Turn you freaking lights OFF
 

This is a PSA for newer surfcasters/kayakers.
Please turn your 10,000watt necklight away from the water. It was not that dark last night. This holds especially when you are spending 30min re-rigging, facing other anglers and the water. You clearly could have turned away from us and the water, keeping us happy and not spooking what few fish might have been out there Also, if you wear the light around your neck, instead of your head, it will light your feet up, but doesn't move around every time you turn your head. This will keep it out of my eyes when you look over at every one of my casts (that whirring sound is a conventional reel). I also recommend your fishing partner turn his light off when he is just standing and fishing, it will save battery power. I do cherish my night vision.

For my sanity and yours.

The more you know.

Sincerely,
Blinded in Narragansett

Dear Blinded in Narragansett.

Thank you for your PSA (correctly spelled I might add!).

It appears that I was fishing in the same place. Definitely seconded. Especially when said Jedi light slinger tromped down to where his 'yak was parked (lighting up the water all along the way) and made sure that his departure was well lit on the water. Which was being fished.

I almost wish that a cast or two had landed on the other side and hooked into the parked 'yak, but that would have probably been bad karma or something......

Yup. My patience won out.
Next time, my 65lb braid and an 80lb leader will be helping me add to my plug collection...
PM sent Jos

It's unfortunate that there is such a lack of common courtesy these days, you have to hope people do these things out of ignorance rather than just being a #^&#^&#^&#^&. To that end, here is another tip for young players, take a red sharpie or other permanent marker and color the lens of your light. Red light will not ruin the nightvision of yourself and those around you and you can see just fine, but turn your back to the water anyways.:kewl:

did they have a white bucket with them

i guess better than a 1 million candle seach light on the water to see where their chunk splashes

Good points Bryan - Wearing the light around your neck does seem to be a more "old school" thing nowadays. We always called them necklights not head lights. Does seem like us necklight guys are in the minority. Some places look like they have a bunch of coal miners out fishing.

DZ

oh man I hate that! and red lights are the way to go.
I do have to admit that I turn on my white light sometimes when rock hopping from one spot to the next, night vision isn't worth a broken leg to me.
although I do point the light down right at my feet so it doesn't shine on the water or at anybody.

I always loose my headlamps, necklights never seem to get lost.

Lights spook fish= Old wives tale

Maybe so.
But lights killing my night vision is not an old wives tail

the lantern is the worst!!

I find that I can see much more without a light than with one, but I do use a light to tie knots, walk on rocks that are nowheres near flat and sometimes to check and see if it is a bluefish.

Some people are just totally clueless. Last year I had some people come up behind me with a million candlepower spotlight and shine it on me for 5 minutes to see if I was catching any fish. If I wasn't perched way out on a rock that light would have been on its way to Portugal.

...and I still wear a necklight on the boat...

Who need light??!!!

That's how I feel as well. I work damn hard to see, just to have some zillion candle-watt light burn my retinas and make me see spots for another 30 minutes.

New Member Thoughts
 

Me, I'm older than dirt and over the years I think the ones flashing their white lights at us just may not have ever been told.

Welcome to S-B

I have gone from a neck light to a headlamp for a couple reasons but primarily because I think I started bending my teeth from the necklight in my mouth (think reverse braces :wall: ) when I'd use it and secondly I was getting tired of hot nights in July with sweat drawing bug spray onto the light and in my mouth.

These days I'm on the head light, I cup the lense as I switch 3 clicks to red and otherwise keep the red light at a minimum and the white light away from the water almost completely.

John, I don't have a problem with headlights. around my neck works better for me, but as long as people don't go all swivel-headed while it's turned on, I don't think it matters where they wear it.
Just keep it out of my eyes!!!

Also, if you are using a penlight style necklight, wrape a bunch of duct tape around the base, much easier on the teeth!

I agree.This thread is one of the reasons I am on this site.Good stuff here.Unfortunately guy's, I feel as more and more anglers from different cultures are using the water to fish for food this will be a constant issue we will HAVE to contend with.Surfcasters should know better but as I have grown older and my close vision not being what it used to be and having gone from a neck light to a headlight,I still occasionally screw up and leave it on after doing what I have to do while turned away from the water.Its the guy's that rirockhound had to deal with,I hope read this and learn.
On another note.How many of us have been out to SW Point on a real dark night only to have it lit up like a spotlight by some clown who didn't switch down to his parking lights.I'll never believe that doesn't spook fish.Not that I catch any anyway.

Yeah I sport a headlight also.Only using white light for the trip back.I try and get to spot as darkness falls and if I need light to tie knots I use the red option.Saves night vision.If you guys don't have red in your neck or headlights you may want to give it a shot it works good.

Feel your pain Bryan! :(


BUT:

You'd figure anyone driving a 4WD vehicle onto a certain Bar at Montauk at 2AM in November would KNOW to not shine his headlights onto the water & on the casters there assembled :fury: (to "see" what's going on? :rollem: )


... but... NO!!!.... Shine on us they must/ do! :eyes:


These are not illegals/ subsistence Porgy fishermen! :zup:


We have met the enemy/ idiots in this regard... & it is (among) us! :1poke:

:af: i've been on the bass the last 5 mornings right at false dawn/first light- they've been rooting sandeels in skinny water and i've been doing pretty well swinging the fly rod for them. this morning i get in the water at 0330 and the fish are right up on the beach when this kid home from school for the summer comes driving over checks my rig on the street and hits it w/ a 10,000 candle power spotlight walks all the way around it shining the light in it- then he hits me and the water w/ the lamp & starts walking down to me hitting me w/ the light the whole time- when i realized it wasnt a cop i almost unloaded on him. the catch was when he says "i take it your fishing?" what a schmuck...

I agree with SEA Dangles. I always thought and was taught that lights atnight will spook stripers until I went fishing with the On The Water crew one evening one October night. Safe to say that with two camaras rolling there was alot of light shining on the surf right were we were casting. It didn't seem to bother the fish though as we had two big bass and some smaller ones. I couldn't believe it.

I pretty much agree. If the lights ruin the fishing, its only temporary at worst and the fish usually return shortly.
I agree with the hound to the point that its a distraction/pain in the butt. You feel exposed more than anything else.On the beach it used to piss me off because a lot of guys would light you up with their headlights just to see what was going on.I've caught plenty of large fish in the canal standing right under the lights though.
Which lights exactly I can't rememeber. :angel:

An enlightening topic nonetheless.:hee:

Bright lights will temporarily spook the bass because they do not like bright lights. That's why they go deep during the day and come into the shallows at night. I have come across quite a few fishing with a lantern and will always give them the same comment: "You must be targeting blues, because the stripers don't like the light."
Then I explain that shining a light on the water in short bursts is ok, but to keep the light on constantly will drive the bass elsewhere.

I used to show people, a few years back, when the pogies were in Duxbury by shining a spotlight on the water to show the bait erupting on the surface. I would shut it off quickly and ask them to listen for the bass to come charging in and nailing the bait that had congregated at the surface. They were surprised, and were less likely to keep their lights on after that.

I would suggest that when you encounter someone with "Diogenes Syndrome" you may want to explain the error of their actions before chastising them. If they ignore you, then by all means, rip into them.

i respectfully disagree with most of your points.

A) Bass do not fear sunlight. I have personally seen/caught bass in shallow water in the day, especially early & late in the season. I would say that they do not like warm water, which drives them deep in the days of summer (i think).

B) Bass do not fear fixed artificial lights at night. I have personally seen/caught bass under the lights of the newport bridge, jamestown bridge, great island bridge, and several other fixed lights.

c) Sometimes bass fear moving lights (flashlight, car light) but sometimes not. I have been on a dock shining flashlight around the dock to find bass cruising, and then drifting worms to them and shining my light on the worm and watching them suck down the worms. a very cool sight, although cost prohibitive with the cost of worms now.

Anyway, i don't think it is a big deal, except for ruining your night vision.

JMHO.

You made valid points, and I just wanted to clarify what I meant in my original comments.

[rant on]

white light will most assuredly kill your night vision, and it will take your eyes approximately 45 minutes to recover.

i don't understand folks who are going to the beach with the newer surefire (or similar) high output diode lithium-battery powered flashlights.

these are combat gunfighting lights designed for home defense, law enforcement, and military use. they are OVERKILL for night fishing.

a simple mini-maglite does the job.

and guess what ... if you put a red filter lens on it, you won't kill your night vision.

[/rant]

The fellow with the lantern last night really put a damper on my outing too. I'm contemplating only fishing after midnight after the clowns go to bed.