Night Vision Goggles?

I love to fish the hour before sundown. I call it happy hour. I am usually alone with nature and I love it. Fish or no fish. Most times I don't want to leave at dark thirty....but have to. Are there good night vision goggles, due to today's technology, that would allow one to see a white fly line in a stream and fish after dark? Or is the military the only ones that have them. Are they available to the public at a reasonable price, and or are they as good as the military ones, or are they just junk?

Gem

Don't know of any cheap night vision goggles but I think it was Rio that made a glow in the dark fly line. It can be found real cheap because they discountinued it: of course that could be a bad sign!

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Joe

I have the Orvis Transluscent line. I tied some favorite flies with glow in the dark materails. I use a strobe, flash my gear and cast away into the night. Here in Utah we can fish 24-7-365, The Browns are night feeders and jump on my glow in the dark BWO's and PMD's.

But fishing by brail is what night fishing is all about baby.

I see a nice looking pair of PVS-7 3.Gen Grade A MilSpec Night vision goggles for sale right now on Ebay for $4,395.

Don't know whether you can still wear your fishing hat with them though.

If you decide to get them, let us know how they work.

John

Here in the north east we fish in the salt at night all the time.
You get the hang of fishing in the dark quite easily.
You can feel your rod load on the backcast. You can hear if your fly fouls or your leader tangles
And it's all very peacefull, just you and the night...untill a deer or loud bird or an other angler,....or a giant rat or a SEA MONSTER, comes up behind you and scares the **$#!+** out of you!

Gee Jim, I don't know where you go that there is no one on the water the hour B4 dark but I sure would like to be there with you. Back here in the Northeast that is THEE hour that everyone waits for. Only trouble you have to get in the water 6 hours earlier to save your spot. If you just sit on the shore waiting for the magic hour 2 car loads of guys from New Jersey will rush past you and line up 20 feet apart... at least Joisey seems to have a preponderence of close quarters anglers.
Must be something in the water down there... (TIC)
As far as night fishing goes...At a certain point as darkness nears, the surface activity quiets down. If you wait there for a while, maybe an hour or so you will hear if not see rises again. Your eyes adjust somewhat but I sure would want to be real familiar with the water..and bottom.,. and the bushes etc behind you.
Paul Schmookler once told me when he and Ingrid were up on the Ausable with us that he thought perhaps the fish needed some time to adjust to the change in light just like we do and that could be the reason for the lull in surface activity. Sounded reasonable.

Mantis..."Paul Schmookler once told me when he and Ingrid were up on the Ausable with us that he thought perhaps the fish needed some time to adjust to the change in light just like we do and that could be the reason for the lull in surface activity. Sounded reasonable."

From my experience on the Ausable in the first of June the hour before sunset and the half-hour after are clearly the best time of the day. Some days the bite is so good you wish you had another rod rigged in the boat for when you get broken off so as not to miss a cast. As to the lack of bite in the first hour after full dark, the fish could still be rising but with all of the mosquitos buzzing in your ears you just may not be able to hear the fish.

RoyC

Hi Roy. I guess what I should have said is after it gets dark rather than after sunset...although in the mountains that can be a short period. I fish the Ausable probably 30 days a year at least. Sometimes that hour before "Dark" is only 20 minutes and sometimes maybe 2 hours. But you are right...for fishing on top it is absolutely the Magic time. Of course if you want to nymph you can fish pocket water all day.
In June it is the Black Flies more than the skeeters that are more than a nusiance. A hat, lomg sleeve shirt and a really good repellant are absolute must haves. My favorite river, the Ausable.

those pvs 7s will drown you if you ever tried to wade in them....walking in them is tough enough... you lose all depth perception and the resolution is terrible. The PVS-7B are still in service, but most soldiers and marines have much newer monacle style pvs 14's or dual tube pvs 15s. I can't believe the PVS 7s cost so much seein from personal use how terrible they are. Can only imagine what the better ones would run.