# boat lights



## littleman

Has anybody put the LED lights on there boat for night fishing.At www.wildcatlighting.com has some great looking lights for night fishing looks super bright but pretty expense.Just wondering where to begin on getting my boat comfortable at night


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## Rivergetter

Yes I put bluewater LEDs on mine. Just a heads up they take awhile for your eyes to get used to them. 


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## ezbite

ive never tried them, they look good on the outside of the hull.

unless im making a video or taking a photo i only use a head lamp when nightfishing by boat and i only turn it on to unhook a fish or retie. your night vision will be much better without that ambient light around your boat and your required lighting will be enought light to see what youre doing (that matters how big of a boat you have also), if not, quickly click on the headlamp, do what needs done and click it off.. just a suggestion to try before buying lights.

right now i have an old tractor headlight on a 5 foot pole behind the seat on my kayak, i am looking for an LED light to mount on the pole behind me because i am small out there on the water and want to be seen before getting run over, but even my light now on that pole is on a switch that i shut off until i hear a motor, then its on until i dont hear the motor.. but thats in the kayak only. i am looking at LED's because i want to go to a smaller battery.


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## littleman

Thanks ezbite an rivergetter,the headlight maybe the way to go you made a good point,an the wildcatlighting cost a good bit I could check out LED lights at lowes or something if I go that route.I havn't done much night fishing in a boat an I'm use to having lanterns when bank fishing so what to do because my girlfriend loves to fish but not at night.Thanks again


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## Stuhly

Hey folks checkout DEAL EXTREME .COM great prices free shipping from HongKong .
I put some of there rope lites under my gunnels to see at nite. wterproof also.
It can take 2-3 wks but you save alot of money.


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## I Fish

I don't know much about lights outside the boat, but, if you're looking to light the inside, the stick on strips of LED's like Autozone carries are awesome, IMO. 

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...-LED-light/_/N-25pw?itemIdentifier=60049_0_0_ 

They can be mounted just about anywhere without drilling holes, use so little battery they can be wired with light speaker wire (I'm running 5-12" strips with a 2 amp fuse!), small enough to be put just about anywhere. I mounted mine so the lights are not visible to the eye, but they light up the floor very well. I only wish I hadn't used quite so many, as after it gets dark, a little light covers a lot of area. They come in different colors, lengths and styles. One style shines straight off the strip, the other style shines off the side.


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## cmiller

Stuhly said:


> Hey folks checkout DEAL EXTREME .COM great prices free shipping from HongKong .
> I put some of there rope lites under my gunnels to see at nite. wterproof also.
> It can take 2-3 wks but you save alot of money.


I thought about the rope lights to put under the gunwales of the boat seen in the bps catalog.


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## fishal

I am using my polestar..


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## Skippy

Have to agree with ezbite on this. Any extra lights will just take away from your night vision. At night I do keep my running lights on but only use a clip on head light for most things. I also use, at times a clip on flashlight and keep a small spotlight close at hand in case I hear, see a boat coming to close.

One trick that works is when I click on my clip on head lamp I keep one eye closed. Retie or take a fish off, turn the light off and open the closed eye. You will have almost perfect night vision right back. No BS, give it a try.


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## Bad Bub

These are the ones I went with. I wired them on a dimmer control so they aren't so bright that they would blind me. Also have lights inside the livewell.

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## dax

I'm famously cheap and this may or not help you but after being appalled at the cost of led boat lights I came up with this simple savvy solution...the little flashlights you get a harb freight fit nicely inside my old d cell clamp on lights.they rattled around in there so I cut the bottom of a pop can to make a reflective bushing,function trumps form for me...batteries just don't die in them often, I use the recharable aa aaa with no problems . Led lantern and headlamps also.for ambient and directional.but don't forget to have at least 1 solid beam light to see waypoints at a distance.


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## cmiller

Make for better lighting lightsabers do!


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## MassillonBuckeye

Attwood makes a nice and affordable LED stern light in different lengths. You could rig it up however you wanted. As for rope lights or replacing existing bulbs with LEDs, superbrightled.com has some of the best prices and selection I've found.


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## dax

Yep,superbrightleds.com they have it all cheap.


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## Star1pup

littleman said:


> Has anybody put the LED lights on there boat for night fishing.At www.wildcatlighting.com has some great looking lights for night fishing looks super bright but pretty expense.Just wondering where to begin on getting my boat comfortable at night


I got an LED lantern from Ace Hardware. I have a pontoon so I just hang it from the overhead awning. I also put LED navigation lights on the bow.


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## I Fish

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Attwood makes a nice and affordable LED stern light in different lengths.


About 4 years ago, I called superbrightleds.com with the number off my stern light's bulb. They sent me a 360 degree led bulb that was a drop in replacement. I think it was $15 then. For night fishing, it's awesome, as my stern light runs from my cranking battery.

I thought about using one for the bow light, but, after some reading, I found others had tried that. I learned the color of the light emitted from an led cannot be changed with a lens. It would still shine, but just be a darker color of white, instead of red and white, if that make sense. 

Also, the RV forums have enough LED info to make your head swim.


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## Star1pup

All of my navigation lights are now LED. I also added a floating LED from Cabala's. Since it's been hot I've been night fishing from my pontoon and the floating light really brings in the minnows and improves my catch of crappies.


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## dax

Ifish,long ago I put an led flashlight in my old red/green dcell bow light and it indeed glows red/green so I don't understand how some say a white led cannot emit said colors. No it's not a green and red beam but still glows that color brightly so what are you looking for?


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## Star1pup

My LED bow lights on my pontoon are separated port & starboard and they glow the proper colors. The stern light is also LED and glows white. The bow lights are complete replacements and the stern is just a bulb than can replace the bulb that was in the light.

The floating light I put in the water is also LED and glows green.


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