# I'm looking for flood light recomendations for night runs



## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I want a powerful led light strip that can be mounted under my poling platform for spotting channel markers at night. I think this might work great if done right?


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

As a guy who actually does a lot of night trips.... you might want to re-think that light thing.... The moment you use a light at night -you've blinded yourself (and anyone else on the water nearby....). 

Night ops are a bit different from running in daylight (understatement) so here's how I operate. You can decide for yourself whether it's appropriate for your own situation....

First off I only run at night in places I'm really familiar with in daylight - then I make sure that I have key turning points (markers, passes, channels entrances and exits) loaded into my simple gps as waypoints. Next I'm pretty careful to slow down at night - if I'm up on plane, I'm just barely there - none of that flat out running at night - even if bad weather and lightning is right behind me and getting closer... At night you just can't see all the things that might hurt you -if you're slowed down an impact that might do you some damage will only leave a scratch...

Lastly, operating at night your natural night vision is your best friend. You'd be surprised how well you can see things at night if you carefully keep from using any light at all (and if you need to use a flashlight or something similar - use a red lens so it doesn't completely kill your night vision....

I figure that most on the water operating with a spotlight of any kind don't know the area they're in or don't know what they're doing...


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## Padre (Jul 29, 2016)

lemaymiami said:


> I figure that most on the water operating with a spotlight of any kind don't know the area they're in or don't know what they're doing...


That's right. I know my home waters like the back of my hand and don't need a light, but when I travel, I bring a spotlight with me in case I am out after dark. And the best way to use it is to have someone on the bow shining it so you don't get the glare off the deck of the boat. If I don't have anyone, then I hold it up very high.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

Would a light bar or other spot light be considered illegal when used underway?


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

jmrodandgun said:


> Would a light bar or other spot light be considered illegal when used underway?


I wouldn't keep the light on like car head lights.


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> As a guy who actually does a lot of night trips.... you might want to re-think that light thing.... The moment you use a light at night -you've blinded yourself (and anyone else on the water nearby....).
> 
> Night ops are a bit different from running in daylight (understatement) so here's how I operate. You can decide for yourself whether it's appropriate for your own situation....
> 
> ...


Unfortunately I'm blind in one eye and my perfect 20/15 vision is long gone and I guess really don't know what I'm doing.


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## Padre (Jul 29, 2016)

I have LED's under my poling platform and I use them for tying on flies and stuff at night. But it is not good for navigation. the best bet for finding markers is a spotlight that you can turn on and off.


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## MooreMiller (Sep 10, 2016)

Night vision? I think it's gotten cheaper over the years


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

A light of any kind mounted behind you and above the deck will cut your vision drastically.

They would work for slow moving where you want to light up. But your vision would be out driven quickly. 

Light bars are designed to wide spread light, spot lights are designed for long distance.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Mount it under the casting platform and get an LED SPOT light bar, not flood and it will be great. Three of my fishing buddies have this setup and it works great. No way in hell you want to nagivate solely via GPS at night, that is crazy at any speed on plane. The crazy stuff I have seen at night floating around like trees, broken channel markers, boats with no lights etc. would injure or kill you.


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## MariettaMike (Jun 14, 2012)

It has been my experience that a strong tight spot light is the only light worth turning on for night time navigation. The key is to turn it on just long enough to confirm buoys, banks, markers, and make a quick sweep across the water for unknown obstructions, and then turn it off until its time to make another sweep and/or confirm location via dead reckoning. Do NOT trust your GPS.

I've seen boats with car head lights mounted in the bow that help for spotting obstructions, but are worthless for looking ahead to buoys, markers, and quickly looking around.

My experience with the Streamlight SuperTAC flashlights has been great.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

I also carry a Stanley rechargeable LED spot light that is about $40, is waterproof and floats beam up if you drop it. It is very bright and makes a nice tight beam. You can charge it with a 12v cigarette lighter port or wall plug.


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## blackmagic1 (Jul 3, 2014)

Running with light bars is horrible. Q beam and as little as possible. Definitely a light behind you will be crippling. In open water, flooding light will not help. The only time I've seen it be useful is running tight canals with banks.


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## Roninrus1 (Mar 9, 2016)

Also hard to determine distance with night vision. Depth perception isn't great, especially if not used to using it.


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## Stickbow (Aug 31, 2016)

I was with a friend gator hunting - he got a ticket for running his halogen bar while underway (here in GA). I have not found that specifically in the boating regs, but it does violate the actual light rules of red/green bow, white allaround in the stern, especially if it looks like it's mounted up front when you are running.

The officer also pointed out that all the led strip lights in various colors are supposed to be turned off when underway - his red 'night vision' ones were on too.

Your experience may vary -- but a good handheld or even cap mounted spot is what I'd use to read markers, and a cheap high output cap/head mounted light for actual fishing.

I think you're supposed to have one on your boat as safety/signaling gear anyhow.

So - not answering your question, but hopefully saving you some money in both equipment and a potential ticket.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

I heard someone over the weekend compare driving your car in a heavy rain storm with the hazards flashing to people running boats at night with forward projecting white lights. The only people who think it's safe are the ones who do it. Sounded like a pretty accurate comparison.

We have an abundance of idiots in Louisiana who have managed to collect enough money to buy some type of gatortail or similar surface drive boat with the loudest lawnmower engine available. They put the same big stupid LED light bars on their boats as they do on their trucks. I watched one get flashed by a big crew boat spot light for running the river with his light bar. Instant karma.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

OP,

You have hit a nerve. God bless everyone who said to keep the damn lights turned off. We taped over every dash light in our duckboats, mounted nav lights under the rubrail and shielded our stern light to avoid glare. Your night vision is the only thing that can help you see the whole picture. GPS waypoints help track distance if you have the capability. If it is foggy, you often have to turn off you engines and listen for large craft when crossing shipping channels. 

Opening day of duck season brought every yahoo to the marsh with their little mudboats and halogen headlamps. Most of them had no nav lights. 3/4 probably had hellacious hangovers because opening day of duck season is the best day of the year if you are male and live south of LA-10. To make it more interesting, half the mudboats were towing a pirogue with no nav lights 20-30' behind them. The headlights served the same purpose as a nightlight; they helped the users feel better in the dark. However, they destroyed the operator's spacial awareness. It wasn't enough that they couldn't see; if any of the fools looked at you, you were blinded too. If it was foggy, the glare of their lights dazzled you even if you weren't looking at them. If they were behind you, your shadow projected forward to create a black hole that you couldn't see into. I HATE, HATE, HATE fools that operate a boat with forward facing lights on, even in the marsh or timber! 

As mentioned, spotlights are only good for finding what you already know is there (nav buoys and markers). You flash them on to find the marker, then immediately turn them off. If you depend on them for more than that, you lose all spacial reference because you lose all peripheral sight. You can only see that pinhole in the dark. If you are looking 30' ahead of you for what you might hit or spotlighting the bank for a point of reference, you don't know where you are in the channel or where other boats are in relation to you. If you hit a floating obstacle in the middle of the channel (you just have to know where the fixed obstacles are), you might hurt your boat. If you hit another boat because your pinhole of light is looking elsewhere, you'll likely hurt a person.

You will be stunned how well you see in the dark. Clear nights are stoopid easy with or without the moon. I have driven in the fog when overcast or new moon and had to slow down dramatically, but I was still able to see well enough to creep along and I am farsighted with astigmatism. You have to know your water, keep your boat centered in the channel and accept you will occasional hit things. If you don't know the water and don't want to hit things, don't drive in the dark.

Nate


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

What about logs and other floating debris? You must really be able to see in the dark to see a saturated log floating just at the surface while running. How fast are you guys running? On plane with nothing but your God given night vision? I grew up bay and river fishing at night on many occasions and we always ran with at least a Q-Beam periodically. I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

A Q-beam used periodically isn't a problem as long as you never, ever point it at another boat (treat it like a gun barrel). Everyone will use a spotlight from time to time. It is the fools that will not turn them back off that are the problem. Those guys like to point the beam at whatever hazard they identify and fixate on it to the exclusion of all else.

I plane as slow as possible. I can see logs, debris and crab trap buoys that the tide has carried to the center of the channel in the dark if it isn't foggy. I avoid hitting water hyacinths whenever possible because they tend to hang up on things under the surface. 

The crab traps in normal position, "no anchor/no dredge" pylons and old camp pylons are usually in the reflection of the bank and you usually can't see them unless you've drifted off the center of the channel. If you see them, you know you've veered out of the center and you had better correct. Boats without nav lights are pretty big and easy to spot unless it is foggy, but spotlights don't help in the fog. Honestly, it is best to wait for thick fog to clear. No duck or fish is worth the risk. 

If a hazard is floating in the center of the channel and it is so low in the water that you can't see it without a light, you are gonna hit it. That is life. If you are using a light to look for those type of hazards, you are going to miss more common hazards and pose a greater risk to those around you. It is a calculated risk. You will hit things when you run in the dark, but on slow plane, they usually don't tear up too much. We are admittedly very hard on our duck boats. Like running shallow, if you love your boat and don't want to abuse it, don't run it in the dark.

Nate


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