Talk:Fishing light attractor

Reverted content
The following was content added by an anon user. It is not written in encyclopedic tone or sources but seems to contain some useful info. I will leave it here and try to work on getting improving it so that it can be used on the main space. --Daniel J. Leivick (talk) 05:45, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

This writer is the "anon" refered to above. The additional practical information on the topic submitted yesterday was a followup on an earlier submission (see history). It is agreed that the style of this addendum was not suficiently encylopedic. Therfore, the following edited version is offered for consideration: 72.26.42.21 (talk) 05:26, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

A search for fishing lights on the internet or in fishing supply catalogs reveals a wide assortment of fish attracting lights. These lights fall into two groups, those that are portable and those that are permanently mounted. Generally, portable lights are powered by batteries and this sets practical limits to to the kind of light that can be used. Most portable light souces are relatively low in light intensity and have short operating times. Lights drawing more than a few tens of watts are not practical. The old classic, a 12 volt automobile headlight mounted on a Styrofoam float ring, is probably the least expensive and lasts for a few hours before the battery is descharged. Fluorescent lamps enclosed in waterproof, submersible clear plastic housings are more efficient but considerably more expensive. Costing $160-$200, they are available through the internet, sport stores and catalogs. Lights made up of large arrays of LED lights are an up-and-comer. LEDs are very efficient in converting electrical energy to light. As the cost of LEDs decrease, expect LED array fishing lights to offer more light intensity at low cost.

Permanent lights are supplied with adequate power sources - typically, 115 volt house current. Placed on poles at the end of a dock or pier, the least expensive lights are 175 watt mercury vapor or 70 and 150 watt high pressure sodium vapor flood lights. Sold as security lights, they are readily available from most hardware or farm supply stores and cost $30 to $90. Most are photocell controlled for automatic dusk-to-dawn operation and the fixture comes complete with a bulb. These lights are efficient in converting electricity to light and stand up well to outside weather conditions. For the purpose of a fishing light, one can redirect more light toward the water by installing a 5”X10” piece of aluminum flashing bent into a half circle inside the standard circular acrylic lens.

These security lights can also be modified to operate submerged in water. This later modification gives great results. However, the modification must be done professionally as the high voltages that power these lamps can be lethal. Two sources of complete kits, both costing about $300, are www.thegreenmonsterfishinglight.com and www.underwaterfishinglights.com. The power ballast of the lamp is mounted on a pole in a dry location. To it is connected to a medium pressure mercury lamp in a water proof housing via a waterproof cable. The lamp, which floats like a bobber, is held in submerged position by weights. A unique feature of this kind of submerged light is that its outer glass envelope gets hot enough to prevent establishment of marine growth. This is not the case with many other underwater lights which must be cleaned frequently.

Many low cost flood lights use tungsten or tungsten-halogen (quartz) bulbs. Even though they will work as fish attractors, they are energy inefficient and a large portion of their emitted light is “invisible” to game fish and their food chain. While florescent lights are more energy efficient the commercial outdoor fixtures utilizing fluorescent tubes are expensive.

The best pole mounted lights for attracting fish are stadium spot lights. They are by far the most intense light source and can illuminate a large area of water. Rated at 250, 400 and 1000 watts, the necessary parabola-shaped reflector, light ballast and high intensity discharge lamp are each sold separately. These lamps emit white, blue-green, green or yellow light. Unlike most high intensity colored lights, they do not use colored filters. Therefore, little electrical energy is wasted producing and filtering out light of other colors. For most fishing waters the lamp color of choice is green. A complete light fixture and lamp costs about $400: $200 for the lamp and $200 for the stadium light fixture. The cost of the lamps with different wattage ratings are roughly the same, so most people go for the 1000 watt lamp. One source for these lights is Light Bulb Depot (www.lightbulbdepot.com, Items #01060K and #02157A). Speciality light stores also can order them. It takes two people to install these big lamps and you will want a switch, timer, heavy duty 10 or 12 gauge wiring and perhaps a circuit breaker hookup, thus adding to the cost.