fishing after dark

I remebered when I showed Bob Swan the trail head Sunday of an adventure I had on the anglers trail below Hesperia. I had fished late and was hiking out with a twenty pound salmon for the smoker on a rope stringer when I tripped and broke the bulb in my flashlight. I then lost the trail and spent about an hour and a half staggering around in dense woods woods with a world record three hundred pound salmon catching on the rare branch that my rod or landing net missed until I finally stumbled out of the woods in someone's back yard a mile or so from where I belonged. I trudged back to the car with my five hundred pound fish which promptly shrank enough to fit in the cooler quite nicely. I now carry two flashlights whenever I think there's a chance of being out after dark.

------------------
all leaders tangle; mine are just better at it than most. Jim

I too have had some more than 'interesting' nights fly fishing. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif

Good advice. I don't know how many bulbs I have replaced in my Maglite, sure you keep a replacement in the bottom cap, but what if you forget to put a replacement in? I am now sold on the new LED flashlights. Very rugged, practically impossible to break a bulb, and if you do, their are 8 to 12 more left in the lens. Also, they don't eat up batteries like the bulb kind. They are not for long distance shinning, but for walking along a trail or tieing on a fly (they make great headband ones too) they are fantastic. My furnace repairman had one on his head last winter, he said they make all other types of lights obsolete. FYI, Jonezee

------------------
I learn more about the world while talking to myself when fishing alone

While visiting Carlsbad Caverns one of the speelunkers advised about the rules of three for cave exploration. One was to always bring three sources of light. He expanded to say that there had been several times when he was on the last of the three when he finally made his way out. Yikes!

Not nearly so calamitous as deep in the bowels of the earth but an extra light could indeed make or break the day. Like Capt. Call said in Lonesome Dove "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it".

------------------
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:dfce6]Sweetness On The Water[/url:dfce6]
[url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/bgl/:dfce6]Good Ol? Lepomis Macrochirus[/url:dfce6]

My sons belongs to a local squadron of Civil Air Patrol, when he geared up for a search and rescue, the Captain requested each Cadet to place two snap & glow sticks in their provision bags. This is a great idea for the fishing vest pocket. Reason being, they float and are completely water proof. The idea of two, is for the duration one might be wondering off course. Needless to say, they found the fisherman with a broken fibia 3 miles down stream of his vehicle because he thought he could swim to the next cabin before hypothermea took hold. Oddly enough, they found him at dark because of the glow stick he had packed the year before; for such an Emergency.

A mini mag is permanently attached to a retractor on my vest. I never know when I might need to stay out later than I planned , and farther than I planned. If I plan o nite fishing, I always carry a second mini mag and a spare set of batteries. And I think I have better than average dark vision. The last 35 years have been spent working in darkrooms, but when you are in the dark , in unfamiliar turf, bad things can happen.
AgMD

well... here my .02

I love to night fish... I have logged over 125 nights one the water this year..

I carry enough light to light a building!!

Yes carry 2 flashlight (a little the hangs off my vest, and a mini mag in my pocket).. just in case.. Ihave a set of back up batteries.. which my light went out on me the other night..

I have a small LED to tye flies on with..

I carry some (4)night sticks (the big ones) and some
string...
I even have mini glo stick to put in my float when Im nymph fishing that puts off some light...

I also pack a small lighter and a candle just in case worst comes to worst (held in a small ziplock bag)

Call my crazy... the the dark frightens me... :lol: :twisted: :roll: :wink: