creed Report post Posted May 20, 2015 In the market for a new crappie light. My old light was a car headlamp encased in styrofoam. It was heavy on the battery but did a decent job. I started looking and saw there are dozens of different types of lights out there. And the price of some of them were a $100+. Anyone have a suggestion on a decent light that won't break you? Also, green or white light? LED or flourescent? I have a friend that swears by the green but I have zero experience with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oz31p Report post Posted May 20, 2015 I think I have pretty much tried every shape and variety and color of light none of them perform as well as my old head light wrapped in styrofoam 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJMauro12 Report post Posted May 20, 2015 I'm curious to hear the different answers that come from this. I don't usually use crappie lights but I have several old styrofoam lights. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Str8Shot Report post Posted May 20, 2015 I can check when I get home the brand , but been using a green submersible for the 10 years that was about 50 bucks .... Always been able to bring in the shad and the fish that follow ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesPursuit Report post Posted May 20, 2015 I spend a lot of time hovering over a set of lights in late spring and summer moonless nights in 20-30 FOW. I'm not trying to sound like a know it all on this one, but I am confident in my strategy, and it does not involve $100 lights. I use one of the submersible green tube lights, similar to one you can buy at bass pro for ~$30. Submerse it down 4-6 feet off the stern. I simultaneously use two of the old faithful $10-15 Mr. Crappie styrofoam white lights that my dad purchased for us over 20 years ago, I put one on each side of the boat, port and starboard. 9 times out of 10, the crappie are "just outside" the visible light. I also notice channel catfish are directly underneath it, and the yellow and largemouth bass are everywhere, often darting in and out of the visible light, crappie do that too. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rcdinaz Report post Posted May 21, 2015 I gotta try this with all the bowfishing lights on the boat but I am usually trying to shoot fish. When we chase fish at some lakes we get hundreds maybe thousands of minnows flying everywhere. A lot of times you can here the bass chasin the minnows at the edges of the light. I have heard a lot of good reports on the green submersible LED's for Crappie. Coues pursuit what is the bait of choice? drown some minnows, jigs, maybe its a secret. I could use advice from you experts Crappie fishing usually just frustrates the heck out of me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesPursuit Report post Posted May 21, 2015 Rcidnaz, 2 things. I experimented a few times with dropping the green submersible all the way down near the bottom. It never seemed to work for crappie, but a couple times, when I pulled the light up to "reset" my best strategy as described above,the light would bring up loads of carp. In these situations it seemed predator fish other than a couple largemouth did not exist. May be something to try if you want to bow fish them. Never did see much size on the carp doing this though. Just my observations.. For bait, I dunk minnows typically 4-6 feet, sometimes 2 sometimes 8, either on an unpainted 16th oz jighead or a small circle bait hook with a split shot 18" up. I typically use one glow slip bobber on a lightweight rod, and straight line the other with my 10' crappie rod. I really like fishing just outside the light but sometimes that's not the ticket. Typically, I show up at dusk, drop the lights, snooze or booze for an hour, THEN fish. I save my enthusiasm for that hour and on. I have run out of 5-6 dozen minnows many times in the last couples years, even at Roosevelt where crappie have been tough if even possible to find during the day. I also use smelly jelly, 4lb flourocarbon, and I'm not afraid to turn on a little Alan Jackson. Sorry for the winded post, it's nightstalk season and I just got my boat repowered after 16 months, the excitement is too much. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rcdinaz Report post Posted May 21, 2015 Great info! I am going to have to give this a whirl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted May 21, 2015 Makes me want to pay my old buddy a visit and see if he still has my old aluminum boat tucked away in his backyard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
creed Report post Posted May 22, 2015 Thanks for the input and advice. Maybe I'm going to try a combination of green and white lights just to see how that works. I have always used white but see more guys going with the green. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt. Don Martin Report post Posted June 16, 2015 As a long time (over 10 years) striper fishing guide on Lake Mead (Striper Hunters) whose clients has caught an average of about 2,000 stripers a year, I'll just throw this in for discussion. When we started fishing for stripers many years we, like a lot of people, used the car head light in the styrofoam collar at night. It is white and we usually put out two of them, one in the front and one in the back! They worked to varying degrees. Then a few years back I started to do some experimenting with different colors and sizes of lights. The old crappie lights drew a lot of juice from the batteries and put out limited light. I came up with this. I now only use LED green submersible lights that are from 2 to 4 feet long. They are made by Hydro Glow and have worked well for me. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone who does a lot of night time fishing. We have caught stripers, channel catfish and yellow (Bullhead) cats, carp, rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill, gizzard shad, and even fresh water turtles while fishing under these lights! Brings in shad--both Threadfin and Gizzards, and really sets up the food chain at night. Lights attract plankton, both Phytoplankton and Zooplankton, which are fed on by the shad. They bring in the larger predatory fish when the food chain is established. I know there are other light manufacturers out there, but I'm just saying that for my money, I'd go with Hydro Glow. I've never had any issues or problems with them. These are the results from my last three night time trips out of South Cove on Lake Mead. Note: I find that the lights work best on the dark of the moon. If the moon is out shad follow the plankton all over the lake. If it is dark, the plankton sink to the bottom of the lake and when the lights are put out, they rise up to the light and are concentrated around my lights. You can still catch fish on a moon lit night, just much tougher at times. I also have four clip on lamps on each corner of my boat that are also 12 volt.. These additional lights, which are also LED, also helps bring in minnows, but are there primarily to give light to the anglers so they can see their poles. I also recommend painting the ends of the poles with white paint! They really glow at night with my lights and reduces eye strain. Just my two cents!! The fishing is getting better up here every week. If you'd like to come up for a night time trip now is the time to do it. For the rest of June, kids under 18 fish for FREE! Come and see how I got my boat set up and enjoy some great fishing at the same time! Give me a call at 928-303-9481 or email me at info@striperhunters.com for more information and availability of dates. Capt. Don Martin Striper Hunters 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted June 17, 2015 Nice! How long do the lights have to be on before you see some action? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnnie blaze Report post Posted June 17, 2015 As a long time (over 10 years) striper fishing guide on Lake Mead (Striper Hunters) whose clients has caught an average of about 2,000 stripers a year, I'll just throw this in for discussion. When we started fishing for stripers many years we, like a lot of people, used the car head light in the styrofoam collar at night. It is white and we usually put out two of them, one in the front and one in the back! They worked to varying degrees. Then a few years back I started to do some experimenting with different colors and sizes of lights. The old crappie lights drew a lot of juice from the batteries and put out limited light. I came up with this. I now only use LED green submersible lights that are from 2 to 4 feet long. They are made by Hydro Glow and have worked well for me. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone who does a lot of night time fishing. We have caught stripers, channel catfish and yellow (Bullhead) cats, carp, rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, bluegill, gizzard shad, and even fresh water turtles while fishing under these lights! Brings in shad--both Threadfin and Gizzards, and really sets up the food chain at night. Lights attract plankton, both Phytoplankton and Zooplankton, which are fed on by the shad. They bring in the larger predatory fish when the food chain is established. I know there are other light manufacturers out there, but I'm just saying that for my money, I'd go with Hydro Glow. I've never had any issues or problems with them. Striper Hunters & Hydro Glow Light shirt.jpg These are the results from my last three night time trips out of South Cove on Lake Mead. Wheel barrow full of stripers! Presmyk trip June 13, 2015.jpg Presmyk Fishing trip, June 13, 2015.jpg McKeehan trip with Beatriz and Dean Southerland and Laura.jpg June 4, 2015 (Gunnoe Trip).jpg Laura Borden Big Cat 6 lbs 8 oz. May 31, 2015.jpg Note: I find that the lights work best on the dark of the moon. If the moon is out shad follow the plankton all over the lake. If it is dark, the plankton sink to the bottom of the lake and when the lights are put out, they rise up to the light and are concentrated around my lights. You can still catch fish on a moon lit night, just much tougher at times. I also have four clip on lamps on each corner of my boat that are also 12 volt.. These additional lights, which are also LED, also helps bring in minnows, but are there primarily to give light to the anglers so they can see their poles. I also recommend painting the ends of the poles with white paint! They really glow at night with my lights and reduces eye strain. Just my two cents!! The fishing is getting better up here every week. If you'd like to come up for a night time trip now is the time to do it. For the rest of June, kids under 18 fish for FREE! Come and see how I got my boat set up and enjoy some great fishing at the same time! Give me a call at 928-303-9481 or email me at info@striperhunters.com for more information and availability of dates. Capt. Don Martin Striper Hunters pffttttt....what crappie? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnnie blaze Report post Posted June 17, 2015 I spend a lot of time hovering over a set of lights in late spring and summer moonless nights in 20-30 FOW. I'm not trying to sound like a know it all on this one, but I am confident in my strategy, and it does not involve $100 lights. I use one of the submersible green tube lights, similar to one you can buy at bass pro for ~$30. Submerse it down 4-6 feet off the stern. I simultaneously use two of the old faithful $10-15 Mr. Crappie styrofoam white lights that my dad purchased for us over 20 years ago, I put one on each side of the boat, port and starboard. 9 times out of 10, the crappie are "just outside" the visible light. I also notice channel catfish are directly underneath it, and the yellow and largemouth bass are everywhere, often darting in and out of the visible light, crappie do that too. just stick to jigabo frog fishing Mr. Know it all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnnie blaze Report post Posted June 17, 2015 your Styrofoam headlamp is just fine, problem with slabs is finding where there at. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
