Lights on while fishing!

[kc]

I personally don't like my lights on at night. The usual -- bugs, glare, spooked fish and I understand the law and the reasoning behind it. But what I don't understand is where common sense plays into this. To me if I am on a bank say up in a bay and a boat is running out on the main lake a couple of hundred yards away (not towards me) why do I need my lights on? I have always used common sense and when a boat is approaching turn my lights on to let them know I am there. Why is this not an acceptable common sense approach? If I am anchored or out in the lake I leave them on but when I am fishing close to the bank and not in a normal navigation channel I am fully aware of boats moving around I just can't see why this is a problem. I guess I will be taking my chances. In my world common sense rules and fishing with lights on at night ain't common sense if you want to catch fish.

kc

[CTFSHWHISKER]

my partners triton had a rear lite that when fishing from the back didn't blind you but you could see it fine away from the boat,mine isnt like that so i put something over it too like dave,and you can still see it fine.what i gather is this,on a busy nite i wear out my switch on off on off get the picture,every cycle could be a cast and you always get a bite wile bent over flipping the switch,i just leave it on now,patrolman said to NOT burn the front while fishing that's why he come to get me.next thing to remember these idiots i have been encountering at nolin well they figure if there is water there it must be navigatable,is that a word? anyway most of them are lacking commons sense and lots of bud light sense,plus somthing i have noticed,there are lots more home lights on the shore to enterfere with the boat lights.if i'm fishing all night i'll take an extra battery for pumps and lights hook it up paralell on the starting battery and it will not go dead i promise,you have twice the capacity.

[Fishhead]

I agree with KC, if your not in a navigable channel or fishing a spot in the middle of the lake, like say up in a bay or creek and close to shore, I dont see the problem with having your lights out. When I'm on the lake at night I am fully aware of whats going on around me out there. I can see and and hear boats coming and if the boat looks like they are coming in my direction I will flip my lights on for a minute or keep them on until they pass me. If I'm fishing a navigable channel well off the bank, fishing a ledge, hump or flat out in the middle of the lake I keep my lights on, same if I am moving.

However, I never run my boat WOT at night, ever! I have put it up on a low plane if there is enough moonlight to see fairly well (some full moon nights it's as bright as daylight out there) and if the situation arises (severe thunderstorm moves in) that I have to get to the ramp in a hurry. Otherwise I will keep the boat around 2000-2500 rpms or at the lake speed limit (10 mph on some Indiana lakes) if it exists.

Common sense goes a long ways on the water, daytime or nighttime.

[kc]

I also don't run fast at night -- there is no sense in it. The only problem I have seeing in the dark is depth perception which gets worse the faster you are moving. So I am the same when running at night just getting up on plane and getting the nose down. I also don't fish tournaments at night so I have no reason to be in a hurry.

kc