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Night fishing isn't for everyone and if you need to wave a spot light around looking for objects in the dark, then you probably shouldn't be out there. The key to fishing and boating at night is to let your eyes get accustomed to the dark and SLOW DOWN. Way down! Once your eyes adjust, you will be surprised at what you can see, even on the darkest of nights when the moon is hiding. Any form of light will compromise this, whether it's from a dashboard compass, sonar screen, GPS, house lights, head lamps, and the list goes on and on.
When you fire up a spotlight, your vision is reduced to the narrow cone that the spotlight is illuminating and you will see absolutely nothing outside that cone, with the added bonus of destroying all of your night vision (and that of the boaters around you!). Now, without the aid of your little cone of light, you will see nothing.
If new to running at night, here are a few tips:
*Take things slowly. Start by getting comfortable by running around in low light conditions of dawn or dusk
*Slow down--most objects won't become visible until they are extremely close. In the beginning, this part is very unnerving. Proper speed is imperative so you will have time to react to the things unfolding in around you.
*Preserve and enhance your night vision by eliminating all unnecessary light (shut off or cover up), and dim all necessary lighting to the lowest possible setting that you can see/use
*Minimize distractions. You need to be focused on night time navigation (searching for and avoiding potential hazards) This is not the time for star gazeing, heated discussions, or goofing off.
*if you are boating with another person, have that person stand in front of the console where there is no/less light pollution so they can be a spotter. That person will be able to see objects sooner and can point and call them out to the person driving (for example "lobster pot at one o'clock").
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