#799916 - 11/13/12 06:51 PM
Best lights for night digs?
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Reverend Tarpones
Registered: 10/09/02
Posts: 8587
Loc: West Duvall
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For the past few years I have only dug on tides where we did not need artificial lights but they will be a must for the December digs. What is the best system you guys have found?
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No huevos no pollo.
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#799926 - 11/13/12 07:26 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: STRIKE ZONE]
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Ornamental Rice Bowl
Registered: 11/24/03
Posts: 12767
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Gas lantern puts out a uniform medium grade light that's best for spotting holes. Once you find one, the lantern stays some distance from the hole, continuing to shine light obliquely onto the sand to reveal every contour, including that precious clam "show".
The ultra-intense new-fangled headlights will allow you to spot them from an oblique angle, but the instant you shine that light perpendicular to the sand over your clam hole, the brightness renders the sand completely featureless, leaving you with that "WTF? Where's my hole?" feeling.
Seen it happen way too many times.
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"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey) "If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman) The Keen Eye MDLong Live the Kings!
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#799927 - 11/13/12 07:35 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: eyeFISH]
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ExtenZe Field Tester
Registered: 11/10/09
Posts: 8060
Loc: Vancouver, WA
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The Coleman Northstar is one of the brightest propane lanterns that I've been around. For a headlight I like the cheapo Energizer $12.99 at Wally World. It has a slide switch (NOT the push button) which I like best. Red-left____White-right
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#799928 - 11/13/12 07:38 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: Direct-Drive]
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River Nutrients
Registered: 02/14/06
Posts: 2540
Loc: Elma
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FnP is right, the new headlights make it tricky.
The best is if you can have a lantern holder and a digger, then switch places. If you are by yourself you can make-do with the headlight, I have done it a lot. A softer-wider beam is much better than the tight LED pinpoint beam, but those are harder to find.
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#799930 - 11/13/12 07:46 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: Rocket Red]
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yarnballsdeep
Unregistered
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Forget the damn brand, but some head lamps have an adjustable beam. Make a wide or tight beam. Bobs has them. They are awesome. Would be a good addition to a latern. And I think it would minimalize the effect doc mentioned. Sorry I don't know the brand, doesn't help much.
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#799931 - 11/13/12 07:49 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: Rocket Red]
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Ornamental Rice Bowl
Registered: 11/24/03
Posts: 12767
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The best is if you can have a lantern holder and a digger, then switch places.
Money! Who'da'hell wants to spend a night huntin' for clams alone anyway?
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey) "If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman) The Keen Eye MDLong Live the Kings!
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#799933 - 11/13/12 07:55 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: eyeFISH]
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Reverend Tarpones
Registered: 10/09/02
Posts: 8587
Loc: West Duvall
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I always dig in the surf, I'm guessing that's gonna be a problem . ..
You will NOT be alone Doc. John and I are gonna be there. Then we need to go to your house and drink your scotch while you clean and cook the clams.
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No huevos no pollo.
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#799935 - 11/13/12 07:56 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: Dave Vedder]
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Dick Nipples
Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 28170
Loc: Seattle, Washington USA
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I prefer lights that fall over easily, get hot enough to burn holes in my rain paints, and usually peter out approximately seven minutes after official sunset.
Otherwise I go with a propane lantern, and like to have one person hold it and one person dig.
Fish on...
Todd
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#799936 - 11/13/12 07:58 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: eyeFISH]
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Ornamental Rice Bowl
Registered: 11/24/03
Posts: 12767
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Another excellent strategy.... one lantern holder and two diggers.
The trio slowly and meticulously covers a swath across the beach with lantern dude/dudette in the middle flanked by two diggers slightly ahead and on either side about 8 ft apart.
Here's another eye-guy tip. Learn to use the periphery of the illuminated area, NOT the center. And never look directly at your light source. Gazing upon a brighter area only screws up your visual dark-adaptation, making it much more difficult to function in the darker zone for at least another 2-3 minutes if you are young, perhaps 10 or more minutes if you are old.
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey) "If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman) The Keen Eye MDLong Live the Kings!
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#800013 - 11/13/12 10:50 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: eyeFISH]
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Smolt
Registered: 01/06/01
Posts: 91
Loc: Aberdeen Wa
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Coleman Northstar on a good stand
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#800076 - 11/14/12 09:30 AM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: ]
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Poodle Smolt
Registered: 05/03/01
Posts: 10979
Loc: McCleary, WA
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Teamwork.
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They call me POODLE SMOLT!
The Discover Pass is brought to you by your friends at the CCA.
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#800081 - 11/14/12 10:16 AM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: Dogfish]
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Piper
Unregistered
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Its a lantern for me to... my dad and I fashioned a nice shepards cane that I strap it to and stick in the ground. Once I was rolled up the beach by a monster wave and the lantern stayed in the ground and barely quivered. You just gotta love the nightime digs!
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#800219 - 11/14/12 03:56 PM
Re: Best lights for night digs?
[Re: ]
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River Nutrients
Registered: 01/17/04
Posts: 3742
Loc: Sheltona Beach
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Northstar for me, too. Couldn't find a replacement mantle so just ended up using a regular one. Worked for me.
What was that? Last year or the year before there was some Major wind on the beach. Shows were almost non-existant before the flood tide. Only one broken clam in my limit, life is good.
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