Many customers purchase these lights so they can see and catch fish at their dock. But while these lights are guaranteed to attract fish, they also attract fishermen! Some customers are either uneasy about strangers being so close to their dock, while other are just worried other fishermen will damager their light with cast nets, lures, or boat propellers. There are several ways you can protect your light to ensure that it keeps bringing in fish for years to come!
The first, and most important, thing to do is to protect your underwater wire. Wire Shield is the perfect accessory to ensure no fish hooks can snag or cut your wire. But installing some Wire Shield, you can ensure your system will be protected. If your wire is unprotected and a fish hook cuts your wire, it will cause your system to trip the GFCI and turn off. The only way to fix this issue is to send it back here to Underwater Fish Light to get it repaired.
Many people might think they will need a bulb cage to protect their bulbs from other fishermen, this is actually incorrect. The bulbs are tough, and are meant to be mounted low enough on the ocean, lake or river floor to ensure it does not get hit by a boat. Many people request a bulb cage to protect the bulbs. While these cages do protect the bulbs from blunt force, we do not suggest mounting them on dock systems because they have two unfortunate complications. The vinyl-coated mesh cages tend to be “hook magnets.” For example, if someone were to be fishing by your light (which happens incredibly often, even if you don’t fish your own light!) and they happened to snag your mesh cage with their hook without realizing it. Once this happens, they are likely to real in the bulb because they think they got a fish! If they happen to pull the bulb out of the water and drop it back in, the bulb will break. This is because the bulb burns so hot, that it must remain in the water at all times. If it is taken out, even if it is in a bulb cage, the bulb will break. Another issue with the bulb cages is that they are not self-cleaning. While the HID bulbs on the system generate enough heat to clean themselves off, they are not powerful enough to clean off the cage, therefore anyone with a bulb cage on their dock system would have to clean the barnacles from the cage every couple of weeks. This, unfortunately, defeats the purpose of a maintenance-free HID bulb.
Some people would rather the light turn off any time a fisherman gets near their light. Even though the lights cannot be put on a switch, there is another surefire way to get the light to turn off. After installing your fish light, head to your local hardware store and purchase a motion light. Once you purchased the light, point the sensor out towards the water, where boats and other fishermen must pass by in order to be near your light. After point the sensor, mount the light in a place where it will shine directly at the photocell on the fish light when it is turned on. With this simple technique, the fishermen will trip the motion light to point directly at the photocell. Once the photocell detects the light, it will turn off the fish light because it believes it is daytime.
By following these simple guidelines, you will be able to protect your light to ensure it keeps running and keeps bringing you fish!
