Torch or starlight ?

Baz · Jan 2, 2005

Would there be any advantage or disadvantage in using a coloured (red) torch beam pointed up at your quivertip, over using the usual starlights fitted on the end of your rod.
One advantage I can think of is that you do not need to worry about your line getting caught around the end of the rod in the dark. Another is it would solve the problem of your eyes playing tricks on you, and thinking did it move or not?

Disadvantage.
Would the torch beam disturb othe ranglers, although it was pointed upwards?

NottmDon · Jan 2, 2005

Only downside I can see Baz is if you shone it on the water by mistake and it spooked the fish. I imagine their eyes are more receptive to light changes than ours mate. If you do take a torch dont forget spare batteries and a small back up torch for the time your batteries go dead on you! I use a headlamp myself so my hands are free (usually to drink a cuppa lol). Not much chance of disturbing other anglers in my neck of the woods though Baz, seems everyone fishes commercials here and I often have a few miles of prime Trent bankside to fish from on my todd! Do you remember that ongoing debate about smokers putting fish off because of the nicotine on their hands? Old Ivan Marks got a hook bait cupped it in his hands and blew smoke over it and still caught! I read an interesting article that suggested it wasn't the nicotine but the lighted end of the fags that made fish wary. The guy who wrote it said fish would view the light pretty much in the way that the predator in the movie did! Okay he was simplyfing it for morons like me but it had a hint of the old common sense to me. Would a torch light at night be similar I wonder?

Baz · Jan 2, 2005

Thanks Don,
It was discussed on this forum recently about fish being spooked by torch lights shining on the water.
Although I wouldn't thank somebody for shining a lamp in the water where I was fishing, I think it was generally agreed that lights do not affect the fish. As a lad, I used to shine a white light at my float when fishing and I still caught, as did many others.
I personally wouldn't have a problem with another angler in the next swim if he had a red light directed at his quiver tip, I was thinking of something like a small magalight torch where the width of the beam could be adjusted to the minimum.
I remember going through a wooded area last year in the pitch black,which was about ten yds from the waters edge, so I had my lamp on. One angler shouted at the top of his voice from across the other side of the lake; get that effing light out. It was himself that would have caused any disturbance, as I told him when I marked his card.

Baz · Jan 2, 2005

sorry Don I got carried away there and forgot to mention about the cigarette but, it could be that the ciggy end was moving about, and it could have been the movement and not the actual light that frightened the fish.
At this time of year, I usually go fish spotting with a powerfull lamp, by shining it through the ice when the water is frozen over. It's amazing what you can actually see in these conditions, and the fish are not bothered as long as I don't move about too much.
Obviousely, if I was fishing by torch light, and another angler complained, I wouldn't do it.

NottmDon · Jan 3, 2005

Think you could have a point there Baz mate. If I have a fish thats looking ill (and yes you can tell beleive it or not), I tend to net it after dark because in daylight you dont stand a chance of netting them! Most of my fish tend to be more sedate at night( so why are river fish more liable to bite?) and you can shine a torch on some of them and they arent in the least bit bothered, others go absolutely apes--t as soon as the beam hits them! Having said that they aren't wild fish as such, apart from their natural instincts.Most of my bigger fish have come on rivers at night so fish must feel more confident in darkness (well the ones I target anyway).With all the filters and such you can put on a torch theres bound to be one colour in the spectrum that will be less visible to fish. I suppose you could get some of those ex Russian military night goggles, now if I was fishing and saw someone coming towards me with them on I wouldnt shout I,d jump in the lake with the b---y fish lmao!

Wolfman Woody · Jan 3, 2005

IMO light beams from torches etc. do not disturb of spook fish.

Proof? When I used to have my dog I also had a 1 million candlepower torch. Lit the woods up like daylight, almost. Often when I got back home I'd shine it into the pond to see how the fish were. NONE MOVED!

Not even a blink of their eyes (yes, I know they can't), but should someone bang a door down the street - they would scatter.

----------------------------------

Here's something I'll share with you because I have come to a complete blank as to how to do it. How about a rod with a ultra bright LED and battery compartment in the butt or further up. Then, via a silvered-mirror inner coating and intensifiers at the joint/s this terminates at the quiver tip, the last bit of which is like fibre optic.

Switch on and just the tip lights up! Now if someone can refine that into a usable rod, I'm sure they would have a seller.

EC · Jan 3, 2005

We used to fish a pond when we were kids, we all used torches, one of the lads even used to bring a car battery with a car headlamp, and light up about 5 floats at once. We all caught fish, regularly, in depths of 18inch to 3ft deep!

Andy "the Dog" Nellist · Jan 3, 2005

What scares fish is sudden movement and darkness provides the best possible camoflage for an anglers movement. In the dark that means you should be careful about how you illumiate things with your torch.

For that reason I turn my back to the water when using the torch to put on bait tie a rig etc. When casting in tight swims (like several i fished earlier this evening) i use my head torch but I'm careful to not get anything in front of the beam particularly my rod.

If you light up your rod then the fish will be able to see it and they will see it move every time you cast. For that very reason I use as dim an isotope as possible and don't paint the tips of my rods white.

Baz · Jan 3, 2005

That was something I never thought about.

Going along the lines of trout flies, I saw some specials years ago that did actualy light up. Like these neons (tropical fish)
I was discussing this with somebody else, when he said that he used to use the little bulbs? that you could get from a jewelers shop that illuminated watch faces.
I can't remember if he said he attatched them to his feeder or near the hook.
It could be something for somebody to think about.

NottmDon · Jan 3, 2005

I'm pretty much the same as Andy when I use my headtorch as it seems to have been the "norm" when fishing for so long now. This thread as got the old brain cells working a bit with the various ideas put forward, all interesting stuff. I understood angling to be (dare I say it?) a form of hunter gathering and when hunting it seems the norm not to alert your prey in anyway. Now you lot have got me thinking and Ive noticed with hindsight that when they make these underwater films in the sea unless they are very deep down the fish dont seem too bothered by the lights at all! As the Monty Python guys were fond of saying "my brain hurts" lol!

Baz · Jan 3, 2005

My favourite phrase from the film,'Enemy At The Gate'.

I am a piece of wood,
I will not move,
If I do not move,
He can not see me.

Baz · Jan 3, 2005

Hahaaaa, that sounds a bit menacing does'nt it?
it was a referal to blending in with your surroundings.

Andy "the Dog" Nellist · Jan 3, 2005

I spent some time watching Zander reacting to starlights close up in the autumn.

Whilst they were clearly attracted to the light of a torch beam they always kept a couple of feet away from the starlights.

When the starlights were moved towards thrm they bolted away whereas shinning a torch beam directly at them seemed to scare them only a little and then only briefly.

What i saw would have made me consider using a torch to illuminate a float instead of an isotope if I was night fishing in shallow water.

Baz · Jan 3, 2005

So we can take it that some fish associate starlights with danger. It makes sense when you think that there must be more starlights about than torch lights. I wouldn't have thought a fish would notice something so small as a starlight, but obviousely they do. I think I'll tone mine down. What an eye opener this has turned out to be.

Baz · Jan 3, 2005

I am really going to break down my own movements in future, and give everything I do a good scrutinising. I thought I was carefull but now I realise just how careless I am.

Andy "the Dog" Nellist · Jan 3, 2005

I don't think they were afraid of the light from the starlights they just were scared of a light source and avoided it.

It would be useful to hear from anyone who has used that glow in the dark sweetcorn. It's not as bright as a starlight but I've always been put off from using it by the concern that it would scare fish more than it would arouse their interest.

Alan Tyler · Jan 3, 2005

Used to do the occaisional night dive, they were far more interesting than daylight diving because everything came out to feed then. Most fish weren't particularly scared by our torch beams; they'd clear off if you illuminated them for too long, but very casually. Octopus and cuttlefish would come to see us - the only octopus I ever saw was in Holyhead harbour, and practically every pair that dived that night saw it!
I'd love to either do some freshwater night dives, or take some underwater video at night, I'd bet that a large part of the invertebrate population switches on when the sun sets.

Vinnie Coleman · Jan 4, 2005

Baz, Me Ould Mucker, tryin 2 think of something 2 tear U apart with, but Can't be arsed (pissed!!!!!) Got a stretch of the River Croal Nr Bolton, pulling 2-4Lb Chub & decent Trout (yes trout in Bolton!!!!) R u interested???????
Vinnie with the tan!!!!

Baz · Jan 4, 2005

Love to mate,
I'll send you a e-mail.I'd Better get brushed up on me Bewlton speak so I fit in more easily me owld skim.

snotman · Jan 9, 2005

Andy

Last summer I experimented with glow in the dark sweetcorn and the results were a real surprise. Using three rods over 18 nights sessions for bream & tench in the same lake I recorded what I caught on each rod and swopped the glowing corn around the rods etc and combined it with other different baits, worm, maggot, corn, pellet, paste, boilie etc.

It consistently caught more fish than plain rubber corn combined with the same other bait, however I found that you didnt want to "charge" it up too much so it wasnt too bright.

I have a lot of confidence in it for bream, less so for tench but I think that may be more to do with the baits I was using being to big for tench, have you found that too?

Torch or starlight ?

Banned

NottmDon

Guest

Banned

Banned

NottmDon

Guest

Wolfman Woody

Guest

EC

Guest

Andy "the Dog" Nellist

Guest

Banned

NottmDon

Guest

Banned

Banned

Andy "the Dog" Nellist

Guest

Banned

Banned

Andy "the Dog" Nellist

Guest

Well-known member

Vinnie Coleman

Guest

Banned

snotman

Guest