Boat Lights Improve Fishing, Safety and Entertainment

Advanced lighting options are functional for fishing. Plus, they look really cool. Courtesy Lumitec

There are 24 hours in a day, and roughly half are illuminated by the sun. The other half of the hours are in the dark, but that doesn’t stop me from fishing. Over two-thirds of my fishing trips are after work or before my family wakes up on a weekend, so I rely on boat lights to keep me safe, attract fish and to see in the dark. Over the past few years, the latest technology in materials and construction allows anglers to use lights to turn night into day. 

Decked Out

Without a doubt, the biggest advancement in boat lighting stems from LED lights. LED stands for light-emitting diode. Instead of using a super-heated filament, like an incandescent bulb, LED lamps send electricity through a diode to excite photons and produce light. The result is a light that is 90 percent more efficient, produces less heat, lasts longer and is tougher than a filament or fluorescent bulb. LED lights allow engineers to design brighter spotlights, versatile deck lights and ­tougher underwater lights. 

Walk the docks at any marina to see boats illuminated above and below the water with bright, colorful lights. In addition to small courtesy lights, LED light strips add more light in more places. The most recent trend in deck lighting adds digital control to program the strip light’s performance. Elaina Dobosiewicz, marketing coordinator at Shadow Caster LED Lighting, explains: “Digital control allows the user to choose from 12 modes and three colors.” The modes include strobe, fade and trail. 

“I can program the lights to sync with my music,” Dobosiewicz says. The light strips can be cut to fit any space. Of course, Dobosiewicz has the strip lights on her boat. “We get compliments everywhere we go,” she says.

Lumitec is another company offering advanced lighting solutions for a wide range of boating applications above and below the water. “For the sport-­fishing market, our deck-spreader and floodlights are always popular, as is our compact, low-­profile Razor light bar,” says Mick McDonald, Lumitec marketing manager. “For 2025, we are releasing the latest evolution of our Poco digital-lighting control module, which provides for advanced lighting control via an MFD (multifunction display) or connected smartphone.” Control all Lumitec lighting from your MFD or in your hand, with functions like color change and selection, dimming, preset color modes, and Sound-to-Light. “Also for 2025 is an industry first: our all-new Masthead Combo Light that includes three lights in one (masthead, anchor and stern) in an ultra-slim profile and available with a motorized base,” McDonald says.

Fish Lights

The same programmability is available for underwater lights. With a lower temperature, smaller size and improved durability, LED lamps make modern through-hull lighting possible. Encapsulated in a waterproof and impact-resistant housing, the lights never need maintenance. If there is a problem, the lights can be replaced from inside the boat without pulling the boat out of the water. 

The biggest advancement in lighting comes on the control side. Instead of using a ­rocker switch to turn the light on and off, the latest boat lights are controlled through a digital control panel, smart device or the owner’s MFD. Gareth Evans, senior engineering manager at Lumishore, says: “Integration with smart systems allows boat owners to automate lighting based on time of day or even to trigger specific modes.” He says anglers even use through-hull lights during the day to draw fish to the boat. For example, the user can switch to a dedicated fishing mode that ­uses custom strobe patterns and wavelengths designed to mimic natural reflections and attract baitfish.

 

“A significant breakthrough came in 2008 with Lumishore’s introduction of the first full-­color-change underwater light.” Users can mix LED colors like paint for a customizable spectrum of colors. “This feature not only added aesthetic appeal but also opened new possibilities for practical applications,” Evans says. By cycling through a full spectrum of colors, anglers can dial in the color and wavelength that appeals to fish. 

Long before through-hull lights became a trend, anglers were using Hydroglow portable lights to draw bait and fish to the boat. The lighted rods are brighter than through-hull lights and easier to install­—just connect the alligator clips to a 12-volt battery and drop the light in the water. 

While the system is simple, the lights are complex. Hannah Corry, CEO at Hydroglow, laughs: “People think it’s just a light on a stick.” She explains that Hydroglow worked for years to identify the best light wavelength to attract bait and fish. “We have years of data from departments of natural resources on how fish react and respond to light,” she says. 

The engineers also tested ­materials and construction to improve durability. “We tested every epoxy resin we could get our hands on,” she says. An extruded aluminum case and aluminum end caps protect the light while banging around underwater. A 20-foot cord and negative buoyancy allow the light to sink. 

To keep up with lighting trends, Hydroglow is working on network control, timers, brightness levels and more colors. “We studied how people are using lights, and we are adding options where you can ­modify the light for how you use it,” Corry says.

Light Bars

You would have to be blind not to notice the rapid replacement of traditional spotlights with LED light bars. As opposed to a single directable spotlight, a light bar uses rows of powerful LED lamps to produce a brighter light and cover a wider area. Randy Powell, director of sales at Black Oak LED, says: “A spotlight only produces 20 percent of the light with only 10 degrees of coverage compared to a light bar.” Instead of turning the spotlight to sweep an area, the light bar illuminates everything in front of the boat. 

The key to using a light bar is choosing the best place to mount it. “Set it behind the edge of the T-top so the light doesn’t hit the bow and blind you,” Powell says. Some anglers mount light bars under the bow like headlights on a car. Powell recently installed light bars on a bass boat. “Those guys are going 70 mph at night,” he marvels.

Read Next: How to Use Fishing Lights

Controlled from an MFD or a smartphone, today’s lighting systems are programmable, with a range of colors and effects. Courtesy Lumishore, Lumitec Next Generation

While LED lights are blowing up the boat lighting scene, the next generation of lighting comes from fiber optics. Fiber optics use a special glass or plastic thread to direct light into a smaller space than copper wire and a lightbulb. 

SeaDek, the marine flooring company, has harnessed the versatility of fiber optics to create a lighted traction pad. Jeff Schieman, one of the founders of SeaDek, explains: “We use a fiber-optic fabric incorporated in EVA foam.” The light casts through the foam to create a backlit design in the traction pad. 

Schieman says the ­technology is still in the early stages. “Right now we can light up a 4-inch-by-4-foot area,” he says. The first generation of the technology must be wired into the boat at the OEM factory level. As he continues to develop lighted SeaDek, Schieman is working on a lighted fish ruler and more user-friendly installation. “I want everyone to enjoy this technology,” he says.

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