Nite Lite

I need a 360 light required by my state for night fishing. I want it to be a clean installation. I know you guys have good ideas.

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Hey Brazos,
Here are a couple of ideas that I have field-tested on my OB and Sport. An interesting (and sometimes VERY interesting) aspect of kayak fishing is to fish at night. I use a cap light (tackle box light from W-M) and the great little River Rock lantern from Target. In order to protect my night vision, I sometimes use a headlamp with a red filter (available at Lowe's, W-M, etc.)



Here is the River Rock lantern from Target. This was discontinued last year, but they have replaced it with a similar model.



The PVC pole fits nicely into the center rodholder on the back of my cooler. I used to have a C light (as shown here), but it turned out to be not nearly as visible as the LED River Rock-type lantern. I also use a short length of pipe insulation around the ¾ inch PVC for a snug fit in the rodholder.



Here’s my Sport after returning from a little night fishing excursion. I also use trucker’s reflective tape (from W-M) on my yaks for increased visibility at night. Too many idiot boaters out there!

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Apalach
Man you have some good ideas. Thanks. I bought a Igloo Marine 25 qt cooler. But I already had 2 coleman coolers that fit on the Outback allmost perfect. Now I need to see about rod holder if they will fit on the colemans. But the Igloo holds ice twice as long as the colemans and that is important because I will go camping with a few beers in my cooler.

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Hey Apalach
I really dig them reflectors. The PB's in Texas are out to get yakers. I want some bad. How do they look at day.
Brazos

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Brazos,
Here ya go...

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Thanks Man

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Hey Apalach
Do you have a piece of reflector below your light?
Brazos

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Brazos,
Good eye--sure do. Note the closeup of the lantern. That silver-looking stuff just below it is the reflective tape that really stands out when a light (or the flash) hits it.

You mentioned that the PBs are out to get yakers down there. Same here! Some of my friends down in the Everglades had the tires of their vehicle and their trailers slashed by a boater. When he passed them on the water, he was cussing them out for being on the wrong side of "his" channel. Unfortunately. they didn't get the name, or number of his boat, but now the rangers are alerted, and I'm fairly certain he will screw up when someone is watching next time.

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Apalach
I know how I am going to do my reflectors. Just like yours and the nite light I want to mount in the rod holder but if it was calaspable I would be able to store it in a 8" hatch. Any ideas? One of the main reasons I bought a O/B is that I saw some pictures of yours online with the outriggers mounted on Ram Balls. At the time I thought I was really going to need some kind of stabilizers. As it turns out I dont need anything that thing is so stabile it is unreal. This Hobie Community is so nice. I have already got some great ideas from you and a fella named Roadrunner. Tell me about the nite lite please.
Brazos

Take a look at those aluminum pool cleaning brush handles. Ditto for aluminum extendable paint roller handles. Either of those might work for ya. So far as I know, PVC doesn't do extendable, but you can certainly do it in sections with the appropriate fittings and a small set screw or two to hold the sections in place. That is what I did for my poling stick. Here are some pics of my "Law Stick", also known as a poling stick for push-poling on the flats and for pushing off when getting underway. Florida Sportsman Magazine publishes a "Law Stick" sticker that not only has a ruler for fish measurements on it, but also the size limits for all the game fish down here. I put the sticker on a 3/4 inch diameter, 5-foot long PVC push-pole that normally resides in my portside gunwale bungee, so that it is easily accessible.



Closer view of the Florida Sportsman LawStick.



An example of some of the species size limits on the LawStick.



Here is the 4-way fitting at the base. Believe it or not, it works great as an emergency paddle as well! The bottom is cut off at a 45 degree angle, so that it sticks into the bottom sediment for traction. The upper portion is the 5 foot extension that can be added to the lower portion by simply removing one screw, then adding the 4-way fitting to the new end, and making the overall length 10 feet.



Here is the T-handle at the other end.



Also makes a good standing/walking stick at trip's end for steadying oneself after 3-4 hours in a cramped sitting position.

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Hey Apalach
I have out in my garage a extending paint pole. I can machine whatever I need to adapt it. Will probaly go get a new one because that one has paint dryed on it. I will have to read if Texas has a rule for how high its got to be. I think that one is about 4' extended. I want a push pole for the flats, thats where I will fish the most. Sure would like it to be a stake out pole too. Man I am glad I found this site.
Brazos

You know what? When I took my yak out the first time I peddled for 5.5 miles acording to the GPS. When I got back to the launch site and got out of the boat I almost fell. I thought Man I'm getting old. Last three times out I didn't notice any differance. Must be getting my sea legs back.
Just a observation.

Hey Apalach
I hope I ain't bothering you to much. What is that thing on the bottom of your push pole? I have a pretty good idea how to make your push pole into a push pole and a stake out stick.
Brazos

I don't know about the truckers stuff...seems like it made be made by 3M
However you can also use SOLAS reflective material....seems to stick pretty good so far...SOLAS stands for Survival Of Life At Sea.


3Mâ„¢ Scotchliteâ„¢ Reflective Material - SOLAS MmThese products are specifically designed for reflectorizing SOLAS life support equipment such as life vests, jackets, inflatables and rafts. 3Mâ„¢ Scotchliteâ„¢ Reflective Material - SOLAS Grade 3150-A conforms to the International Maritime Organization regulations and meet U.S. Coast Guard specifications for reflectivity.

SOLAS grade products are composed of an encapsulated retroreflective lens incorporated onto two types of backing: sewable and pressure sensitive afhesive. They perform well wet or dry and enhance the visibility of life support equipment such as life vests, jackets and rafts.<

Just got my new Visipole today, Freakin SWEET......It's very light and
tough"(not cheap at all), and even better then I really expected, 4'6" is
the ticket....slides right in the rod holder snugly and is tethered.....It
is blowing Scotty's rod holder way out of the water...... So you have best
of both worlds.......Daytime visibility(it's intended use) and a better
light(100 hours burn time) not to mention setup.....Steve

http://www.yakattack.us