I use a hand held spot light to highlight anything i need to see. I have a 100W LED light bar on the front of my yak to really light things up if it gets real dark. Usually you can see a lot in the dark once your eyes adjust. The sounds are what i love. I listen for bait jumping and fish hitting top all the time. I have a 360 light on all the time and have green leds around the yak for anchoring or seeing things in a different light in the marsh. Helps me to see my high vis line also. I wear an LED head lamp and use the most to see what I am tying or removing hooks. Sometimes when I am all alone I ditch all the lights and really get into the surroundings and it feels great when I get a fish on!
I use a 35 amp hour wheel chair Sealed AGM battery for my sonar and all lights. If I take my TM I bring a larger 100 amp hour battery for TM only use or to drop a green light deep over the side. And reflective tape every where...lol...I like to be seen in the bigger channels.
I always leave a trip plan with my family and have my phone and my UHF radio if I go alone like I usually do. It can be somewhat "eerie" at night when you get stuck deep in the marsh with the tide going out or the wind starts to push you back faster than you can go but it's just like day and you have to take a deep breath and keep focused. The night is calming in my opinion and makes it easier for me to concentrate on everything going on around me. Or should I say it forces me to be that way. Planning is key. Safety first.
As for casting and all fishing aspects it's like the day. You see bait activity and fish biting and birds on shores end even tiny shrimp jumping to shore to escape getting eaten. You can toss a line toward the shore where you saw heard the splash or saw the water surface break. If it is far enough away I can use my head lamp and it is not as focused and can add light but not spook the fish like my spot light. Just need to look close or listen. Like I said, I have learned the sounds and it helps me to focus better then I use my light trying not to spook them. The light usually makes the bait at the surface jump around thinking the light is a bright big fish about to bite them or to gt out of the light to not be seen and eaten. Either way sometimes it can kill the action so try to listen as much as you can. Use the moon light if it is out. You will be surprised at how well you can see things in the moonlight. So cool at times as well!
It gets colder at night so dress warm or bring more layers to put on. Right now you will need them! I carry Hot Hands all the time and have two Zippo hand held heaters to help if needed as well. I wear latex gloves under my fishing gloves to keep hands dry. They will be a bit cold but warm inside the latex glove I have found.
Here is a link to my setup...
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 3&t=236221
Hope I helped. Ask if you need more info.
