# Night fishing from a yak



## Red Herring (Dec 18, 2006)

How many members have fished at night from a yak? OK, somewhat nerve racking but I'm guessing more fish. For those that have done it, what modifications have you made to your yak (e.g. nav lights).

Also, I'd be keen to read any interesting night fishing experiences your willing to share?

By the way, how well do lures work at night?

Cheers
RH


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## WayneD (Jul 11, 2006)

To assist with night fishing I have rigged up a light off my sounder bar to help with changing lures, getting hooks out of fish, etc.

No nav lights as I think by law you only need a white light on board :?: Don't quote me on that though.

Most lures make noise/vibration which attracts the fish anyway so they work pretty well.


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## JD (Jul 2, 2006)

RH
Well regarding lures at night, I've caught my pb Barra at 2am trolling hard body lures, Also my first Barra 86cm at night trolling a 20ft+ lure. All from a tinnie, but yes, they work. As I posted tonight in another section my only trouble these days is that the old eyes can't keep up.


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

I think that the international rules of the road are universal.

International and Inland Rules of the Road
Rule# 25

A sailing vessel underway shall exhibit:

1. sidelights;
2. a sternlight.

(b) In a sailing vessel of less than 20 meters in length the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule may be combined in one lantern carried at or near the top of the mast where it can best be seen.

(c) A sailing vessel underway may, in addition to the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule, exhibit at or near the top of the mast, where they can best be seen, two all-round lights in a vertical line, the upper being red and the lower Green, but these lights shall not be exhibited in conjunction with the combined lantern permitted by paragraph (b) of this Rule.

(d) 
1. A sailing vessel of less than 7 meters in length shall, if practicable, exhibit the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Rule, but if she does not, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.

_2. A vessel under oars may exhibit the lights prescribed in this rule for sailing vessels, but if she does not, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision._

Rule# 22 Visibility of Lights

(c) In vessels of less than 12 meters in length:

* a masthead light, 2 miles;
* a sidelight, 1 miles;
* a towing light, 2 miles;
* a white red, green or yellow all-round light, 2 miles.

Do you have local regulations that go beyond the Rules of the Road?


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## justcrusin (Oct 1, 2006)

Gday Doug,
It's worded slightly different here but pretty much the same row boats and small tinnies need only show a torch. But i think for saftey if your in a busy lake or channel an all round white light would be good.

I have worked as a rescue volunteer (around 13 years running ) on the hawksberry canoe classic an overnight charity kayak and canoe event. They always run this with the full moon and even then a kayak at night is very difficult to see.

Cheers Dave


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi RH
I have fished at night on Pittwater and apart from having a headlight, I also had a white light placed high on a PVC pipe on top of my fishing crate. The light I bought from Whitworths, and it runs on batteries. I also carry a spare torch, in case.
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

The torch is all that is required. I have used a headlamp since I got the yak. Have a black diamond 4-led one that cost 80 bucks and is on the original set of batteries. Very happy with it. More recently I bought a led nav light from rowingboatlights and rigged it as Simon described. This is for additional safety as you just don't know when a drunk will show up and not see you.

BTW my night fishing efforts have been dismal, but I'm still blaming myself. My best ever bream was taken on a surface lure right on dusk so there are fish to be had.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

RH, Peril described the situation as applied in Qld

Quoted from the regs

Non-powered boats
Boats being rowed - torch or lantern showing a white light ready to display in order to avoid a collision.

Your own 360 degrees of awareness is your greatest need at night, and don't trust the other skipper, as you will always lose in in an accident situation.

If approached by another boat in the dark don't light up the other skipper with torch as you will blind him; a better option is to wave your light in his direction so he can still see where to go to avoid you


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## sitonit (Dec 29, 2006)

Hi I fish regularly at night and quite enjoy the reduced boat traffic, I wouldnt fish busy waterways at night and generally stay out of main channels. I use a head torch and have a glow stick or two attached to my PFD. For species like cod and squire I have much better success at night.
I feel quite comforatble fishing at night as this is how I have fished for a long time usually beach fishing through the night.
The only times I have felt uncomfortable were on the occasion when I have hooked good sized sharks but I would feel the same in daylight.


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## Billybob (Aug 29, 2005)

I have a white folding anchor light mounted on the deck of my yak behind my left shoulder.

It's on a 700mm high pole which is about as high as you can go without making it too wobbly.

I run it on a 7A 12V battery (it draws about 550MA) that will also power my FF when I fit it.

I also carry a 'headlight' as backup in case my anchor light fails.


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## sam60 (Aug 30, 2005)

I have night fished a couple of times off a kayak and have the LED head torch and also a white anchor light on a PVC pipe for lighting. It is different at night and seems even more relaxing but attempted surface strikes by bass on the reflection of your paddle scares the hell out of you :lol: .


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## sitonit (Dec 29, 2006)

jumping mullet have startled/scared me more than once


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2006)

I use a Nav light and also a fish-finder, I also have a Silva L4 head light - expensive, but it is waterproof, unlike the Petzl ones that I had previously which did not like salt water use.


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## andybear (Jan 15, 2006)

When a dazzled bogong moth hits you in the back of the head, you nearly go overboard too.

Cheers all Andybear :shock: :shock:


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## Red Herring (Dec 18, 2006)

Thanks guys, a couple of chuckles and some worthwhile tips. I had thought night fishing from a yak to be more difficult. Reckon I'll give it a go before long.

Cheers,
RH


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2006)

As with any night fishing - make sure you know the area in daylight and know landmarks without much sunlight.

for example - the car park can look very very different at night, etc.
Know where channels and sand bars are.

I also very strongly suggest going in a group especially at night. It more fun and a lot more safe.


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## HiRAEdd (Nov 12, 2005)

I have a stern nav light and a head torch. I only use the nav light in busy areas where I need to be seen as it's pretty bright


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

I haven't done a lot of it (mental note, must do it again soon!), but when I have done it I've had a similar setup to others. white light on length of pvc pipe behind me, headtorch on and ALSO I carry a dolphin torch that I can wave at any boaties that bear down on me.

Another great tip I heard was to have a torch (dolphin etc) or decent lamp INSIDE the hull of your yak at night. On most yaks (especially bright/light coloured ones) it makes the entire hull of the yak glow which makes it much easier to spot from an approaching boat (or shark??!!**??)

ps. Peril, how do you find the led light from rowingboatlights?


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Davey G said:


> Another great tip I heard was to have a torch (dolphin etc) or decent lamp INSIDE the hull of your yak at night. On most yaks (especially bright/light coloured ones) it makes the entire hull of the yak glow which makes it much easier to spot from an approaching boat (or shark??!!**??)


I'd be worried about giant squid!


Davey G said:


> ps. Peril, how do you find the led light from rowingboatlights?


Throws out plenty of light. Haven't used it enough to test battery consumption. Doesn't thor much light downwards, which is a good thing in my book as I don't need it for seeing what I'm doing and I don't want to spook fish.


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## mitch (Aug 16, 2006)

my understanding is that any vessel ( A Kayak is classed as a vessel) operating between sunset and sunrise must display nav. lights when underway and an alround white light when at anchor.


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Mitch, they are general rules only. There are exemptions for specific classes of vessel, including paddle craft meeting specific conditions (length and not being used as a tender from memory).

I think you will find that a light that can be waved at another vessel is all that is mandatory. However headlamps and anchor lights are both very practical and advised.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

Most of my fishing trips either start before dawn or end after sunset. I use waterproof LED headlamps (1 fwd, 1 aft) to satisfy the rules of the road. I may make a portable mast with an all-around white light and a couple of focused LEDs that I would use for long night outings (lobster hooping). I like the LED headlamps as they stay pointed wherever you happen to be looking. This helps for tying knots, finding tackle and seeing what is in the lobster hoop before you drop it in your lap. I have found that headlamps are better for collision avoidance than a mast-mounted all-around white light. Anytime a boat gets anywhere near me, I point my headlamp in its direction and move my head back and forth about 10 degrees. This creates a flashing light pattern that gets their attention much better than a steady white light. This is especially important in the harbor where there are so many white lights visible on the water and shore. I'm usually lit up like a Christmas tree when paddling in San Diego Harbor at night. In addition to the private boaters, we also have a variety of Naval Special Warfare craft conducting training missions. It is not uncommon to have a formation of SPECWAR boats running through the harbor at 30+ kts, blacked out with the crew on night vision goggles. They may be fellow sailors, but I don't trust them and they scare the crap out of me at times. I've used NVGs before and I think it would be difficult to see a kayak with them. Anytime I hear a MK V or a RHIB, I turn on every light I have.
This picture shows the cockpit lighting on my X-Factor. The red LED in the footwells are used when I'm trying to maintain my night vision. The white LED on either side of the switches provide a broad fan of illumination. I have the electrical system set up for red and green running lights, but I haven't installed them yet. To keep my battery consumption at a minimum, I only use LED lights.


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## Cuda (Sep 18, 2006)

Geez you have done a very professional job on that yak Doug - very impressive mate :shock: I like the stainless steel bar set up too 8) .
You would win the best pimped yak comp for sure :lol:


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

All of the photos of my kayak are slightly out of focus to give the illusion of a professional job. When you see it in the flesh it looks like a myopic orangutan attacked my yak with a screwdriver and a tube of Sikaflex.


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