The Best Light Set Up For a Bowfishing Boat
When it comes to setting up your bowfishing boat, bowfishing light placement is key. There's a few different ways you can set your boat up depending on the size of your boat as well as the lights. Over the years we've built a customer base that includes commercial fishermen, fish and game government agencies, professional guides, tournament bowfishermen, and even conventional recreational bowfishermen. We've learned a lot from each of them, so lets talk a little more about what the best light set up is for your bowfishing boat.
Who We Are
Outrigger Outdoors is the leading designer and manufacturer of Bowfishing Lights. We pioneered and perfected the concept of color temperature adjustability, which allows bowfishermen to fine tune their lights to increase visibility in clear or muddy water. Separate from this, our Swamp Eye Bowfishing Lights were designed from the ground up with premium efficiency factors. This means we use a minimal amount of power for each light while we maximize the lumen output; allowing our lights to have the equivalent brightness output of 3-4 conventional lights.
If you're looking for something low profile that focuses the light down to the water and minimizes the amount of light that shines onto the shore, our Swamp Eye Gen 2.X Bowfishing Lights Bars are the best option for your bowfishing boat. These lights are ideal for boats that might be bowfishing near the shore, and do a great job at not illuminating houses and causing unwanted complaints.
If you're looking for something that will flood wide open areas and illuminate both the water and the shore with unrivaled brightness and color adjustable output, the Swamp Eye HD Bowfishing Lights are the best option for your bowfishing boat. These lights are most common on airboats and even kicker boats that cover a lot of water and are not concerned about illuminating houses on the shore.
Now lets talking bowfishing light setups, features, and how to properly mount your lights to achieve the most efficient setup for you.
Key Features to Consider in Your Next Bowfishing Light Setup
- Power Flexibility: the ability to switch between power sources 12/24V DC (battery) or 110/120V AC (generator) is great in terms of a universal setup, but also very important in terms of redundancy. I can't tell you how many times our guides have saved bowfishing trips by being able to switch between power sources.
- Adjustable for Various Water Conditions: water clarity can change from one area to the next, and the color of your bowfishing lights can determine how well you can see fish swimming below the water surface. The Swamp Eye Bowfishing Lights are capable of adjusting from warm white (2000k, HPS-like color) to cool white (6000k, halogen-like color) for penetrating various water conditions. This is one of many reasons they are considered the best light setup for bowfishing boats.
- Low Profile & Lightweight: rreduce the bulk and shed weight with lightweight bowfishing supplies, and you'll be able to get to your bowfishing spots faster and you'll be able bowfish in shallower waters. Low profile lights take up a minimum amount of space and our Swamp Eye Bowfishing Lights weigh a small fraction of the HPS or Halogen counterparts.
These key features to the best bowfishing lights should be considered when setting up your next bowfishing boat. Between work and life, the "play" time you spend on the water is invaluable. It's best to make the most of that time by putting together the best bowfishing light setup for your boat. See more fish and adjust to what nature throws at you while bowfishing.
Common Light Setups for Bowfishing Boats
Ignited Design CNC Plasma and Fabrication Services out of Missouri is a frequent buyer of our Swamp Eye HD Bowfishing Lights. The ability to switch between 24V DC and 110V AC along with the color tone adjustability and sheer brightness of the lights is what his customers desire the most. Here's one of his latest builds - featuring 8 Swamp Eye HD Bowfishing Lights.
Andalusia Marine's newest 20" by 70" boat build is a great example of this. They mounted two Swamp Eye Light Bars to the front and two light bars on each side of the boat.
Having lights on all sides is a popular choice because it eliminates shadows and ensures full visibility for all standing on the shooting platform.
Capt. Benny with BT Outdoors Bowfishing Charters spared no space for mounting his Swamp Eye HD Bowfishing Lights. He's running 12 up front and 2 in the back of the boat for clean up lights - this might be overkill for most bowfishermen.
Now, if your boat has a raised platform then light placement is especially important because you have a wider flood range which means there's less chance of shadows between lights. Our pro staff member, Doug Whitehead, made excellent use of his raised platform with his Swamp Eye Light Bars!
For those of you whose boat has a raised platform but the lights are typically underneath we have setup for that as well.
As you can see, there are many different ways you can rig lights up to your bowfishing boat. It all comes down to the size of your boat and where the best mounting surface is. Below are some more examples of bowfishing setups.
Capt. John Laska with No Regrets Bowfishing Charters
13 Swamp Eye HD Bowfishing Lights
Ethan from Wisconsin
Capt. Hunter (Modified Outdoors) from Wisconsin
Bart from Iowa
Capt. Alan Yedor, Southern Style Bowfishing Charters
11x Swamp Eye HD Bowfishing Lights up front, 2 in the back
Capt. Mark Malfa (Big Fish Bowfishing Texas) from Texas
Capt. Eric (Night Moves Gigging) from Texas
6 Swamp Eye Light Bars & 6 Swamp Eye Submersibles
The Swamp Eye Light Bars and Swamp Eye Submersible Lights are both staples in flounder gigging and bowfishing. They are bright, versatile lights that have been proven by the leading guides and tournament fishermen. Whether you're in muddy water, clear water, or prefer running on battery or generator, the Swamp Eye Light Bars are versatile enough to cover it all.
Like what you see here?
Contact us and we can work with you to light up your boat with proper bowfishing supplies and lights!
Outrigger Outdoors
Hi Bryan – generally speaking, the higher the better because you will get more flooded coverage. If the lights are real close to the water, they aren’t able to flood out as far as if they are raised up off the water some. That being said, we recommend keeping them at least 30" above the water minimum but raising them up as much as you’re able to for your application. Most boat hulls are right around 30 inches tall, so mounting them inside a light box that is flush mounted to the top of your boat hull is a traditional way to do it. This will usually give you around 30-36 inches of distance from the water surface.
Bryan Livingston
I just ordered swamp eye light how far above the water do you recommend mounting them