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Posts: 169
| I've never muskie fished after dark before, so this might be a stupid question. Do you leave you head mounted light on at all times or only if your landing a fish? I'm just wondering if the light would scare off protential bites close to the boat. Thanks. |
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Posts: 3240
Location: Racine, Wi | I only use the lights if I need to work on something where I need light. ie unhooking a fish, finding a beer, finding a bait, etc. Other than that, I keep it off, as you can see better with it off, and you don't have bugs crawling all over your head. The bow light, and stearn light usually give off more than enough light to see in the boat though. |
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Posts: 696
Location: Northern Illinois | Yeah I would keep the lights off for the same reason...No Bugs! If you hear a boat coming make sure you turn the lights on quickly! Other than that though, only turn the lights on if you really need them! |
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Posts: 670
Location: Otsego, MN | I keep them off. When on they draw the bugs. I have used "Cats Eyes" and they work great for night fishing they are not as bright as a head lamp and clip right to the brim of your hat. |
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Posts: 169
| Thanks for the info, I had forgotten about the bug factor. |
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Posts: 2378
| Brett Carroll - 5/1/2006 10:17 AM
Yeah I would keep the lights off for the same reason...No Bugs! If you hear a boat coming make sure you turn the lights on quickly! Other than that though, only turn the lights on if you really need them!
i hope you mean the head lamps only. bow and stern lights should be kept on at all times regardless of bugs. anything else is just asking for trouble |
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| depends on where you are Baldy...I know some lakes I'm on say 300 acres at night..I'm the ONLY one on the lake...so I turn my boat lights off....I can hear a squirell fart 100 feet away so any approaching boats I simply turn my lights on or sometimes just my headlamp on the halogen bulb....
Bigger water with more boats they stay on....
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Posts: 2378
| maybe then I can see it, but still why not just keep them on? It aint gonna make that much difference to the fish or the "ambience", and its much safer that way
Edited by BALDY 5/1/2006 2:13 PM
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| I like to "set the mood"....  so romantic out there with the lights off...
i'm not worried about it the lakes i'm on....
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Posts: 2378
| I'm sure you know what is takes to be safe Brad. I just have NEVER personally been on a lake that I would feel safe without lights on |
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Posts: 696
Location: Northern Illinois | Yeah...Were often the only people on our lake during that time. Normally that is around 11 or midnight and its during the week. You cannot do it on the weekend because there is a number of boats still out that late. |
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Posts: 686
Location: Tomahawk, Wisconsin | Welcome to Wisconsin Baldy!! I have my headlamp handy either on my skull or nearby and I make sure that the batteries work as last year my 6 year old son had left it on the previous nite and here were Chuck Nelson and myself with a beefy 42 with a weagle stuck to his face and it was DARK!!!!!! State law requires lights to be on but in many cases like Brad said you are the only boat on a small lake such as Monona fourth of July weekend..................??  |
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Posts: 3868
| Don't forget to figure 8, light or not. Boatside fish after midnight is almost as good as sex.
Q-beams in the shallows in the way wee hours is pretty cool. You might be suprised at how many fish you see. |
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| bnelson - 5/1/2006 2:08 PM
depends on where you are Baldy...I know some lakes I'm on say 300 acres at night..I'm the ONLY one on the lake...so I turn my boat lights off....I can hear a squirell fart 100 feet away so any approaching boats I simply turn my lights on or sometimes just my headlamp on the halogen bulb....
Bigger water with more boats they stay on....
Can you hear the warden or the water police standing on shore writing you a ticket? |
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Posts: 1207
Location: Pigeon Forge TN. | On our lake the boat lights must be on. By time you hear a boat and turn them on, DCNR has you. |
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| Anyone try using those rope lights? as using just those at night with the running lights off? Wonder if they still draw the bugs? |
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Posts: 696
Location: Northern Illinois |
Can you hear the warden or the water police standing on shore writing you a ticket? ;)
Unless he's standing on my dock I'm not worried. I guess I could see if he was in a boat coming but not really worried about him waiting on shore. |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Brett- It's not really the warden you need to worry about, but what about the poor guy whom just might hit you because you have no lights on. The new 4-strokes are pretty darn quiet. Last year a buddy and I were fishing walleyes after dark on a Canadian lake. We were two miles from camp - deep water all the way back, plus we know the track back to camp by heart. He opens up his 200HP & we're on plane, he throttles back to ~ 30mph, 200yds later , I see something dark ahead and yell hard right. We miss a canoe by ~ 20 feet- no lights. I'm sure they needed some Depend's, I don't want to think of the other likely outcome.
You can say we should have been going slower, but the fact is we were not doing anything illegal. Keep in mind we had been trolling the same general area for over two hours with our lights on. If we had been going full bore (+60mph) they would have been toast.
Al |
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Posts: 696
Location: Northern Illinois | Don't get me wrong Esox...It is the smart thing to keep your lights on. The spots that we are fishing are normally near the shoreline. If we are fishing a weed hump near the middle of the lake then it is a smart time to fish with your lights on and in most cases we do. When your fishing near the shoreline (which most of the spots we fish are) than you don't need the lights on unless you hear a boat. If a guy doesn't know that theres a shoreline 30 yards in front of him then he shouldn't be fishing at night. Theres definitely a time and a place to fish with your lights on and I also feel that can be said with your lights off as well. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I've fished after dark quite a bit, which can be dangerous unless everyone knows their position and stays there. With the new LED lighting, I'd bet it's a bit easier now; I don't fish much after dark anymore. Going to this year though, wiring the new 1890 for night. |
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Posts: 1168
| Night stuff is cool...alot of common sense is needed though. Had the same thing happen where some guys were sitting in the middle of the lake without any lights on and barely missed them but they were in a new 19 foot Triton.
Headlamps are attached to head but turned off, at least one spare headlamp per person is onboard as well as a couple of flashlights and a spotlight along with extra batteries. Just let the eyes adjust to the darkness... I do run a glow bead on my line above the leader for two reasons. 1) It glows in the dark so I can see when my bait is getting closer to the boat and 2) the bead prevents you from running a leader up into your line guides and messing those things up.
Best night fishing experience I have ever had and will ever have was being on a lake around the 4th of July a couple of years back while a fireworks show was going on with the fireworks shot over the lake. The fireworks kept things lit enough where you could see everything. Hooked a mid 40's range fish, got it to the boat, and unhooked it without any headlamps or flashlights....just the glow of the fireworks above was enough to get the hooks out and send her on her way. That was ridiculously awesome.
-Bob |
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Posts: 232
Location: Sun Prairie, WI | In the state of Wisconsin I believe its law that you have your lights on, sitting still or under power. Unless you are non-motorised like a canoe or sailboat, then only to prevent a collision. Since you have a motor hanging out the back, you would be considered motorised even if sitting still. And yes, the warden will wait on shore for you to come in, theres not that many launches on small lakes so chances they will be there are pretty good.
Yes its cool to fish in the dark, but in the big picture are you fishing legal?
Lets go fishing |
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Location: Contrarian Island | do you reallly think a warden is gonna sit at some landing out in the middle of nowhere in northern WI on a 200 acre lake waiting for the ONE boat to come in because he doesn't have his running lights on at 2 in the morning? Well if that warden does, he can slap me on the hand and i'll pay that ticket...good for him...
I fish with the lights off at times..sometimes I just leave the front one on, sometimes both off...I'm really not concerned about it...when I am running the boat on plane of course my lights are on
are you saying fish I catch with my lights off are somehow less of a catch? c'mon dude...you never speed either....
yah right.
Edited by MSKY HNR 5/3/2006 6:21 PM
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | bnelson, hear a squirrel fart? Man, I wish I could hear that good. The only way I could tell if a squirrel farted, is if I smelled it. Do squirrels really get gas from eating nuts?
I have nightblindness as well as the tunnel vison, and hearing loss. Any ideas about what I can do to help fishing at night? I would never be able to see a glow bead (unless its the size of a baseball & bright as a full moon). I normally use my index finger to tell where my bait is. On a Abu the line guide always ends up at the same place, cast after cast. I feel the vibration of the lure and can tell how close it is to the boat and if its quite and using a surface bait I can tell how roughly how far away it is that way.
I though of using floro leader (extra long) and tying a uni knot and when the knot hits the tip top, I'm done cranking and time to do the F-8. Anybody try this?
About ten years ago me & a buddy were on Minocqua after dark. I didn't bother looking forward and the next thing I know is he makes a hard right. Then hes says, I didn't see then till I was right on top of em. Then (me looking back) I sees that they shut off their lights. I told my buddy about it and then we hear one of those Chris-Crafts fly by full bore with NO LIGHTS ON! Time to go home. Man that was close.
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | If the boat is not under power, most areas require the stern light be turned on. I use the stern light, and for one reason: it's the law in Wisconsin. I would expect that others out there would do the same, for the sake of safety and because it IS the law. |
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Posts: 232
Location: Sun Prairie, WI | MSKY HNR
Yes, I am right, it is the law in Wisconsin, Thank you,
Yes, some Wardens will wait for you to come back to the launch, just read Wisconsin Outdoor News, Cuffs and Collars, to see how far some Wardens will go.
Some people have ethics and some have less, you have so boldly stated where you stand.
Have a great fishing season and a safe one.
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Fishing at night