# Bow fish/flounder lights



## Diver01 (Aug 15, 2018)

Hi, Has anyone used any thing other than 12v LED squares, Plash light Flounder light bars and or jerrys LEDs? Im looking for an alternative that will run on 12V and not cost an arm and a leg. Thanks


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

There really aren't that many kinds of lights out there, when you get right down to it. Standard incandescent, halogen (just another flavor of incandescent), and a class of higher-efficiency lights that require a ballast. The latter starts with fluorescent, and moves up to high and low pressure sodium, metal halide and other High Intensity Discharge lights. And finally, LED.

I'm not sure there is anything better than halogen, if you have unlimited juice - but you don't. I absolutely hate fluorescent on a boat, for a whole list of reasons. Sodium is generally low quality light (your eyes don't use it well) and they take a long time to warm up to full brightness.

Some of the HID's are very good, but also very expensive. And you really have to work to find any that don't have a too-tightly focused beam pattern for what you want.

The ultimate in cheap is probably a bunch of standard sockets and 12v incandescent bulbs. It's better than you might think, and we did very well with them for a lot of years. They aren't as efficient, so the lumens per watt is less, and they aren't very sexy. But if you're weighing cost I think it's wrong to leave them out.

I have found some VERY bright LED fixtures, with good wide beam patterns, and a pretty low price point. They make good driving lights, and I think they would be good for bow fishing. They have had a low CRI (color rendering index, which means how well the human eye can use the light), and most have had too high color temperatures tending toward the blue end of the spectrum. Both of those things are drawbacks for floundering. A lot of them have been less durable than I could live with.

I've spent more money on lighting over the years than you would believe, and I've probably spent more money on "cheap" lights than expensive ones. I'm a floundering fanatic, which made me a light fanatic. A cheap light doesn't do you much good if it doesn't serve the purpose well, and/or doesn't hold up. I've currently settled in on Jerry's LED's as being the best value lights I can find. Not as cheap as some, not as expensive as others. But they put out a good quality yellow light, and are very efficient. They are compact, so they aren't constantly getting beaten to death at the dock. They have a good wide beam pattern for LED, without a tremendous bright spot I the middle, with a weak halo around it. That's my advice. Buy as many as you can afford, and live with that until you can add another and another. Right now, I think that they are the best bang for the buck.

The absolute best way to make light, in my opinion, is a quiet little generator like the Hondas, and a bunch of 100W halogen lamps. I was never able to get comfortable with 110v on a damp boat. The good marine electricians I talked to said that if it is properly protected, you're going to be popping the ground fault all the time. And if you're not properly protected, you're just betting that you will be lucky. If you feel lucky, you can light things up light daylight and have a generator on hand for other uses.


----------



## Diver01 (Aug 15, 2018)

Thank you for the detailed response! 
I am a flounder fanatic myself!

I ordered 10 lights (link below) and installed them. I was trying to gain the same type of light that â€œplash lightsâ€ dedicated line of flounder/bowfish lights gives for a reasonable amount of money (who am I kidding im just cheap haha). I got them because of the price, the amber hue, and the wide beam flood light. They work well in shallow and clear water with a good spread, no hotspots, zero glare, and easy on the eyesâ€¦ The problem with them is, in a little deeper or murky water they are terrible, they do not penetrate at all and its extremely aggravating.

I was thinking about ordering the same lights except in white in hopes that they will penetrate the water better without too much glare or hotspots. I would like to know your opinion, Thanks again.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078TJFXF7/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(the attached pic is of those light in gin clear water about 6 inches deep, I wish I had a pic of how they work in less than ideal conditions)


----------



## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

You need 5 Colemans on the front!!


----------



## Postman (Oct 11, 2015)

How about LEDs for walking and floundering? any on the market that are acceptable or any "homemade dyi" lights for walking and floundering. Would like plans to try and make my own. Didn't mean to hijack your thread.


----------

