# off the top of your head ideas for low-cost lights for 14' flat bottom jon boat



## dangermon (Nov 20, 2007)

I've been researching online and possibly found the quickest, most affordable way (for me at least) to get some lights in the water fast from a small boat... however, I know that ya'll will have some better ideas.

My goal? To run a basic set of submersible lights off a 12 volt battery framed out of PVC. At least two lights but would like more. Hoping for lots of light that will run 3-4 hours. 12v MR16s?

I was hoping to make a row of them in front of the boat or at least 2 on each side of the boat.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

dangermon


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

You can get by with 2 50 watt LED's. $75 each x 2 = $150

If you decide you're ready for more light, just add two more.

I run 4 and it's plenty of light.

You'all get folks with an AC setup tell you that you need 50,000 lumens of light to gig fish but they're usually just trying to justify listening to those loud ass generators to themselves. Then they'll tell you they have a Honda and its quiet and blah blah blah.


----------



## feelin' wright (Oct 7, 2007)

What is your budget? We have have four LEd lights that we run off a 12volt battery. I believe we spent like 30.00 on each of them.


----------



## Five Prongs Of Fury (Apr 15, 2008)

johnboatjosh said:


> You can get by with 2 50 watt LED's. $75 each x 2 = $150
> 
> If you decide you're ready for more light, just add two more.
> 
> ...


This is funny, but true. The LEDs he's talking about put out plenty of light and since they're above water there's no worries about breaking them off running over stumps or submerged pier piles. 

PS: I'm one of those guys with the Honda and 50,000 lumens of HPS lights...:whistling:


----------



## bamafan611 (Mar 1, 2010)

We've all had to start somewhere and the new led's are a good start. But I promise you , that when you get hooked and get back to the ramp and compare coolers with someone that has hps and a generator, you will just shake your head. If you just want an evening out and not real commited, than led will be fine without alot of investment.


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

bamafan611 said:


> We've all had to start somewhere and the new led's are a good start. But I promise you , that when you get hooked and get back to the ramp and compare coolers with someone that has hps and a generator, you will just shake your head. If you just want an evening out and not real commited, than led will be fine without alot of investment.


I was waiting on this type of comment....so, are the flounder drawn to the rattle of your generator? That's the only reason I can think of as to why someone with an AC system would automatically gig more fish than a person with a DC setup. Look, I'm not saying that you're not an amazing flounder gigger or that you don't fill the cooler every time you go or whatever. I'm just saying that your generator isn't the reason.


----------



## Night Shift (Nov 5, 2012)

Im one of the guys with a loud Honda generator. I like em.


----------



## bamafan611 (Mar 1, 2010)

You're right Josh. I spend a whole lot of time on the water and knowing it fills the box. But as you will find out the next few weeks the water will not be stellar and the extra will help cut the soup. You can kill fish with a 100 watt light bulb, but I prefer and have tried them all the AC system. It's all about what you like. I won't follow a boat with HPS down a beach, but will follow a DC systen all night long. Areas I gigg , there is never a clear water night and the HPS does make a difference.


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

bamafan611 said:


> You're right Josh. I spend a whole lot of time on the water and knowing it fills the box. But as you will find out the next few weeks the water will not be stellar and the extra will help cut the soup. You can kill fish with a 100 watt light bulb, but I prefer and have tried them all the AC system. It's all about what you like. I won't follow a boat with HPS down a beach, but will follow a DC systen all night long. Areas I gigg , there is never a clear water night and the HPS does make a difference.


No doubt about the muddy water deal. I've been with five prongs over around OBA a couple times and its usually a mud hole no matter where you go over there. I usually fish much cleaner water so that's usually not an issue. In the end, you can't gig what you can't find so knowing how to flounder is much more important than how many lumens hit the water. OP, we've officially jacked your thread, now go buy those LED's and join the ranks of us amateurs until you can afford one of those red chatterboxes.


----------



## dangermon (Nov 20, 2007)

Thanks for all the feedback. My budget or lack of is more like it. What do ya'll think about this route?

http://www.flounder-fishing-and-gigging.com/How-to-build-a-flounder-light.html


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

I might have missed it but what is the lumen output and cost of those lights?


----------



## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

I have used 12v Starfires, had 4 and wanted more light. I had one of the "ultimate gig light" which are led. Very bright blue light. Blue light is useless in stained water. Right now I use 500watt halogen's. I have used them for 3 years now. When the funds become available I will have a mix of metal halide and HPS. 
I will say the battery setup is nice if you only go for a few hours. If you go all night and use a trolling motor you will wind up with to many batterys on board. Been there done that. Wound up with 8 batterys and needed more. 
I had/have an old style honda rattler. I now have a ryobi inverter genny. Night and day difference. I can talk in a normal voice to my buddy on the boat with me now. Last night I talked with a couple who walked out on their dock, they asked how we were doing, and I could hear them just fine.
All told I have about $400 between the genny and lights. I watch craigslist religiously when I want/need something. 
All that said, go the way you want, but when you see a rig that lights up everything around you will want that. I will be adding 2 more halogens for the time being to my boat.


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

If you go LED, you'll want "warm white" as opposed to cool white, which is the standard LED color. The warm white will be the same color as a halogen bulb


----------



## dangermon (Nov 20, 2007)

Those lights are a few dollars apiece... more money goes into the PVC.


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

dangermon said:


> Those lights are a few dollars apiece... more money goes into the PVC.


Gotcha. Just want to check on the lumen output to make sure they're bright enough to suffice. We've established that the LED's can't compare to the AC lights for brightness but here's what the 50 Watt warm white LED's look like for comparison to what you're looking at.


----------



## jetajockey (Jun 6, 2011)

I use some of the 30W LED floods on aquariums, they work pretty good and can be had for $20-25 each. I've never tested them on the water so I can't saw how they cut through the murk, but I've been tossing around the idea of floundering a little bit when I get the chance so I've been looking at cheap rigs myself. So far I've narrowed it down to the 30w LED floods or some simple clamp lights with PAR38 outdoor LEDs. Both options would be <$100 minus a power inverter and some PVC piping. I've also got an idea for a removable PVC railing setup as well, since I don't know anyone who works with metal.

It's not pro quality stuff like the HPS lighting and all that but hopefully will be enough for a once in a while amateur.


----------



## Night Shift (Nov 5, 2012)

Lotsa options. Chevy vs ford vs dodge kinda thing. Plug in or clamp to a battery, and let er rip. So many ways to go. See what works the best for you. Good luck to you!


----------



## bamafan611 (Mar 1, 2010)

Josh, thats the brightest leds I've seen. Those will work.


----------



## Five Prongs Of Fury (Apr 15, 2008)

bamafan611 said:


> Josh, thats the brightest leds I've seen. Those will work.


Bama, I've fished off Josh's boat several times. The LEDs are a lot brighter than they even look in that pic. That kinda technology wasn't available 8-10 years ago. If I had to rerig my boat again, I probably wouldn't be listening to the hum of my Honda.


----------



## dangermon (Nov 20, 2007)

http://www.lowes.com/pd_274378-5302...Ntt=mr16&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=mr16&facetInfo=

These are the bulbs.


----------



## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

johnboatjosh said:


> Gotcha. Just want to check on the lumen output to make sure they're bright enough to suffice. We've established that the LED's can't compare to the AC lights for brightness but here's what the 50 Watt warm white LED's look like for comparison to what you're looking at.


Johnboatjosh, are these like your lights...





And how many are on in the pic?


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

My original lights came from customfitz.com. He's pretty much not in business anymore so my latest ones came from black dog bow fishing.com. They put out around 5,000 lumens each. However, LED's are a directional light source so a higher percentage of the generated light makes it to the water vs. an incandescent light bulb. I run 4 lights. 2 group 29 batteries wired 24v power them sufficient for a couple nights of fishing. There are 4 lights on in the picture above. My lights are warm white,however, you can get extra warm white which is very close to the color of hps. 

Also, the batteries generate 0 decibels but sometimes I hum loudly to myself to feel more like a dedicated flounder gigger. Sorry, couldn't resist! All in good fun.


----------



## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

johnboatjosh said:


> My original lights came from customfitz.com. He's pretty much not in business anymore so my latest ones came from black dog bow fishing.com. They put out around 5,000 lumens each. However, LED's are a directional light source so a higher percentage of the generated light makes it to the water vs. an incandescent light bulb. I run 4 lights. 2 group 29 batteries wired 24v power them sufficient for a couple nights of fishing. There are 4 lights on in the picture above. My lights are warm white,however, you can get extra warm white which is very close to the color of hps.
> 
> Also, the batteries generate 0 decibels but sometimes I hum loudly to myself to feel more like a dedicated flounder gigger. Sorry, couldn't resist! All in good fun.


I've looked at their site, nice looking lights. I like the run time your getting, how many hours do you work on a given night? I typically run from dark to light. My biggest problem is my trolling motor will eat 2 group 29 batterys in 4-5 hours. I don't want to wind up with 8 batterys again. Been there done that.


----------



## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Night Shift said:


> Im one of the guys with a loud Honda generator. I like em.



X2...:thumbup::whistling:


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

drifterfisher said:


> I've looked at their site, nice looking lights. I like the run time your getting, how many hours do you work on a given night? I typically run from dark to light. My biggest problem is my trolling motor will eat 2 group 29 batterys in 4-5 hours. I don't want to wind up with 8 batterys again. Been there done that.


If you fish from dark till daylight you may only get one night between charges of the batteries on the lights. If your trolling motor is dying that fast, the LED lights won't be your limiting factor.


----------



## LopeAlong (May 23, 2011)

johnboatjosh said:


> You can get by with 2 50 watt LED's. $75 each x 2 = $150
> 
> If you decide you're ready for more light, just add two more.
> 
> ...


Sounds to me like you should put your money where your mouth is. Let's take both our boats gigging and I'll follow behind you. When we're done for the night I'll show you how many fish you missed.

And as long as we're getting technical I have 165,000 lumens on the front of my rig. Your gonna need 33 50w LED's


----------



## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

LopeAlong said:


> Sounds to me like you should put your money where your mouth is. Let's take both our boats gigging and I'll follow behind you. When we're done for the night I'll show you how many fish you missed.
> 
> And as long as we're getting technical I have 165,000 lumens on the front of my rig. Your gonna need 33 50w LED's


Congrats on the lumen count. No doubt you can "out shine" my 4 LED's and MAYBE pick up a fish or two behind me if the water is super muddy. I'll pass on the competition though, so you can rest easy knowing you've got the better rig. You'd have an unfair advantage anyway, my boat's white. They'd see me coming.


----------



## jetajockey (Jun 6, 2011)

The upside is you could host a little league night game in the event of a power failure.


----------



## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

johnboatjosh said:


> Congrats on the lumen count. No doubt you can "out shine" my 4 LED's and MAYBE pick up a fish or two behind me if the water is super muddy. I'll pass on the competition though, so you can rest easy knowing you've got the better rig. You'd have an unfair advantage anyway, my boat's white. They'd see me coming.


HAH! there is your real problem. You will never see many fish with a WHITE boat....You HAVE to have camo so you can sneak up on them. They are deaf, but not blind....:thumbup:


----------



## mudskipper (Oct 3, 2007)

I have an led set up from custom fitz also......I'm running 8 leds and all are under the water......there is no loss of light from the lights trying to shine into the water......each one is brighter than a car with high beams on and easily as bright or brighter than a 500 -1000 watt halogen.....I've compared them several times.......I run them 24v off two batteries and they will last all night .......the lack of noise is a huge factor.......Ive had many boast with generators ask how the hell my lights were as bright as theirs without a genny........some of my lights are 60 watt led and put out 5000+ lumen each......all under water and every ounce of light is getting under water and looking forward.......they are insanely bright .......I love leds !!


----------



## FlounderMan (Oct 24, 2007)

mudskipper said:


> I have an led set up from custom fitz also......I'm running 8 leds and all are under the water......there is no loss of light from the lights trying to shine into the water......each one is brighter than a car with high beams on and easily as bright or brighter than a 500 -1000 watt halogen.....I've compared them several times.......I run them 24v off two batteries and they will last all night .......the lack of noise is a huge factor.......Ive had many boast with generators ask how the hell my lights were as bright as theirs without a genny........some of my lights are 60 watt led and put out 5000+ lumen each......all under water and every ounce of light is getting under water and looking forward.......they are insanely bright .......I love leds !!


mudskipper do you have any pics of your rig?


----------



## dangermon (Nov 20, 2007)

jetajockey said:


> I use some of the 30W LED floods on aquariums, they work pretty good and can be had for $20-25 each. I've never tested them on the water so I can't saw how they cut through the murk, but I've been tossing around the idea of floundering a little bit when I get the chance so I've been looking at cheap rigs myself. So far I've narrowed it down to the 30w LED floods or some simple clamp lights with PAR38 outdoor LEDs. Both options would be <$100 minus a power inverter and some PVC piping. I've also got an idea for a removable PVC railing setup as well, since I don't know anyone who works with metal.
> 
> It's not pro quality stuff like the HPS lighting and all that but hopefully will be enough for a once in a while amateur.


Thanks for sharing this. I'll check it out.


----------

