When fishing at night it is obvious that anglers need to take their own source of artificial light and there are several different types of light that anglers can choose from.
Torches – Traditional, hand-held torches are useful for finding the way to or from an angling venue, although the fact that they have to be held in one hand makes them less useful when actually fishing. While there is a wide range of torches on the market those made by Maglite are probably the best in terms of quality (although they are expensive). It is always worth keeping a torch of this type in the tackle box in case of an unexpected event happening (such as other sources of light failing or needing to signal for help). Although they are not the cheapest Maglite torches are extremely high quality and reliable. Prices range from £15 for mini lights to over £40 for larger models – click here to view Maglites and similar torches on Amazon.
Headlamps – Almost all anglers will use a headlamp when night fishing as they offer the obvious advantage of keeping the anglers’ hands-free when fishing. Older head torches from the 1990s were bulky with a now-comical-looking battery pack on the back and a bulb which offered little power. Modern headlamps are much improved and provide extremely bright LED lights in a compact and comfortable to wear unit. When reeling in, baiting up or doing practically any other fishing activity at night there is no substitute for a good quality headlamp. Although some top-end headlamps are expensive (some Petzl headlamps have an RRP of more than £300), but perfectly adequate headlamps can be purchased for much more reasonable prices, click here to view on Amazon.
Lanterns and Light Systems – While some anglers are happy to just use a headlamp to see what they are doing others also like to add additional light around the area where they are fishing by using a lantern. Old-fashioned Tilley lamps fuelled with paraffin are still used by some anglers, but modern LED electronic lanterns are also now available from outdoors or camping shops, and many anglers find these more convenient and easier to use. New developments such as NGT’s Light System (pictured) can also be used and these offer adjustable levels of light and can also be used as a power bank to charge mobile phones and other electronic devices. See the range of lanterns and other lighting available on Amazon by clicking here.
Rod Tip Lights – A tip light is essential when night fishing as without one it can be near-impossible to see bites, and it is inevitable that a number of fish will be missed during a session. There are purpose-made lights for the end of rods, with the Delta Rod Lite being one of the most popular on the market. This light can be switched on and off when needed and lasts for hundreds of hours of use. They are available in red, blue or green colours. An alternative to this is to use chemical light sticks. These are small disposable sticks, an inch or so in length and when they are bent the chemicals inside them mix together. The reaction between the chemicals causes the stick to glow brightly for up to twelve hours. These light sticks can be attached to the end of a rod with clear sticky tape to produce a cheap yet effective tip light. It is a good idea to have some of these light sticks in the tackle box in the event of a battery-powered tip light failing or running out of power.