Night fishing

[Newt]

I think if the torch is steady - point it and leave it - the fish will ignore it after a little bit.

 

It is fairly common in the US when night fishing from a boat for certain species to use a waterproof light. Put it under the water and after a short while, insects and small fish will be attracted and if all goes well, preds will venture in for the easy meal. The light really does not seem to bother them as long as it is left in place and not moved around.

[ayjay]

I've caught loads of tench at night shining a torch on a piece of peacock quill, I've not done it for a long time now but I doubt if the tench have changed much.

 

The phenomenon of the apparently moving isotope is all down to the way your eye focuses on it.

 

Briefly, the part of your eye that sees it in the dark is not the part of your eye that would normally focus on it, therefore once you have been watching it for a while and your eye realises that it can see something in the dark, it (your eye) tries to re-focus with the part of the eye that would normally focus on the isotope and hence it appears to move.

 

The solution is to use a different colour, (red is usually best for this) which the eye doesn't see so brightly and therefore never quite realises that it can see it and so doesn't try and re-focus.

 

Red isotopes are bright enough for use on a quivertip but probably not on a float if it's more than a rodlength out. Orange are brighter than red and would probably be more useful on a float although I've only used them on quivertips.

[Steve Walker]

chris mc:

Personally i wouldn't use a pole on a river anyway but thats just my oppion.

I've seen one used very effectively to get baits into a far bank feature you couldn't cast into or easily get into with a rolling lead.

 

Still doesn't seem like cricket, though.

[lesliefisherman]

hi all,just one thing you can do is have your rods back from the water,and slightly pointing upwards,then position your torch from the side with the beam of light from the torch shining on the tips of the rod only,this is what i used to do years ago when night fishing for chub.hope that sounds clear,may have to put something under the torch to make it higher.all the best derek.

[chevin]

I have used a "Dolphin" type lamp (they are a hand lamp that takes a 6volt lantern battery) on many occasions when fishing for bream and tench and if it is done properly it does not scare the fish. The secret is to have the lamp very lose to the surface of the water and almost level with it. You just want the beam to hit the water at a very shallow angle where your float is going to be. Once you have the lamp there don't move it or interupt the beam at all. I think that when it is set properly the light tends to reflect away from the depths and just illuminates the first inch or so of the water. It is an enjoyable way of fishing and is much easier on the eyes than the light sticks.

[tommo666]

I thought it was illegal to use artificial light when fishing at night, except to illuminate a float or rod tip for bite indication. Is this true and if it scares fish away, why?

[chevin]

It used to be illegal to use "Fixed engines" to catch fish too. But know one seemed to know why - or what a "fixed engine" was!

 

Pretty much the same with artificial light I think! No one knows why it is banned or what "Artificial" light is! Surely light is light? :confused:

 

[ 04. July 2005, 06:24 AM: Message edited by: chevin ]

[Vagabond]

Salmon poachers spear fish by torchlight - that's why "artificial light" is illegal. It was not meant to legislate against illuminating a float, although some tried to make out it was.

 

When I was a lad it was considered unsporting to fish at night - with or without "artificial light". Dick Walker changed that attitude!

 

It was also considered unsporting to use electrically-powered bite indicators. Angry letters appeared in AT, but our Richard was well capable of defending himself

 

"Fixed engine" - An exact definition is difficult to find. I think technically a carp fisher's bolt rig is a fixed engine.

 

Rabid carp fishers please note - I am not defending that view, merely reporting it

[Steve Walker]

ayjay:

 

The phenomenon of the apparently moving isotope is all down to the way your eye focuses on it.

 

Briefly, the part of your eye that sees it in the dark is not the part of your eye that would normally focus on it, therefore once you have been watching it for a while and your eye realises that it can see something in the dark, it (your eye) tries to re-focus with the  part of the eye that would normally focus on the isotope and hence it appears to move.

Same effect that lets you see dim stars by looking to the side of them; if you look straight at them, they disappear. I get the same thing with an unilluminated float as it gets almost too dark to see it.

[Howard 13]

Thanks for all the replies, weather permitting I shall be out tomorrow night. The plan is to start with no light, fishing a feeder with isotopes and once I start catching switch to the pole and headlamp.

 

This way I'll know if it was the light that spooked them.

 

I'll be fishing about 10 metres out so the light angle should be fairly shallow, although as it's a headlamp will be fairly difficult to keep constant.

 

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

HB.

 

[ 04. July 2005, 09:28 PM: Message edited by: Howard 13 ]