Beta Lite.

[dicky123]

Can anyone tell me whats the most powerful you can buy. Suitable to fit to a float for night fishing?

Thanks.

 

[thecrow]

How far out are you intending to fish? I use the starlights from e bay last time I got some I think I paid around £7 for 100 but had to wait for them to come from China.

If you want proper isotopes there are plenty of those on there as well, the ones sold by darrencarp get good reviews not cheap though. fast postage from what I read.

The best I have ever had were found in emergency phones on motorways but I don't think I should elaborate on that

I know Binka had this problem last year not sure if he sorted it out.

 

[chrissh]

The Drennan ones. i use isotopes witch come in different colours as last up to 25 years there a bit more expensive around £5-6 eash (size 3mm x 25)

 

[thecrow]

Whenever I have used a very bright betalight I have found that "jump around" of their own accord, their not of course but they give that illusion.

 

[binka]

I gave up on trying to find a bright enough isotope for my own night floats Richard, I've been trying to find a thread on them where I asked a similar question and I think the general feeling was that none of them were that great.

I decided to make a few of my own night floats last year, in this case mainly for zander and I went for the starlight type of light as they are the best I've used...

http://www.fishingmagic.com/forums/tackle-rigs-bait/359794-night-floats.html

The clear tube which comes in the pack acted as the bush but if you want to really go to town you can buy purpose made bushes here...

Starlight Bushes - � � � � � � � � � �Keiths Fishing Tackle

I would highly recommend this chap for both his quality and his service

 

[Philip]

My advice is forget Isotopes for float fishing.

I attempted to struggle seeing Isotopes on top of floats for a long time but after too many nights of squinting at a tiny dot that was hardly visable not to mention losing them at 10 quid a pop when they fell off I gave up and have started to use starlights instead as they have fallen in price so much of late and I can buy 10 for less than £1.

Plus top tip ! ...if your extra tight like me ..stick em in the freezer when you get home and & you can get 2 or even 3 nights out of just one of them. (thank me later )

 

[wagglechance]

I bought some from China like the crow said. I popped one when they were delivered and put it on the bedside take. It lasted 6 nights. Glowing. Use able for 5 nights. Probably highly toxic mind.

 

[binka]

When I bought my isotopes I was assured Fox were amongst the best, I can just about make 'em out on the end of a 10' bomb rod

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Whenever I have used a very bright betalight I have found that "jump around" of their own accord, their not of course but they give that illusion.

Thats got something to do with the drugs Crow mg:

I have the Matrix from www.johnsonrosstackle.co.uk, never let me down.

 

[dicky123]

So Steve.

Im making up some Avons for the summer barbel, laying on rather than trotting. My eyes are bad enough. Where on E-bay should I get the Starlights and what size would you suggest.

Those brushes, how the hell do they work? Anyone?

Thanks.

 

[thecrow]

Thats got something to do with the drugs Crow

You knew me in my younger days Ray?

---------- Post added at 12:37 ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 ----------

I bought some from China like the crow said. I popped one when they were delivered and put it on the bedside take. It lasted 6 nights. Glowing. Use able for 5 nights. Probably highly toxic mind.

Just dont eat them

 

[Barrie Hicks 2]

One tip for those using the snap and shake starlights. I snapped a bit too vigorously once and a small bit of the liquid inside squirted into my eye - extremely painful and it smarted for about half an hour!

 

[dicky123]

And his pee has been green for the past year!!!!!mg:

---------- Post added at 11:02 ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 ----------

Crow.

Is your supplier easy to find on EBay please?

 

[binka]

So Steve.

Im making up some Avons for the summer barbel, laying on rather than trotting. My eyes are bad enough. Where on E-bay should I get the Starlights and what size would you suggest.

Those brushes, how the hell do they work? Anyone?

Thanks.

Hi Richard,

If you want branded Starlight then I would just do a search for 'starlight SL-' so that all the sizes come up, that said I've had branded ones that have been duds and suspect most come out of the same factory and get packaged for whichever supplier and I would be inclined to go for the cheapest I could find.

Aldi and Lidl did some daft offers on them a couple of years or so ago, IIRC they were something like three quid for a box of one hundred.

Size wise I've used the standard more than any other which is the SL-1 (4.5 x 37mm) but even the Mini (3 x 23mm) are more than adequate as they are so bright and will be fine even without the best eyesight.

Hence...

I would choose the size based on what would match up to the normal tip size on the floats you are making, I've little doubt that you will be able to see them just fine.

The bushes...

These are simplicity themselves really, they're just a tube which is sealed at the bottom end in case you don't get a perfect seal with the light fitted and a safeguard against getting a flush of water into the insides of your float.

All you do is sink them into your float body by drilling out the right diameter hole and then glue in before making sure the collar is well sealed when you are putting your finishing layers of paint and/or varnish on.

I didn't use them with the one below, the clear piece of tube which came with the Starlight was just right for the sarkanda reed stems I was using so I've added another picture below which hopefully shows what the assembly looks like inside the float.

I left the top few mm's sticking out on purpose as it's very rigid and enough to attach a float rubber to if I want to fish the float top 'n bottom instead of relying on a float rubber on the light itself which could cause a problem under pressure...






The stem and light bush are just pre-assembled and inserted through the wider hole at the top and fed through before whipping on the eye and painting and varnishing it all up.

They've worked pretty well so far.

 

[Philip]

I was also wondering how those bushes worked as when I first saw them I assumed they where for adpating normal floats and you pushed them over the top of your float but then when i saw one end was sealed I thought how is that supposed to work ? ...now I understand...its meant for actually building INTO a float rather than adapting a normal float.

Its very neat ...but I must say all I do is get a clear bit of silicon 1 or 2mm depending on the float and starlight I'm using and push that over the top of my float leaving a few mm's of free tube and then push the starlight into that. Sometimes it sits a bit askew but it does the job well enough.

Your versions are far more refined ! ..one day if I have the time...

PS - nice job on the photos and editing btw ...picture paints a thousand words as they say...

 

[thecrow]

Is your supplier easy to find on EBay please?

Sorry only just seen this, been visiting family, I just search for "starlight" on e bay and get whichever is cheapest in the colour I want, they are all very much the same as each other and certainly cheaper than they get sold for over here.

 

[binka]

Just an afterthought...

Don't chuck away your spent lights, you can paint 'em up in a solid tip colour that you can use when you first get to the water in daylight, when it starts to get dark you just change the painted tip for a starlight instead of the whole float...



In fairness you can buy the standard sized tips (SL-1) from the same place as the bushes for next to nowt but if you've already got the paint it makes sense to me to use what you have for the sake of a couple of dips with undercoat and colour, drying time with acrylic paint is very quick.

Also handy for the other sizes for which you can't buy the solid coloured inserts.

 

[dicky123]

Brilliant Steve thanks, understand it 100% now. I'll make a few bigger Avon's this year for laying on in the summer evenings. Remember them Steve summer evening?

---------- Post added at 08:35 ---------- Previous post was at 08:28 ----------

Steve, Guy's.

Going to buy some brushes. Do I want the with an eye line??? or the standard please? Know I need 4.5 for the lite's Ive brought.

Thanks Mate.

---------- Post added at 08:37 ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 ----------

Is it for the line to run through? Guess!

 

[binka]

Going to buy some brushes. Do I want the with an eye line??? or the standard please? Know I need 4.5 for the lite's Ive brought.

I think if I were making Avons I would go for the ones with the eye Richard and just use a locking shot below the float eye or, if you're not building a bottom eye into them, two float rubbers on the stem.