TexasKayakFisherman.com

I'm looking to install some underwater lights on my kayak for fishing nights later this summer. Mainly freshwater. Couple questions...

Is it even practical? If I'm out there for a few hours in the evening, will lights on the yak bring fish around?

What's a good light to put on?

I'm a paddler so a bunch of round obtrusive lights on the bottom of the kayak aren't my best option as the drag I would think would be horrendous. Maybe some sort of strip light? I also river fish a lot so my hull sees frequent contact with sandbars, rocks, logs, etc.

Any suggestions?

I’ve been down this road and personally won’t ever do it again. I installed green led strip lights on my kayak and also installed lights in the cockpit and overhead lights to set up for summer night fishing when it’s too hot to breathe during the day. The exterior texture on kayaks is mostly pretty slick and I found it was really hard to keep the strip lights adhered to the kayak even using gorilla glue. Also I damaged the strip lights at the front of the kayak by bumping into docks, boat docks, and while loading and unloading the kayak. They did attract bait fish but the mosquitoes were always so bad I lost interest in night fishing.

If I were ever to do it again I would simply use one of those green lights you drop in the water. Much much easier and less headache in my opinion.

That makes a lot of sense and kind of what I was figuring too. Wasn't sure if it was even practical. I know dock lights attract fish but they've been established for who knows how long. A floating kayak in a lake may not have the best luck. Just thought it might be an option for when it's as you said, "too hot to breathe"

check the old post before 2010 for ideas. It is a pain but a buddy liked using a 12 volt battery and a drop over the side non led that Academy used to sell back when. Some led lights might work the same way?

You can drop over the side or you can put it on a float and let it drift down wind or current. Lot of fish will come in but they are spooky and you may have to wait a few minutes for the fish to come back to the light after you hook one close to the light.

JimD