Princeton Tec Flashlights

[Joe]

You won’t get an argument from me relating to whether or not light spooks bass. It sure as heck does.
When deciding which light is right for the fishing you do, the answer is often, ‘more than one.’
I use 2: a headlamp for walking in, and small dive light with a narrow beam for bony wading.
If you are fishing a sand beach with a sand bottom you can get by with a small neck light or headlight with a red lens. If you are wading a rocky area where you have to step between large rocks, a dive light with a narrowly focused, water-penetrating beam is what you want. If you fish a spot where you have to walk in and path is obscure, or laden with poison ivy, a bright white headlight with a wide beam is a good thing to have. My opinion is that we should try to get by with as little as possible, but that we should err on the side of caution. I’m a pussy, conservative-type person. When I drive, my first priority is not to crash. When I fish, my first priority is to not get hurt.
Some guys can wade bony spots without a light – I however, would not guide without using a good light. I have known guys from Jersey – good fishermen - who did not believe in the use of lights, at all…several ended up taking some nasty spills (not with me though).
If you can’t see the snails on the rock and you step on them (even with Korkers) you go down. I’ve known guys who have fallen down fifteen-foot crevices at places like the Avenues in Narragansett because they did not use a light.