Night fishing keeps the action on the water going long after sunset. For effective night fishing, you need a light that will illuminate your fishing line without casting too bright a light over the water, which may scare away the fish. Halogen lights are effective for this purpose; you can make your own using some old flashlight tubes and materials found at home improvement stores. The project should take about half a day.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Things You’ll Need:
- Discarded halogen flashlight tube or a 6-inch length of 2-inch-diameter PVC tube
- Handsaw
- Sandpaper
- Light wiring kit for flashlights
- 2-inch-diameter piece of perfboard
- 10W halogen light bulb
- 6-inch-diameter light reflector cap
- Duct tape
- Small Phillip’s-head screwdriver
Step 1
Set the 6-inch length of PVC tubing or the old flashlight housing onto a flat work surface or workbench. If you’re using the flashlight housing and it’s too long, cut it down using the handsaw, then smooth the edges with hobby-grade sandpaper.
Step 2
Remove the light wiring kit and assemble the wires through the perfboard. Keep the red wire separate from the black wire; push them into the perfboard so they can be attached to the reflector cup. Attach the silver tongue from the light kit into the base of the reflector cap, where the 10W halogen bulb end will make contact. This will provide the current from the battery to power the light bulb.
Step 3
Push the 10W halogen light bulb into the light bulb hole in the center of the reflector cap. Make sure the end of the bulb is through the end where it can make contact with the silver tongue from the light installation kit. Thread the wires up through the flashlight tube or PVC tube so they’re exposed at the opposite end. Attach the red wire to the red/positive attachment on the light installation kit where it connects to the silver tongue. Attach the black wire to the black/negative attachment point. Use the small Phillip’s-head screwdriver to secure the wires under the small screws at the tongue.
Step 4
Push the reflector cap with the bulb into the top end of the flashlight tube or PVC tube. Tuck the exposed wires into the tube so they’re underneath the reflector cap and housed inside the tube.
Step 5
Slide the batteries into the PVC tube and seal the base with either the screw cap from the flashlight tube end or with duct tape if using PVC tubing. When ready, turn the reflector cap to the right by a half-turn to push the bulb down where it makes contact with the silver tongue, connecting the circuit to the batteries so the light bulb is powered.
Step 6
Shine the reflector cap at a 15-degree angle over the water so the light illuminates the fishing line without having direct contact with the water surface.
