Fishing with Lights OFF!!

[alycat]

there alot of good points but if the law states you must have your lights on then that is what you should do. But the guy that got the ticket when taking his boat off the trailer. That was just being a jerk.

[twise7]

I'm sorry to be blunt, but if you don't have your lights on at night you're STUPID and shouldn't be allowed to operate a boat. There's no room for argument on this subject. None of this, "turn them on when you hear a boat" or anything. There is no possible reason why your lights shouldn't be on from sun down to sun up.

Couldn't agree more. My advice - get your lights on and live to fish another day.

[Shimano4Life]

If I might ask why were you on plane at night? I realize it was a tourney. But even if the other boat had it's lights off wouldn't it be safer to idle? I'm just sayin. I've fished alot of night tourneys and even with gps it can't see obstructions in the water and I do turn on my lights when I know another boat is coming in my direction and when I am changing areas. But I wouldn't feel comfortable on plane at night.

Probably because I know the lake very well and scouted all obstructions during the first few daylight hours of the tournament on my first run.

[brlfishing]

anyone who would not have nav lights on is not only a danger to themselves but also me and everyone else. you would have to have some sort of chemical imbalance of the brain to even think about not running your nav lights at night. but nothing suprises me anymore. soon you will hear about the people in kayaks at barren river getting ran over. 3 of them were out in the dark with no lights as a tournament was ending last year and almost got nailed by the boat that was running in front of me. luckily i seen him cut hard left at the hogs back and thought it was odd to do so, so i let off and followed his line and then seen why he had done so. dont let your last fishing trip be due to something avoidable.

[SlopFishin]

Probably because I know the lake very well and scouted all obstructions during the first few daylight hours of the tournament on my first run.

Good luck with that! BTW, how do you avoid the moron who is fishing with no lights?

[kydonky]

It's a plain as night and day. Navigation lights when underway. 360 deg white anchor light anywhere there is navigation when moored or stopped. The only exception is manually proppelled boats (row boat). They must have a white light ready to display to all nearby traffic.

I was cruising down the river several years ago at idle speed with my lights on. The river was packed for a fireworks show that night. Very dark. Houseboat moored in channel with no lights. Yes I bumped them, broke my winshield, they were all drunk, "A" hole would not give his name, I got Reg #, state police contacted him, he paid for my winshield.

[Jabbo]

Fellas I think that your lights only need to be on while you are underway... Your bow lights have a red and green side, This allows other boaters to know which direction your boat is headed and on which side to pass.
If you are fishing a bank (stationary) and your lights would indicate that a boater can pass on the right or left. You could be liable for their loss should they run aground etc..
I know that sounds Dumb, but Maritime Law is much different than what a lot of us would think reasonable. I believe that if you are drift fishing your Stern light needs to be on which is reasonable but not your bow light.
I know my boat's switch will allow operation of one or both.. That is the reason why. As far as operation speed... The Government has not regulated a lot of our public waters and that's fine, but we as boaters need to know the laws and keep safe. If you can't see far enough in front of you to avoid an accident, or if you are going too fast for the conditions (Dark is a condition) this would be your fault regardless of whether that other person had lights on... What if it was a group of swimmers? They don't have lights but if you hit them it's your fault.. Same thing.
Maritime law is what we need to know.. As far as loading and unloading a boat.. I think there may be some other issues there. Like the CO being a Butt or maybe the guy in the boat took it out for a loop or two to warm up the engine.. without being there, who knows..

[Ranger492]

[QUOTE=Jabbo;419293]Fellas I think that your lights only need to be on while you are underway...

Reply: Wrong....the law is at all times. Now, I don't always follow it, and just like others said, I may exceed the speed limit on the highway from time to time too.

[QUOTE=Jabbo;419293]Your bow lights have a red and green side, This allows other boaters to know which direction your boat is headed and on which side to pass.

Reply: True...

[QUOTE=Jabbo;419293]If you are fishing a bank (stationary) and your lights would indicate that a boater can pass on the right or left. You could be liable for their loss should they run aground etc..

Reply: Not true in a million years...

[QUOTE=Jabbo;419293]I know that sounds Dumb, but Maritime Law is much different than what a lot of us would think reasonable. I believe that if you are drift fishing your Stern light needs to be on which is reasonable but not your bow light. I know my boat's switch will allow operation of one or both.. That is the reason why.

Reply: Not true, but again, I do turn my lights off at night when fishing out of navigational areas. Usually I have a black light on and will flip my nav/anchor lights on as soon as I hear another boat. I'm sure that there is a reasonable chance that I'll get a ticket for it one day (similar to how I'm sure I'll get a ticket for speeding one day), but it is a choice I make and I practice safety as much as possible by turning them on when a boat is in earshot (which is a long way away)


[QUOTE=Jabbo;419293]As far as operation speed... The Government has not regulated a lot of our public waters and that's fine, but we as boaters need to know the laws and keep safe.

Reply: Agree...but you don't know the law. Now, you may consider me using the on/off method not being safe....we can agree to disagree.

[QUOTE=Jabbo;419293]If you can't see far enough in front of you to avoid an accident, or if you are going too fast for the conditions (Dark is a condition) this would be your fault regardless of whether that other person had lights on...

Reply: Agree that we are all responsible for our own craft, but the law would side with the guy doing the hitting...the guy without lights should have turned them on at some point. It's not that hard to figure out.

[troutcrazy]

I don't see what the problem is with leaving your lights on...I sleep just as good with them on as I do with them off!

[Dave Stewart]

This same subject comes up every summer when people start night fishing. Bottom line the laws are written to protect people...period. Either you choose to obey the laws or you don't....same with the highway speed laws. If you choose not to do so, then you pay the price when you get caught...that includes the fine and the liability when you cause an accident. If the accident is bad enough, you will and your family will be paying for the rest of your and their lives (if you live through it). Seems to me it is not worth it.

[Wichita]

Wish they would enforce this more as there is a Canoe club that comes to Nelson Co. every full moon to night around the lake , about 10 or more of them, Before they restricted the lake speed at night I almost took out three and all had no lighting whatsoever, then after the no wake speed was posted I almost got a group swimming in the dark no moon out in the middle of the lake! 2 feet or 200 feet all water craft must have a light of some sort period!

[fishincreek]

I don't believe canoes or boats less than 16 feet are required to have lights by law.