Going to Philpott Lake for a few days and am thinking about doing some night fishing in my Scanoe. Looking at the Virginia regulations, I'm a little confused...

They say no nav lights are required for canoes (being under oar), but I have a trolling motor on my Scanoe.

So, do I need to get some portable nav lights?

Thanks!

YES!

Last thing you want is to be hit by some other boater because they can not see you.

And wear your life vest. Canoes&night are a scary mixture.

The way I understand the regulation is anything with a motor electric or gas need nag . light  to be safe that would be the best thing to do 

Why risk it?

Common sense would say YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

according to the virginia boaters regulations, if the boat is under 10hp, then only a 360 degree white light is needed. i have a boat powered by a trolling motor and i have the white light. no front red or green lights are needed.

yes! Whatever legal requirements are, if you plan to be out in navigable waters at night you need to have SOMETHING on your boat to allow others to see you.

I have nearly run through pontoon boats (25 ft long) who decide to anchor in a channel overnight without lighting. Had they been Scanoes, i would have gone through them. I run max 1/4 throttle in the dark, many others I have seen WOT.

Live longer, get some lights.

Rowboats

A vessel under oars must carry a flashlight to show a white light in time to prevent a collision.

Anchor Lights

At anchor after dark, all vessels less than 538.1 feet in length must display a round white light, placed where it can be seen from any direction. This includes vessels attached to a mooring not in dock.

The first moonless night you see someone running at WOT you will be glad to have nav lights, flashlights, spotlights, and any other lights you have on board. I've wished for some sort of ship to ship rocket a few times, but that is another thread.

even if the law did not require the light it is better to have it then get smashed by another boat.

State law or not, the law of common since says if your going to get out on a lake in an area other boats may travel, you need at least a tall white lite.  If you're only going to be working around the edges and never getting into the lake itself, then you might be ok, but the first time you decide, you want to try the bank on the other side of the channel, you're playing Russian Roulette. 

As mentioned a lot of people with big bass boats also fish at night, me included.  On my home lake that I know very well, I never use a spot lite and I when in the open channels, I commonly run 30 - 40 mph.  If someone is dumb enough to be out in a small canoe or jon boat without a lite,  I would hate the think what they might look like after over 2,000 pounds of bass boat went through the middle of them.

Rowboats

A vessel under oars must carry a flashlight to show a white light in time to prevent a collision.

Anchor Lights

At anchor after dark, all vessels less than 538.1 feet in length must display a round white light, placed where it can be seen from any direction. This includes vessels attached to a mooring not in dock.

So my 538.2ft Ranger is good to go?

The other thing to consider is there may be some "less than sober" boaters navigating during the evening hours. Anything to get boaters to notice you at night can be a lifesaver. The water fish has a 25mph speed limit after dark. I can imagine getting hit at 25mph would be pretty bad.