the bonus edition that was sold on news stands only) that was on this topic. The guide the article referenced uses the submersable lights, and they sound like they are productive as well.