# New Flounder light and Results



## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

I have been tinkering with a new flounder light for walking. Up until now i have used an old lantern then changed to 12v lights. We pull a small johnboat with car battery in it to be able to power 3 or 4 lights with enough juice to last for an evening of gigging. 

The problem is being tethered to the battery!

So, i just built an LED light that runs off of AAA batteries. It has 3 lights and each one uses 3 AAA's. 

I tried it out for longevity and let it run 10 hours and still hasn't dimmed.

So, last night, took it to Galveston and put it to use. Light were on about 5 hours with the SAME AAA's. Still haven't changed the batteries. It isn't tethered to a big battery. It worked GREAT!

I posted this in Fishing reports and have had a lot of messages about it. I figured i would post it on the discussion rather that trying to answer all the questions individually. Several have suggested I build more than a prototype and market it. 


Here's a pic of the light and then one of the results....

What do you think????


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

I made a strap to go over the shoulder and the light is meant to be under the water and it worked perfectly. I have a few adjustments i want to make to make it better, though!


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## Colorado (Jun 24, 2009)

I like your light. I am getting ready to put together one myself.


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## metal man (Mar 30, 2006)

awsome ,i just hope you weren't gigging solo.


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## SaltH2oAssassin (Jan 25, 2006)

Let me know if you need a gigging partner to go test out the lights was you made the adjustments. I'll supply the AAA batteries!:wink:


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

I wasn't alone...that was a 3 man limit ...ha....


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## fwoodwader (Jul 18, 2008)

That is a sweet light set up.


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## big_zugie (Mar 14, 2006)

Ideas running thru my head now


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## flatsfats (May 21, 2004)

Awrite, cough it up, where can we get the led lights? :bounce:

I can handle the rest.


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## JimD (May 25, 2004)

How about some pxs and info on the light and how you built it. 

Thanks,

Jim


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## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

Very nice. I might be interested. What might the cost be?


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

Ok...here's the deal....

I went to store after store looking at LED flashlights until i found ones that seemed bright enough. My goal was to take the flashlights apart and seal the bulb end part in PVC and then run wire up the PVC to the top and put batteries in the top part. 

I bought the flashlights...they are from Academy...Smith and Wesson brand...they have 6 white LED's and 2 each red, blue and green. 

When i got them home and opened the package up, i found out that the barrel of the light is one piece and wouldn't unscrew except for the battery compartment in the back. 

When i was at Home Depot looking at PVC fittings i found that the light would fit very tightly into a 1 &1/4 inch fitting. All it takes is pushing it in and giving it a twist and it stays in place. 

So, i went home and put batteries in the lights and turned them on and threw them in the sink...VOILLA!!!! Waterproof!

So i just made PVC pole that fit the way i wanted to hold it...put a strap on it to go over my shoulder. When i got to the water, I turned the lights on, pushed them in the PVC and twisted and stick it in the water and took off walking. 

The rest is history! I hope that helps!!!


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## flatsfats (May 21, 2004)

I know which ones yer talking about. I'd hit ya with more green if I could. Thanks!


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

If anyone uses this info to make lights....all i want in return is a percentage of the filets OR invite to a fishing trip!!!!


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## Bonito (Nov 17, 2008)

Sweet ! There's nothing like good old American ingenuity.


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## StoryTeller (Apr 13, 2011)

Nice little set up man. Good fish aswell. Got me a good limit this weekend also.


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

*LED light*

I have had quite a few questions about what light I used...Here is a pic..

Smith and Wesson light from Academy!


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

i think im about to do this........http://www.fishinglightsetc.com/FlounderLightpics2.html


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## RobRed (Jan 9, 2011)

I believe this is the light but i does not have the green led. It does however have 8 white instead of 6 white. For $22 each I migh just hold off.....

Still a Great Idea and thanks for sharing

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/s...10151_10051_27154_-1?ICID=CRT:0247-03079-0632


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

Yes...that is the light...I was wrong about the 6 LEDS...i figured it was worth it not to be tethered to a long cable and battery...but they work Great!!!


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## CoastalObession (May 9, 2011)

They look cool. I might make one my self.


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## txflats (Aug 12, 2004)

How does the LED compare to a halogen light in the off colored water?


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

Not sure about compared to halogen in off color. THe water was gin clear when i went and that is the only time i've had it in the water. Guess i will let you know soon!!!


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

I tried out sfn01's idea and it works very well. good idea! I found lights with 28 LEDS in them and they are bright. they last about 10 hours on 3 triple A batts each. great in clear water, not so good in murky, but what is?


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## TXXpress (May 23, 2004)

*sfn01 and pipeliner* - How many lumens are each of your lights? (Each light on the rig, and then combined).

I recently built a couple 12v gigging lights using a single cool white, LED spotlight with 320 lumens. It operates pretty good, but we're still tweaking the rigs. Dark stained water is an issue, but when isn't it? We use a 7 pound 12v electric gate battery in a small back pack, and it will run for more than 8 hours. It sure beats lugging a car battery in a pirogue.


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

Ok Pipeliner....now YOU have to cough up the info!!!! haha

What lights did you use? I'm still playing around with mine...


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

sfn01 said:


> Ok Pipeliner....now YOU have to cough up the info!!!! haha
> 
> What lights did you use? I'm still playing around with mine...


LOL!!....well, im not really sure, but i will find out. to tell you the truth, i really did'nt pay any attention to the brand. i found them by chance only at my local hardware store in a little box at the register. they aint much, acme brand type and only cost $11.00 each. i'll look again. what i did was seal the lens and the back of the coupling with 3M 4200. all i have to do is unscrew, turn on or change batts rescrew and im fishin. im about to build a much brighter setup. i really liked the fact i did not have to carry the lantern around and boy you can really see submerged versus the glare from the lantern. my buddy had the lantern i had my stick, it was a big difference. but again, you must have the clarity for it to work properly. stay tuned!!


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

TXXpress said:


> *sfn01 and pipeliner* - How many lumens are each of your lights? (Each light on the rig, and then combined).
> 
> I recently built a couple 12v gigging lights using a single cool white, LED spotlight with 320 lumens. It operates pretty good, but we're still tweaking the rigs. Dark stained water is an issue, but when isn't it? We use a 7 pound 12v electric gate battery in a small back pack, and it will run for more than 8 hours. It sure beats lugging a car battery in a pirogue.


I cant answer your question because i have not a clue. the one i am about to build will have 1000 lumens each and run off of 12 volt. there will be only 2 lights on the next one and should be an awesome setup with what i have seen with this first experiment.


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## TXXpress (May 23, 2004)

pipeliner345 said:


> I cant answer your question because i have not a clue. the one i am about to build will have 1000 lumens each and run off of 12 volt. there will be only 2 lights on the next one and should be an awesome setup with what i have seen with this first experiment.


1000 lumens each! WOW!  The single 320 lumen light worked fairly well last night.

Let me know how the 1000 lumen light comes out and details of the build if you don't mind sharing that info. That's going to be awesome!


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

pipeliner345 said:


> i think im about to do this........http://www.fishinglightsetc.com/FlounderLightpics2.html


TXXpress.......here ya go!! Heres the link


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## TXXpress (May 23, 2004)

pipeliner345 said:


> TXXpress.......here ya go!! Heres the link


OK. I thought you'd developed a better mouse trap! LOL Thanks!


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## JAY P. (Aug 11, 2007)

I have made some gigging light out of the three pack of LED light from Home Depot. Caught the 3 pack on sale for $4.98 so I picked up three packs. Wrapped the treads in plumbers tape submerged them in mineral oil to fill the batery compatment and wrapped them in electical tape. Then affixed them to pvc with a U clamp. They work awesome. The mineral oil is not a conducter of electricity and they help keep water out, therefore no corrosion to the batteries. Total cost per 3light system was $12.
All ends were capped and no cords to worry about, so when a gigged a flounder, I would just drop my light and both hands were free to stringer the fish.


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## aggiefishinDr (Sep 1, 2005)

pipeliner345 said:


> i think im about to do this........http://www.fishinglightsetc.com/FlounderLightpics2.html


You may want to reconsider that setup. I made that exact setup 2 weeks ago. Ordered those exact lights, followed the diagram,etc. I was not impressed with how it worked!! Used it once and back to our old lights. Those long led lights do not focus the light correctly. Even if you turn the lights up or sideways I still can't get a good focus. Clear water is so so, but any debri and its over. Just my opinion though. Any ideas?


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## JimD (May 25, 2004)

Must be Aggie engeering or is that vetenering?????  
Aggie doc did you catch any fish when you were down there?


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## aggiefishinDr (Sep 1, 2005)

:butterfly


JimD said:


> Must be Aggie engeering or is that vetenering?????
> Aggie doc did you catch any fish when you were down there?


Even a vet can follow a diagram!!! The light setup I made works ok, just not as good as our old standards. I can make a similar setup with a much less expensive light than those that I feel works much better. We had a good weekend, way to hot to fish during the day, did some night fishing and gigging. Had good numbers of flatties gigged over the weekend.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

aggiefishinDr said:


> You may want to reconsider that setup. I made that exact setup 2 weeks ago. Ordered those exact lights, followed the diagram,etc. I was not impressed with how it worked!! Used it once and back to our old lights. Those long led lights do not focus the light correctly. Even if you turn the lights up or sideways I still can't get a good focus. Clear water is so so, but any debri and its over. Just my opinion though. Any ideas?


hmmmmmm......................i think i might think on that then...............thanks for the info.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

in a previous post i said the triple AAA's in my setup would last about 10 hours...............let me revise that statement. they will only last one trip out. i don't know where i got 10 hours, sorry for that.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

we went out sat night and gigged a two man limit. was a bit tough with the west wind. the light stick works well but it just dont burn long enough. sooo i ordered up 3 new Nu-Flare 77R92L Ultrabright Luxeon LED Aluminum Flashlights at 210 Lumens each for a total of 630.
i think in gonna have to go up to 1 1/2" on the light pods. they use 2 D-cell lithium-ion batts and will burn for 6 hours so they say. stay tuned!!


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## da.wells (Jul 27, 2009)

While gigging do you look for a broad beam or a tight penetrating beam of light? I am looking to build one but doing my research first!


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## saltaholic (Feb 19, 2005)

Ok, someone please build one and sell it to me!!!


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## LingKiller (Jul 9, 2010)

*Nice*

Cool Light , I wanna go Gigging. I always carried the old pump up lanterns due to glare of conventional lights. This little contraption you come up with could be marketable. I live in Galveston and would be interested in seeing this in action.


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## aggiefishinDr (Sep 1, 2005)

da.wells said:


> While gigging do you look for a broad beam or a tight penetrating beam of light? I am looking to build one but doing my research first!


Both actually! I like a better penetrating or focused light over just a big broad circle. You have to have some type of focused beam of light or it just fades away quickly with the debri in the water sometimes. Airway runway lights have worked well. They are extremely bright and focused. Only downside is you have to lug a battery behind you. With all the technology available you would think that there would be a great led light around for this application. I have searched and looked everywhere though with no luck.


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## jmachou (Aug 31, 2011)

first of all , very nice setup. I agree that you should market the idea, people have made some serious money off way worse ideas. I for one would buy it. Nice job man.


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## sfn01 (Aug 8, 2009)

*Marketable??*

Several of you guys have suggested marketing....any ideas how to go about that??

I'm all ears!!


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

sfn01 said:


> Several of you guys have suggested marketing....any ideas how to go about that??
> 
> I'm all ears!!


for someone inexperienced?.........almost impossible. i said almost. you will hit numerous negative hurdles. watch out for the patent lawyer, he will have your idea and off to market with it before you can load a dip. invention companies will get most of the revenue if it ever goes to market. american greed will swallow you whole in one second if its a good idea and you are green. 
The best way is to manufacture and market it yourself. there is much much MUCH work to be done to get something to market. good luck and let us know how it goes if you go for it. do your research before you invest a dime!! 
The invention arena is full of hungry wolves waiting on a hand out. im just being straight up with ya. 
on a positive note? it can be done but do it yourself!!! i thought about it too, i built a new one that is 50 times brighter than my previous one and it has a self contained battery pack, a switch, and will burn for hours and hours on 5 D-cell at 6 volts burning 3 of the new luxeon rebel 90 LED's at 210 lumens each for a total of 630 lumens. but................its expensive to make. the lights and rechargeable batts are the cost. the PVC aint nuthin, but its the cats *** for a walking flounder stick thanks to your info on the idea. you can see the light header under the post...... quick limits of flatties...... in the fishin reports forum. those LEDS are the BOMB!


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## aggiefishinDr (Sep 1, 2005)

pipeliner345 said:


> for someone inexperienced?.........almost impossible. i said almost. you will hit numerous negative hurdles. watch out for the patent lawyer, he will have your idea and off to market with it before you can load a dip. invention companies will get most of the revenue if it ever goes to market. american greed will swallow you whole in one second if its a good idea and you are green.
> The best way is to manufacture and market it yourself. there is much much MUCH work to be done to get something to market. good luck and let us know how it goes if you go for it. do your research before you invest a dime!!
> The invention arena is full of hungry wolves waiting on a hand out. im just being straight up with ya.
> on a positive note? it can be done but do it yourself!!! i thought about it too, i built a new one that is 50 times brighter than my previous one and it has a self contained battery pack, a switch, and will burn for hours and hours on 5 D-cell at 6 volts burning 3 of the new luxeon rebel 90 LED's at 210 lumens each for a total of 630 lumens. but................its expensive to make. the lights and rechargeable batts are the cost. the PVC aint nuthin, but its the cats *** for a walking flounder stick thanks to your info on the idea. you can see the light header under the post...... quick limits of flatties...... in the fishin reports forum. those LEDS are the BOMB!


Good focused looking beams on those lights!! Where did you get them from? Online? I would like to try a new setup with those lights. Post up some pics of your full setup if you can. What do those bad boys cost? Thanks for the info


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