I'm tired of fishing in the heat as well as dealing with recreational boat traffic so I think I'm going to give night time kayak fishing a try. I've ordered my bow lights for port, starboard, and stern identification. I have a couple of LED headlamps and I'm thinking of adding another track mount or suction cup mount light for additional broader lighting if and when it's needed. I also have my Lowrance Hook2 5 fishfinder with navigation to help guide me as needed.

 

I already travel light on my kayak with only two rods and 3 plano boxes, multi-tool, fish gripper, pliers, a few bags of soft plastics, net, PFD, whistle, and water to hydrate.

 

Am I missing anything that is essential to nighttime kayak fishing?

Sounds like you’re good to go.

I do quite a bit of night fishing in my kayak.  Once you get past whatever requirements your state says for night time fishing, all I use is a headlamp with a red light.  

I am not going out to places exploring so the big spotlights aren't necessary.  I also try and do all of my fishing without any lights.  you would be shocked at just how well you can see with any type of ambient light out there if you let your eyes adjust to it.  I have had some of my best days fishing at night from the kayak but the bats always freak me out.....

Oh and definitely get solid bug repellent of your choice as it can get brutal at times, at least around here.  

26 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I do quite a bit of night fishing in my kayak.  Once you get past whatever requirements your state says for night time fishing, all I use is a headlamp with a red light.  

I am not going out to places exploring so the big spotlights aren't necessary.  I also try and do all of my fishing without any lights.  you would be shocked at just how well you can see with any type of ambient light out there if you let your eyes adjust to it.  I have had some of my best days fishing at night from the kayak but the bats always freak me out.....

Oh and definitely get solid bug repellent of your choice as it can get brutal at times, at least around here.  

Thanks - I did forget about a head lamp with the red light option. I was thinking about a light shining on the deck to go along with the head lamp just in case of the odd chance where it is difficult to get the hook out and trying to keep the head lamp in position when the kayak is bobbing around. Maybe I'll give it a go without that option.

 

Bats and any other noises or motion will get my heart rate going, I fished my hotel docks at 2 am back in February when the hotel was slow and it was quite eerie out there.

 

DOH! I did forget the bug repellent. I have plenty of sunscreen, but I don't that will be of any help at night.

21 hours ago, Koz said:

I'm tired of fishing in the heat as well as dealing with recreational boat traffic so I think I'm going to give night time kayak fishing a try. I've ordered my bow lights for port, starboard, and stern identification. I have a couple of LED headlamps and I'm thinking of adding another track mount or suction cup mount light for additional broader lighting if and when it's needed. I also have my Lowrance Hook2 5 fishfinder with navigation to help guide me as needed.

 

I already travel light on my kayak with only two rods and 3 plano boxes, multi-tool, fish gripper, pliers, a few bags of soft plastics, net, PFD, whistle, and water to hydrate.

 

Am I missing anything that is essential to nighttime kayak fishing?

Yes. Sleep! 
 

you won’t catch me Night fishing in a kayak 

In my youth I did a ton of night fishing. That's practically all I did in the heat of our Florida summers.  Extra care must be taken when night fishing.   You can't see where you are going or casting.   A small issue during the day can become a major problem at night.   I can't imagine fishing in a kayak at night.  If it turns over, you are going to be treading water by yourself in the dark.   Water snakes and alligators are more active at night.  One or more of them could only be a few inches away. Not to mention the bugs. 

 

Never fish alone at night.   What are you going to do if you cut or hook yourself fishing alone at night?  I fished alone in the Everglades at night when I was young, one of the dumbest things I ever did.   I am lucky that I didn't have an emergency of some kind or I wouldn't be here to tell you about it.  A Jon boat with a buddy?  Yes.  A kayak? No way.  

Headlamp is key, really need an anchor light (or whatever they call that on a kayak, mines a folding one from YakAttack that has a flag mount too).  Still, you shouldn't expect that power-boats travelling at speed will notice you, so consider that.  I'd also bring along an anchor for the same reason as you do during the day - it's even easier to end up in a tree while you're tying on baits at night.  I used to fish a smallish lake with a 10 or 15 hp restriction (Briery Creek), and night fishing was a lot of fun.  I'd keep the bright lights in front of you to a minimum unless much of the lake is lit.  Once your night vision is gone, it stays gone for a while.

2 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

In my youth I did a ton of night fishing. That's practically all I did in the heat of our Florida summers.  Extra care must be taken when night fishing.   You can't see where you are going or casting.   A small issue during the day can become a major problem at night.   I can't imagine fishing in a kayak at night.  If it turns over, you are going to be treading water by yourself in the dark.   Water snakes and alligators are more active at night.  One or more of them could only be a few inches away. Not to mention the bugs. 

 

Never fish alone at night.   What are you going to do if you cut or hook yourself fishing alone at night?  I fished alone in the Everglades at night when I was young, one of the dumbest things I ever did.   I am lucky that I didn't have an emergency of some kind or I wouldn't be here to tell you about it.  A Jon boat with a buddy?  Yes.  A kayak? No way.  

Thankfully, there are no gators where I'm at. Truthfully, I would never kayak in the daytime with the aggressive gators I came across when I lived in SC.

 

The area where I plan to fish is residential, close to my launch point, and everyone has dock lights. I do not plan to traverse open water and do plan to stay within casting distance of the shore.

16 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

Headlamp is key, really need an anchor light (or whatever they call that on a kayak, mines a folding one from YakAttack that has a flag mount too).  Still, you shouldn't expect that power-boats travelling at speed will notice you, so consider that.  I'd also bring along an anchor for the same reason as you do during the day - it's even easier to end up in a tree while you're tying on baits at night.  I used to fish a smallish lake with a 10 or 15 hp restriction (Briery Creek), and night fishing was a lot of fun.  I'd keep the bright lights in front of you to a minimum unless much of the lake is lit.  Once your night vision is gone, it stays gone for a while.

I actually don't use an anchor. Because my kayak has a pedal drive and a rudder I find it easier to jog the pedals when I want to stay in one place or just set the rudder and drift so I can keep my angle to the bank, docks, or wherever I am casting.

 

There are plenty of docks where I fish, and all are lit. If I need to I can always tie off at someone's dock.

I looked up boat light regs in Calif and I was surprised by them:

Quote

 

Human Powered Vessels:

 

All vessels are required to display navigation lights between sunset and sunrise and during times of restricted visibility. A navigation light may be one of the following:

 

- An electric flashlight or other bright light.

- Lighted lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.

- Tricolored lantern (should not be used with all-round green and red lights)

- All-Round green and red lights. (should not be used with tricolored lantern)

 

 

I thought kayaks needed more than this.

 

I'm taking my kayak to my Dads and will fish evenings due to the heat. Maybe night. It's a quiet cove, all no wake, plenty of homes and docks. No gators! I actually think I'll be safer at night because I will be the only one out there. It's other boaters that worry me.

1 hour ago, CountryboyinDC said:

Headlamp is key, really need an anchor light (or whatever they call that on a kayak, mines a folding one from YakAttack that has a flag mount too).  Still, you shouldn't expect that power-boats travelling at speed will notice you, so consider that.  I'd also bring along an anchor for the same reason as you do during the day - it's even easier to end up in a tree while you're tying on baits at night.  I used to fish a smallish lake with a 10 or 15 hp restriction (Briery Creek), and night fishing was a lot of fun.  I'd keep the bright lights in front of you to a minimum unless much of the lake is lit.  Once your night vision is gone, it stays gone for a while.

You were breaking the law if you fished Briery at night though as it is not allowed and never has been.  

11 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

You were breaking the law if you fished Briery at night though as it is not allowed and never has been.  

No, you can fish 24 hours from the bank, and I believe for an hour after sunset unless that's changed. 

yes you can but what you described isn't bank fishing and you are correct one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset.  I reached out to the DGIF asking about modifying the regs to allow non gas motors to be allowed after dark like Sandy does and he basically said not gonna happen because of the safety issue around the standing timber in the lake.

47 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

yes you can but what you described isn't bank fishing and you are correct one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset.  I reached out to the DGIF asking about modifying the regs to allow non gas motors to be allowed after dark like Sandy does and he basically said not gonna happen because of the safety issue around the standing timber in the lake.

I can see how it might read that way - I often write in a way that merges thoughts without giving the reader a clue that I'm doing it.  When I fished Briery Creek at night, I was an undergrad, working one summer for a framing contractor and we spent a couple of months in Farmville framing apartments.  It was a long way from where we met up mornings to the worksite, so for 4 or 5 weekends I drove to the worksite and brought my canoe and camped Thursday and Friday nights at Briery Creek, fishing into the wee hours of the morning with another summer worker, although he would almost always bail on Friday after work.  I have been back several times more recently, and I'm not sure that camping is allowed anymore, but everything else seems to be the same more than 2 decades later, except the slot limits have changed.  I'm too old now to work all day and fish half the night, and I have only fished a few times at night from a kayak here, and those were on the tidal Potomac and Burke Lake.

 

2 hours ago, Koz said:

I actually don't use an anchor. Because my kayak has a pedal drive and a rudder I find it easier to jog the pedals when I want to stay in one place or just set the rudder and drift so I can keep my angle to the bank, docks, or wherever I am casting.

I guess it depends on the body of water - for example today I didn't use the anchor, but I often use anchor pins, an anchor, or both, even with the pedal drive kayak.  I find it's easy to forget how much you're moving when you're focused on something else, especially in the dark.

Here is what I did. Red and green on the bow and white lights on the stern. red interior lights. 

 

A removable 360 degree white light behind me. 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Bass Junke said:

Here is what I did. Red and green on the bow and white lights on the stern. red interior lights. 

 

A removable 360 degree white light behind me. 

 

 

 

 

That actually looks pretty cool! 

4 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

That actually looks pretty cool! 

Thanks. I had some better pics but alas they were too big and I was too busy at work to resize so I posted the ones that fit. 

all we need is a 360 light to be legal, but if you're paddling the Arroyo at night, good idea to have a VHF tuned to port channel 10 to hear if there's a barge coming up the channel.  

(and if you have GPS/DSC w/ MMSI registration, he can see you on his nav screen)

 

 

if you want a weigh-nothing USB headlamp with just-right light levels, check out Nitecore NU20.  

Mine went through the wash and still works perfectly.  

On 7/27/2021 at 6:02 PM, Koz said:

I'm tired of fishing in the heat as well as dealing with recreational boat traffic so I think I'm going to give night time kayak fishing a try. I've ordered my bow lights for port, starboard, and stern identification. I have a couple of LED headlamps and I'm thinking of adding another track mount or suction cup mount light for additional broader lighting if and when it's needed. I also have my Lowrance Hook2 5 fishfinder with navigation to help guide me as needed.

 

I already travel light on my kayak with only two rods and 3 plano boxes, multi-tool, fish gripper, pliers, a few bags of soft plastics, net, PFD, whistle, and water to hydrate.

 

Am I missing anything that is essential to nighttime kayak fishing?

Been thinking about trying the same thing for the same reasons. In PA all we need is a 360 light to be legal. I've been looking at the lights that clip onto hats. Amazon has some that have red or white LED. 

Hooray! All of my lights came in and it will be a cinch to set it up. But as luck would have it, not only is work busy but we're also in for a week of rain, rain, and more rain. I stay away from kayaking in the rain during the day. There's no way I'm going to do that at night.