Hello,
Kinda a newbie to the boating thing, I would like to try to stay out past dark this summer for some cat fishing and I know I need the colored bow and all aroung stern light, but your thoughts, pros and if any cons on having some sort of “head” lights to keep away from logs ect floaing down the river.
Thanks in advance !
Simple answer…always have at least 2 lights. All you need would be a good halogen flashlight, an extra one for a spare. Depending on where you put in, will be essential to spotting the landing dock etc. Welcome to IDO! 
When I used to run the river at night, a halogen spotlight was my weapon of choice. There may be better options, but in terms of “bang for your buck”, it’s tough to beat. And a backup is good to have, too.
There are the navigation lights that meet the law’s requirement that you be seen and then there are the lights that let you “see”. Just don’t forget that those high powered lights that illuminate everything for six miles can also blind someone on the water running with only navigation lights.
non pointable head lights are not coast guard approved.
I have three spot lights in my boat.
Two are corded and work great as long as I keep the lens clean of water spots.
One is non corded and uses 4 AA batteries. It’s an LED and works very good. I’m sure they’re sold other places, but I picked mine up at Everts Resort. Relatively in expensive… $29.00 if I recall.
There are some that have “headlights” and the new LED bars, but I haven’t seen a need for them and I have my boat inspected by the Coast Guard each year.
Our size boats are only allowed “docking” lights.
I haven’t seen a CO/Water Patrol/Coast Guard on the water past dark in 12 years unless there’s an emergency.
I haven’t seen a CO/Water Patrol/Coast Guard on the water past dark in 12 years unless there’s an emergency.
I have, and he even lightened my wallet for me. 
LOL! Never say never on the river!
I think USCG says anything other than the standard nav lights is illegal while underway. Docking lights should only be turned on when docking, approaching ramp, etc. I think spot lights are acceptable but only for quick use, i.e., “Hey is that the buoy up there? Yup.” Then turn it off.
You need to think about every boat on the water, not just your own. All boats need to be able to identify each other’s positions. That’s what the USCG nav light system is designed for. Any additional lighting can screw the whole system. Consider the barge operator coming up the Mississippi. He’s trusting that system to identify other boats from a significant distance; he can’t make a quick adjustment to avoid another boat or obstacle that was obscured by your headlight.
Like stated above, your best bet is to have spotlights to use momentarily. I have some LED light bars on my duck boat up front for spotting setup locations in the dark. That is about all they’re good for and like stated above, not legal while under power. I am not sure if the law regulates headlights on duck boats during duck season, but I still err on the side of caution and try not to use them unless setting up.
Kinda a newbie to the boating thing, I would like to try to stay out past dark this summer for some cat fishing
One tip I’ll offer for a newbie. Assuming you have a GPS on your boat. Before dark on one of your trips. Go out and drop a Jolly Roger icon (Skull and cross bones) on every marker buoy you come across. That and any other known obstruction.
Then run a track plot line right down the middle of the channel to follow when running in the dark.
You cannot underestimate how much damage hitting a can will cause.
-J.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Steve Kluesner wrote:</div>
Kinda a newbie to the boating thing, I would like to try to stay out past dark this summer for some cat fishingOne tip I’ll offer for a newbie. Assuming you have a GPS on your boat. Before dark on one of your trips. Go out and drop a Jolly Roger icon (Skull and cross bones) on every marker buoy you come across. That and any other known obstruction.
Then run a track plot line right down the middle of the channel to follow when running in the dark.
You cannot underestimate how much damage hitting a can will cause.
-J.
Great advice — I don’t have plotter, but I’ve done this on a GPS-enabled tablet with green & red circles for the buoys. Makes it easy to see the channel.
Keep in mind the cans do move. Not just with the spring ice/high water. Tows, trees, high water and unfortunately boaters can move them a ways.
I’ve taken Jon’s recommendation one step further and have made a ROUTE. Then I use the compass rose on one side of the screen and Gps tracks that also shows my route. The compass rose will tell me if I need to turn left or right to keep me right on track (which is in the middle of the channel.
It’s great for coming home in the dark. It’s freaking awesome in the fog.
So I’m very comfortable navigating in the dark following my electronics but a good captain always uses two forms of navigation and the second form may keep me from hitting a tree or whatever floating down the river.
Since I run at night more then in the day I bought the Lowrance G3 radar system. Best piece of night navigation equipment since the outboard motor. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.
I’ll never remove my lights. They are for my safety. I will not use them to endanger anyone else’s trip.
Spotlight saves me over 100x a year.
This past Thursday I had a 40’+ tree perpendicular to the flow at 1030pm going 31 mph right into it. Would’ve been an interesting trip back to the landing without it.
Mine is fixed mounted to the bow with a switch at counsel. I can adjust direction it is pointed. If river is busy and not much debris I’ll angle down to not disturb others. Generally there’s nobody on the river when I’m running a light but I make it a point to never shine another boater.
Laws be what they may, I’ll never remove my spot and I need my hands free to run the boat.
Mine is fixed mounted to the bow with a switch at counsel. I can adjust direction it is pointed. If river is busy and not much debris I’ll angle down to not disturb others. Generally there’s nobody on the river when I’m running a light but I make it a point to never shine another boater.
Laws be what they may, I’ll never remove my spot and I need my hands free to run the boat.
Same here!! I can switch mine on and off easy. If a boat is in the direction I am moving they get turned off otherwise I have them running in the middle of the night.
I always hated having a spotlight in the boat. If someone turned it on and even shined my trolling motor it would blind me. When I didn’t have my bow light I would run no lights at all beside navigation. The spot light in the boat just killed my night vision. So would just slow down and take my time either way. No reason to be in a hurry at night.
Yup, to add, my light sits below the bow line when in use, making it out of sight for anyone in the boat
Two reasons
1) it moves it closer to the water for better visibility
2) I cannot see the source of the light therefore NOT imparing my night vision.
I suppose there’s a third, and that it that it gets below most the bug clouds so you don’t get a snowstorm affect.
I
suppose there’s a third, and that it that it gets below most the bug clouds so you don’t get a snowstorm affect.
Haven’t been in a good bug cloud for sometime now, thanks for mentioning
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