# Headlamp Ã¢â‚¬â€œ fishing at night



## JW (Jul 31, 2006)

Hello All

I am setting myself up for night fishing from the yak.

Question Ã¢â‚¬â€œ what types of headlamp do you use/recommend? And how far will the light reach on a dark night (i.e. to find land marks, not crash, etc)?

I was looking at two

One had 8 led globes and you can change the amount of globes in use (ie. 2, 4 or 8.).

There was another one that had 2 led globes and a normal (possibly halogen) globe that could be used like a spotlight (again, can change settings). This was much bulkier.

(And yes, I already have a pole light that can be seen from 360 degrees, for safety reasons. This I suspect will allow me to see a few meters around the yak. I will also take a torch, but thought the headlamp would be better for navigating while paddling.)

Thoughts?


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Hi JW,

Funda and I have been using a 5 LED light that clips to the peak of your cap, which has been really great. It's a bright light, very compact, comfortable because you can just clip it on your favorite fishing cap, and seems economical on the batteries (had mine for 5 months and still going strong on the original batteries. Not sure about the range of the light, maybe 10 metres, but I think you'd struggle to get a longer range with any headlamp. You can buy it online here:

http://www.fishvictoria.com/store/produ ... =16&page=1

NOTE: I am a member of the Fishvictoria forum but have no commercial interest/kick backs from sales through their site :wink:


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## aleg75 (Dec 20, 2005)

Hi JW

I have a Black Diamond Spot, was about $100 but money well spent. Spash proof, and the batteries in the front do away with the bulk batter packs behind the head. The two tone system is great too, you have a spot light, and a personal light which is great for cooking or doing things around the camp site. I have used it for kayaking in the dark and camping and find it has replaced my lanterns and torchs as my only light source.

there are many models similar to this one, down to $25 from A-Mart/Kathmandu etc, you get what you Pay for.....but any design similar to this is great!

p.s. i have no commercial involvemtn etc with black diamond.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

i'm also looking for a new head torch. I've had a Petzl one (single bulb/4 x AA batteries) for the last 10 years and its been great, but the LED ones are much smaller, lighter and give better battery life whilst still putting out pretty good light

Any brands etc that others would recommend? Costs?


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## Garfish (Jun 2, 2006)

I'd suggest holding out for a Katmandu sale... I got mine with 50 per cent off, and was therefore able to go for a top of the range model. It has the options of spotlight, various levels of led lighting, etc.

I'd suggest spending the money to get something decent... I use mine a lot for camping and therefore the spot comes in handy, but with fishing I usually use the leds, as what I want to see is close up.

In terms of lighting your yak at night, other guys on the forum would have a far better idea than I. The whole Sydney Harbour incident has freaked me out even further regarding night fishing.... GK.


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

I have a 4 LED black diamond. Have had for over 18mths and is still using same AAA batteries. Definitely waterproof too.

Edit: Am wearing it in my avatar


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## justcrusin (Oct 1, 2006)

I use a splash proof coleman headlamp - i got mine from BCF for around $35, has 5 led lights that can be turned on with 1,3 or 5 lights and a spot light bulb for distance, reasonable good on batteries, i have chaged on set but it got turned on in the seat of my yak so it could have been on for weeks before i noticed.

Cheers Dave


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## Biggera Yakker (Jan 25, 2007)

I have a Petzl and it's been great!
I use rechargers in it and get about 4 sessions out of them!


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

JW said:


> And how far will the light reach on a dark night (i.e. to find land marks, not crash, etc)?


To find your way at night I suggest try with lights out and you will be surprised how far you can see on even the darkest night, and worth a trial before rejecting the idea.

Near the shore you will need a light as the trees and other structures throw a black shadow on the water [maybe the last 15m] that effects distance perception but further out it is generally easy

You use your light to rig and work in the yak, and whatever light you deem adequate for safety reasons preferably behind your line of vision.

My own headlamp is 1, 3 or 7 LED options, and I mostly just use the 1 LED


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2006)

Make sure that you have paddled that area many times in daylight before you attempt it at night.

I have tried several head-lamps including Petzl and Catseye - crap. Whilst great for climbing etc, both versions of the Zoom and the catseye let in water and were unserviceable shortly thereafter

I use a Silva (as in compasses) L4 headlamp - which can be used underwater if I want. Slightly more expensive at around $80 - but well worth it. Can also function as a strobe.


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## FishinDan (Jul 3, 2006)

kraley said:


> I have a 3 LED Duracell that I got at Coles. It also has a red LED. It has worked well for me and only cost $28.


I also use one of these. The switch has 3 options - Red/Off/White

The White is pretty bright, and lights up a decent sized area.
For night time however, the Red is fantastic. It doesn't destroy your night vision, so when you turn the light off, you don't have to wait the 10 seconds to see again. Plus as red dissapears in water first (out of the colours) I thought it wouldn't spook the fish when in shallow water as much.


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## kingfisher111 (Jun 13, 2006)

A mate of mine also used the duracell one when we were up north recently. Found the red option was magic some nights when bugs and midges were bad. With my white only version, at times I could hardly breathe the bugs got so thick. Got mine on ebay, runs good, good light with 1 8 or 21 led option. Picked it up from singapore for about $12.00 inc postage. The range would be lucky to be 8/ 10 metres. Still use a good old dolphin to see any distance. Steve.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2007)

I use a Petzl MYO XP, single LED

http://en.petzl.com/petzl/LampesGammes?Gamme=46

Range is about 45m (which is about as far as most of us cast generally from the yak), but will increase to 65m when using Boost mode, which is the best range and light output I could find from an LED headlamp.

I tested a few in the dark attic of the store I purchased it from and nothing else came close for me without going up to the bulkier and more expensive Xenon/Halogen lamps which werent as suitable for fishing.

Choice of Spreader, Focussed or SOS beams, and three power settings.
In built battery indicator (Green/Yellow/Red) and also flashes intermittantly in SOS mode when your battery is critical. Up to 270 hours from a single set of 3 AA's, even more if you use Lithium batteries 

Whole thing is sealed and should survice anything short of total immersion.

Top bit of kit........

$130 is most shops but can be found for $110 if you look hard


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## Fishing Man (Oct 4, 2006)

anyone looking for a headlamp i can reccommend the Petzl Dallas uses. 
I have seen this in action at Hinze and geez its unrel. lights up a whole area really well,

probably worth the $$ if you are going to do a bit of night fishing


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## JW (Jul 31, 2006)

Thanks all

some great tips


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## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

Hey everyone- new to the forum and this is my first post!

As for head torches I use a Princeton Tec Yukon HL.

http://www.princetontec.com/products/in ... pe=0&use=1

It has 3 superbright LED's and one 1 watt main beam. It has an external battery pack and lasts ages.

I'd suggest that the PT EOS is also a good alternative as it is more compact and offers good high/ low beams. It runs off AAA's, but will still take a lot of trips to run it down, and is less fuss without the external battery pack.

Halogen/ xenon are old technologies, the LED's are far superior if you can afford them. All the better brands such as PT, black diamond and Petzl make great lamps, it boils down to personal preference and what type of deal you can get! LED technology is also rapidly evolving, every year see's advances in lamp design and power. Good luck!


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## alpha (Aug 18, 2006)

I got a cheepie for christmas 2 years ago and its starting to act up.
In the mean time I've become dependant on it and need a 
replacement, the Petzl MYO XP had everything but the water resistance I require,a red lens & is a bit on the heavy side (although having the batteries on the back is more comfortable).
*The Tikka/Tactikka XP however is suppose to be able to be submersed for 30 min? at one meter deep, has sligthtly less reach (35mtr) than the MYO XP (45mtr) but only weighs 95gr vs 175gr. (with batteries) and the Tactikka XP comes with a clear, green, blue & red defuser lens.

This was desplayed on the Petzl site irt lithium batteries;
Due to recent advances in the performance characteristics of Lithium batteries (especially their higher output during discharge), they can cause the lamp to overheat and possibly damage the LEDs.

* the results of its water resistance will be posted under 
Kayak Diving :wink:


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## Guest (May 7, 2007)

alpha said:


> I got a cheepie for christmas 2 years ago and its starting to act up.
> In the mean time I've become dependant on it and need a
> replacement, the Petzl MYO XP had everything but the water resistance I require,a red lens & is a bit on the heavy side (although having the batteries on the back is more comfortable).
> *The Tikka/Tactikka XP however is suppose to be able to be submersed for 30 min? at one meter deep, has sligthtly less reach (35mtr) than the MYO XP (45mtr) but only weighs 95gr vs 175gr. (with batteries) and the Tactikka XP comes with a red defuser lens.
> ...


Nice looking headlamp Alpha 8)

The red lens would be a great feature for night fishing, thats the one thing I do wish my MYO XP had.

I dont find the MYO heavy to use though, its actually quite light to wear, there are lighter options but generally the lighter lamps have lower output and battery life, mine doubles for regular camping duties so its a good all rounder and is good in all weather (short of actually going for a swim with it on) :lol:

Interesting re: the Lithium batteries, might have to stop using Lithium I think (I'm on my third set now)......particularly not keen on the 'risk of explosion' warning :lol:

Shame....the quality of light when using Lithium is brilliant!


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## GuardianZAct (Feb 7, 2007)

Dallas,
I have the same head lamp as yours. I have been using 2700Mah AA M-Power NiMH batteries in Mine. They have great staying power, (About 40Hr +)

The head lamp has a led over heat shut off. (or power reduction)

The boost is great for finding land marks, But if your trying to Nagivate, in the dark by torch light, your in for trouble.

As you leave your ramp, Keep turning arround, With out a torch and look for land marks near by, Street lights, red nagavation lights ect. Every 5 Mins Turn around and get a good Idea on how to get back. YOucan offen see quite well at Night on the water to Nagivate with out any lights.

It is realy hard to work out where you are by the small area lit by a spot light. Then throw diffrent shadows in to the Mix. Recipe for Trouble.

Just my 2c.

Adrian


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## kayakcallan (May 8, 2007)

Hi,

I bought a new Petzl e-Lite. And have used it quite a bit. It's avertised as an 'emergency headlamp' but I use it all the time. Its absolutely tiny and comes with both an elastic head strap or a clip which you can use to mount onto the brim of your hat.

Like some of the previous posts it has both white and red lamp modes albeit via different colour LEDs rather than a lens. Waterproof to 1m and comes in a tiny little plastic case that fits in the tacklebox.

More info at the following link..
http://en.petzl.com/petzl/LampesProduits?Produit=607

Regards,
Callan


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## Guest (May 11, 2007)

GuardianZAct said:


> Dallas,
> I have the same head lamp as yours. I have been using 2700Mah AA M-Power NiMH batteries in Mine. They have great staying power, (About 40Hr +)
> 
> The head lamp has a led over heat shut off. (or power reduction)
> ...


Not sure where I mentioned anything at all about navigation at night.....we we just discussing different headlamps.....but ok??.....


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## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

Not having tried too much night fishing on the yak, but wouldn't these torches and headlamps effect night vision? During my time in the Navy on ships we often used cylume sticks (glow sticks) as they give of a soft light and dont damage your night vision. We used to hoard heaps of them for free, but they cost over $10 each to buy.
Maybe hang one round your neck and you wouldn't need a torch beam at all.

Plus you can go to a rave on the way home and meet some new best friends!!

Dave


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## sam60 (Aug 30, 2005)

Cylume sticks are handy for providing extra illumination and if you were fishing at night and had one close to you it would be handy when you are trying to locate an item on the yak or if you were out of the yak and needed to locate where you left the yak and did not want to light up the place. A good headlamp is handy when rerigging or unhooking but trying to find you landing spot sometimes you need a bright light on a dark or overcast night and the ones with boost do the trick. This is only from fishing at tallowa dam with a mate and trying to find our landing spot.


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## pescado (May 17, 2007)

JD

Black Diamond SPOT
Princeton Tec EOS
Princeton Tec APEX (brightest on the market...easy, popular hunting fishing headlamp with 3 watt 60 metre beam)
Petzl Tikka plus

I have no involvement with these makers but did do some time in a camping store where i developed a headlamp obsession. I had 3 at one stage! Best tip..go the LED's cos theyre great on the juice and dont be afraid to lash out cos u get what you pay for. Look for o-ringed ones too cos wet hands and headlamps dont mix too well.

Cheers


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## alpha (Aug 18, 2006)

I got the Petzle and its impressive how much light it throws out.
it also has a blinking mode that got me thinking; If I had 2 I could put
a red lens in one a blue in the other stand them up on my dash could get my yak & I to my launch location alot quicker


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