need advice from the catfisherman

[acamp08]

need advice from the catfisherman. i have a 14 ft sea king that i modded up to be nice and comfortable. its great for day fishing but now i want to chase the cats at night. i was wondering if anyone has any ideas for mods for catfishing at night.

 

[brewfish]

The first thing that comes to my mind for night time catin' or for me hitting the docks at night for speckled trout would be lights! There's nothing worse that constantly having to fumble with flash lights all night long and even then they will only illuminate one small area at a time. I plan on running 2 strands of these in my boat, one on either side of the boat. They are bright enough to see to tie a hook and unhook a fish but don't really attract bugs and won't kill your night vision.

I know that one of the sponsors of this board sells something kind of similar but I just like these better.

https://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0022913016310a&navCount=7&podId=0022913&parentId=cat600053&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat21276-cat600053_TGP&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat600053&hasJS=true

 

[bassboy1]

Contact bluewaterLED (board sponsor). He should be able to hook you up with plenty of non intrusive interior LED lights. I am not much of a catfisherman, but are they attracted to lights like crappie are? If so, you may want to get some water lights too. I have heard of people buying car headlights (they are 12v) and then they used the foam that the light is packaged in to float the lights. They just glue or tape the foam (since it already has the opening in the middle to see the light in the package, and is molded to the lights shape) to the light, and let them float around, using the power cord as a tether.

 

[acamp08]

alright so it sounds like the first thing i need to do is lights. check

 

[Quackrstackr]

The only thing that you need to catch cats at night is a rod and reel. :wink:

Lights are nice but they tend to attract bugs if left on. Rod holders are about the only other thing I could think of that you might want.

 

[bassboy1]

The only thing that you need to catch cats at night is a rod and reel. :wink:

Lights are nice but they tend to attract bugs if left on. Rod holders are about the only other thing I could think of that you might want.

I don't know, fumbling around in the bottom of a boat with no light is a pain, especially when you are trying to chase the crappie minnow you just dropped (catfisherman probably won't have that problem). I think Mr. bluewaterLED (I don't remember his name) said that certain colors don't attract bugs.

 

[toyz1972]

i was thinking of a light made by nightblaster.its 12v and is a black light with a soft white light to.so you can use just the black light to see rods and line.catfishing is my favorite.not sure how bugs will react to black light,so.but im going to try it on mine. here is a link and you can find a better price.


https://www.boatersworld.com/product/478340011.htm?utm_medium=productsearch&utm_source=google

 

[Quackrstackr]

Don't get me wrong, LED lights would be fantastic but the willow flies around here will pack you off if you leave lights running.

I use an LED head lamp.

I put my green flourescent submersible to it's first use last night and I will be doing that again. It was unbelievable how many bait fish we had surround the light in a matter of minutes. About 30 minutes in, the white bass turned on the buffet sign. :lol:

 

[acamp08]

thanks for the pic. those submersible lights are cool

 

[Rairdog]

I second the head light. That's all I use period (along with running lights). Once you get used to them your lost without them. Fancy LED's under the hatches and around the perimeter look cool but have no use for tying up, looking for something you dropped or landing a fish. Need to know what type of water you are fishing. River or lake. Drifting or parking some lead. I personally like to drift cut shad thru a run as if your walleye fishing. Once I figure out their location I don't even set the rod down and keep my finger on the line. Make the bait flow naturally with the current. This is for small rivers though. For big rivers and drifting a good rod holder is all you need. Cabelas has the quick release for 14.99. Just picked up a couple today. Save your money for a comfortable seat. I also use glow in the dark rods for the big flatties when parking lead. Light is my enemy because of the bugs. A headlight is on and off as needed, hands free and directed to where it's needed.