Best night fishing lights ?

Well im about to start serious into my project after the 20th and im slowly gathering all the things i want to put in it, i want to set it up for the option of night fishing for cats. Now i'd like to use some decent spotlights or possibly some KC daylighters, iv got a set that came off my dodge ram that i had behind the grille but rarely ever used, they dont say anything about being used for marine but if i coat the bulb connections and the wiring in dielectric grease it should water proof them just fine, im thinking of doing 3 total, one on the bow for my wife to be able to move to whatever postion she would want while shes fishing, and two in the back one on either side of the transom for me to control and also help when loading or unloading the boat into the water.

and im also going to be putting some white underglow lights under the seats and along the gunrails inside to light up the inside of the boat so we can easily see what we're doing.

Im most likely going to be running two batterys one for the troller im installing and one for everything else IE lights and pump/live well

for cheap in boat lights guys get outdoor LED rope off of amazon. bluewater LED has awesome stuff a little more costly but lifetime warrenty and waterproof.

Loving my black lights. Ive used black lights in one form or another for years. Really nice at night, turn off all the other lights and watch the lines glow.

I am looking at these LED lights by Seasense. They mount flush into the side of the benches or storage compartments. I don't know how well they will work. I figure or hope that the low brightness red light will act as a cheaper version of a blacklight but I am not sure.



They also make a white light LED verson that I would like to install on the main floor so I can see at the end of the night to pick up all my gear and get the boat ready to trailer.

Does anyone have experience with them?

i picked these up at home depot.the're led,run on aaa batts.i velcroed them around the boat,and they work great as a flashlite ,especially in the hatch areas. you push the face to turn them on,and cost about 5 dollars.the also stick nice to carpet.a little red tuck tape on the lens and you have red led's.

RiverBottomOutdoors said:

Loving my black lights. Ive used black lights in one form or another for years. Really nice at night, turn off all the other lights and watch the lines glow.

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I've been meaning to ask you about those. I think it was a pic you posted a few days back that I saw. I had a hard time telling what was going on in the pic but I was seeing 3 lines lit up. Not sure if the lines were poles or lines being hit by a light or if it was just beams of light like a laser light.

We use the blacklights that suction cup to the gunwales and run off 12v. Works good for seeing your lines and keeping the bugs away but they're pricey

I've also got acouple of them battery operated push lights for inside the boat but hardly ever use them. Seems they either blind me or bring all the bugs to in

None - I night fish very often and HATE lights inside the boat. I use a headlamp when needed to re-rig, etc. but no lights is best

JMichael said:

RiverBottomOutdoors said:

Loving my black lights. Ive used black lights in one form or another for years. Really nice at night, turn off all the other lights and watch the lines glow.

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I've been meaning to ask you about those. I think it was a pic you posted a few days back that I saw. I had a hard time telling what was going on in the pic but I was seeing 3 lines lit up. Not sure if the lines were poles or lines being hit by a light or if it was just beams of light like a laser light.

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I have two Nucli-eye Atom UV LED lights mounted on the outside of my transom. These lights are rugged and waterproof up to 3ft. At night these lights will make your fishing line fluoresce (glow).

I mounted them on the outside to reduce glare and prevent bugs from being attracted to the inside of the boat. I hope to get some better pics soon to clarify how they work.

i also use glow in the dark bobbers

Captain Ahab said:

None - I night fish very often and HATE lights inside the boat. I use a headlamp when needed to re-rig, etc. but no lights is best

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Amen to that! After your eyes adjust to the darkness, you can see just fine. yeah it's dark but lights in the boat make it a pain for your eyes to adjust quickly, say if you're tieing a line and then trying to cast it into complete darkness. If I have to have light to tie, I'll turn the light off and wait a few minutes for my eyes to adjust before I make a cast. This is especially true on full-moonlit nights. You don't need ANY lights if the moon is bright and directly overhead.

The only lights I have are a spot for loading/unloading/navigating through trees an stumps, the nav lights (anchor light used for tieing, baiting, etc) and a small LED flashlight for just in case I need to get a snake out of the boat. It happens.

I like the black light idea, not an overwhelming light that will turn you blind in a heartbeat and I can def see the benifit in seeing the line. I'm sold!

The problem with blacklights is that you need to use fluorescent line before it'll glow. It looks cool, but it's not necessary if you're holding the rod. For catfishing it's probably nice since you can set a couple poles out and sit back and watch your lines. But for bass fishing I wasn't using fluorescent line except for when I was night fishing, and it became a hassle to get equipment ready for night trips. What I've started using now is the green led lights. It lights up the bank enough to see tree limbs and stumps but is as subtle as a blacklight. I agree that no light is the best, but the places I fish are too dark and have too many obstacles for lights off fishing except on brightly moonlit nights.

Thats my issue right there, state of 10.000 lakes but only about 30 of them are fishable and the ones that are they are covered in weeds and underwater stumps perfect for ripping a lower unit off.

Its not so much the lights on the inside those i can do with out, iv used a headlamp most of my life anyways it was more for running lights on the boat, the inside lights were more for my wife so she could see what shes doing in the boat, gotta keep the woman happy.

Let me state the obvious, if I may, but Im pretty sure red lights are what you want for interior illumination. I was in the NAVY and we reverted to red lights at night. You could still see to move around the ship, but when you went on deck, no white light could be seen from afar. I reckon if it's alright for the NAVY at night, it oughta do for me.

It did have one drawback in that once your eyes adjusted to the red light, any bright white light would mess with your vision. It would take several inutes for your eyes to readjust once exposed. As long as you refrain from shining powerful white lights around the boat, in your eyes etc., you should be fine.

Some dont like interior lights at all, and that is fine. But I'd prefer a little light inside the boat. Red lights are perfect for this. They offer enough light to see what youre doing, where you've set things etc., BUT they preserve your night vision.

Keep a small button LED headlamp for delicate work, and maybe a small LED illuminated work station, if wanted. Then, for everything else inside the boat, go with red illumation.

As for black lights, well - what is not to like? Coupled with Hi-Vis line, you are set.