Summertime Isn’t the Only Time Underwater Lights Attract Fish
Locating the fish on a frozen lake can be challenging and sometimes numerous holes have to be punched in the ice before locating them. That’s why serious ice-fisherman have discovered submersible lights not only attract fish in the summer, they also attract fish in the winter through the ice. Our Green SuperBrite 4800-C LED Light and our SuperBrite 2500-X2 are excellent lights for ice fishing.
How Lights Work
All good fisherman know submersible lights attract fish during the summertime, but most ice fisherman do not realize submersible lights also attract fish under the ice as well. But remember, in the winter months the water is super clear and cold which makes the fish more skittish and less aggressive, so you don’t need as much light to do the job. DO NOT use a light brighter than our Green SuperBrite 4800-C LED Light or you may scare more fish away than you attract.
How do they work? Submersible lights simply start a natural food chain by attracting plankton which is the primary food source for all bait-fish. Even though there will be less bait-fish coming to the lights in the winter months, the larger game fish instinctively come to any light source in the water looking for a meal.
Where and How to Set Up
Fishing with lights in the winter is no different than fishing with lights in the summer. The first thing you have to do is set up on or near some kind structure. This can be a drop off adjacent to a river channel, submerged brush or even a pile of rocks. Fish are ALWAYS found near some type of structure no matter what time of year it is. If you aren’t fishing on or near some type of structure your chances of catching fish are greatly limited. In order for the lights to work, you have to set up in areas that hold fish.
If possible drill two holes, one hole for your light and the other hole to fish out of. Fishing in the same hole your light is in can be problematic because the fish tend to get tangled up in your light as you are reeling them in. Plus, we have also found that your catch rate will increase if you are fishing a few feet away from the light. Since some fish can be somewhat skittish of bright light, your catch rate will be better if you fish on the outer edge of the light.
It is also important not to submerge the light too deep in the hole. Many people want to drop the light to the bottom, but keeping the light just below the bottom edge of the ice will allow the ice to act as a large reflector providing much more overall light. The closer you keep the light to the bottom edge of the ice…the more light will be reflected downward.
While lights are primarily used after the sun goes down, they can also be used on lakes that are completely snow covered. The snow cover prevents any sunlight from penetrating the ice, so the fish are able to see the lights as well as they do at night. Our Green SuperBrite 4800-C LED Light and our SuperBrite 2500-X2 are excellent lights for ice fishing. Color can make a difference on any given night, so we recommend experimenting to see which color may work the best. But remember, too much light can work against you so don’t use lights that are too bright or you may scare more fish away than you attract.
Compact Deep Cycle Batteries
For those of you who need a smaller battery that will fit in a backpack, the compact batteries listed below will provide good light for a limited amount of time. Most compact batteries such as the 8-amp hour rechargeable battery from Cabela’s and many of the compact batteries from Amped Outdoors come with ‘Spade Clip” connections.
To find out how long a light will run on any given battery you take the Amp Hour rating of the battery and divide it by the amp draw of the light. For example, a 50-watt SuperBrite 4800-C draws about 4 amps per hour., so a 19-amp hr. battery would run the light for about 5 hrs. (19/4= 4.75 hrs)