On my first fishing trip to Cuttyhunk Island I used a light that clipped onto the visor of my hat. The light had three green blubs. The first night that I turned the light on, I was on a remote part of the island under a black sky. Those three little green bulbs were so bright, that boats must have mistaken them for a light house! I did not catch any fish that night. The next day, a friend from S-B showed me the light, pardon the pun. I now use a neck light:
The main advance to using a neck light is stealth. The light is always pointing down and not towards the water, which spooks fish. The mouth piece helps me to hold the flashlight so I can un-hook a fish or change my presentation without hooking myself. The mouth piece also helps me to direct the light beam, which is more difficult to do with my hat light (or head lamp).
I build my neck lights using quality materials that are inexpensive and easily accessible:
- Princeton Tec Rage flash light
- Athletic mouth piece
- 1/4” Vinyl tubing
- Electrical tape
- Red permanent marker
To build your own neck light:
1. Secure the mouth piece to the flash light:
2. Measure and cut a section of vinyl tubing such that the Princeton Tec flash light will hang mid-chest (e.g. 38”). Then secure the two ends of the vinyl tubing to the sides of the flashlight via electrical tape:
3. Color the plastic lens of the Precision Tec flash light using a red permanent marker. Alternatively, you can purchase a red lens cap or red bulb, but I have found this technique to work equally well.
