Night fishing.

[PapaDave]

Okay, so there I am sitting on the back patio last night, balmy, windless, cloudless, looking up at the moon nearly full, and the thing that went through my head was "I could probably take the kayak out at night". I know that in the spring and summer that there will be nights like that on the water, and some of you go after bugs when they are in season, and sometimes it is dfficult to break away from responsbilities to get out in the daytime. So I am thinking of trying that out, so here are some questions...

What are the regulations/requirements for a kayak? Are they the same as a power boat?

Is there a place that makes/sells running lights and such for kayaks? If so, where do I find them?

What other equipment should I look into?

Launching, where, what to look out for?

I imagine a few out there have tried fishing in the evenings so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[yaknewb]

I have a kayak light for sale if you might be intrested.

[jorluivil]

Make yourself very visible......trust me on this one.

[GregAndrew]

I believe that you are only required to have 1 light on all the time. But, by all means, carry several other small backups.

[jbaker]

The rule is 1 white light visible 360*, there's lots of diy ways put lights on a yak. or google visipole. also a good head lamp is key as well as some sort of bright signaling light. I spent many nights last summer floating around the big bay and never had a problem. just make suer your visible to others so you don't become a speed bump out there and have fun.

[467echo]

When the squid night bite is goin on most people just have a headlamp on. I'm not saying its legal, that just what I have noticed. At least when you are launching from LJ its usually light when going out and dark when coming in, and unlike the bays there is not much traffic(just a different kind of traffic)and it seems safe to me. I bring my headlamp and one of those Lifegear battery powered glowsticks just in case. Just my 2 cents

[Amish Ed]

I love night fishing, though I do most of mine in the winter for bass. Not only make yourself as visible as possible, use your ears. I only use a headlamp, but as soon as I hear a boat I make sure to look at it a few times. If it looks like it might get too close I just move farther away.

[Rusty]

Lights give away bites !

[Willie h]

I wrapped some reflective tape on my paddle, keep a 360 light on, and use a head lamp. When I'm out at night I keep my PFD on too.

[Lets_Fish]

While reading up on this topic I came across this publication on the California Department of Boating and Waterways web site. Look at the following pages (pages listed at the bottom) for lighting for a kayak; 27 & 42.

http://www.dbw.ca.gov/Pubs/Abc/reqequip.pdf