mniterambler

Well I have been gigging flounder for about 40 years and I have never used the hps lights yall are talking about.. I thought that you just couldnt get any better than 4 starfire underwater lights so you can see when there is a breeze blowing and muddy water, You guys think these lights are that much better.. I really dont see anyone with them that much where I fish and you guys are making me want to try some of these.. I already have a small gen but its only a 1600 watt coleman...I guess I just wanna know from someone who has tried all the different types..we used to build a lighter knot fire on a platform at the front of the boat lol. Then went to regular coleman lanterns and then the top of the line kerosene lanterns, Someone tell me these are superior to underwater so I can work some more...lol

Five Prongs Of Fury

I have gigging ever since I was old enough to walk and have pretty much seen or used every setup imaginable. I have walked with the dish pan style lanterns, used the old style 1000 lumen bulbs for years and even tried the starfires you mentioned. None can even hold a candle to a good HPS setup, literally. Before I got mine I used halos and thought they were the ticket. Now I don't see how I seen the fish that I did!!! Just make sure you make the right decisions to start with to avoid any headaches!!!:banghead

mniterambler

Thanks for the reply, I guess I will have to give it a try.. I just dont know how keen I will be on a generator and the noise out on the water I always loved the tranquility of floundering...

Gnwdad

Agree 100% with all of Five Prongs reply

X-Shark

I agree with you and put off the Genny for years after being around boats that had Genny's on them.



The ticket is most power with the least noise and they aren't cheap.



A 2000watt Honda is $800 to $1000.



I bought a Honda knockoff. [Kipor from Pep Boys.] It's Red



I woundn't buy one again. There is no place for warranty work and I don't believe Pep Boy's even sells them anymore. It was $600.



The 1st one leaked oil. It was a nightmare to get warranty work done. After it was fixed it leaked worse, so I took it back to Pep Boys to swap it for a new one.



The new one is a little hard to start.



Murpheryslaw bought one after I did and his runs good.



I did the wading as a kid with a Colman lantern with my Dad.

Did the Starfires

Did the AquaStar's http://www.fishinglightsetc.com/FlounderLight.html

Then went to the Genny with 4- Halogen 300watt lights.

Now I'm going to 4- HPS 150's w/ 55uf Caps.







The Starfires were brighter than the Aquastars. This may have been due to the stainless 6in reflector bowl I have on the Starfires.







The 4- 300 watt halogens blew those away.



I'm expecting at least another 100% improvement of that.

Five Prongs Of Fury

I was the same way about the noise of the genny at the beginning. It was all about the peace and quiet, but now with the cost of everything going up you have to have as productive of a rig as possible to make going worth while. I have a knock off of a Honda but it is a 8000 watt I believe, runs fine, but it also sounds like a feed crusher. I already had experience with a Honda 2000 so I knew what to expect. Cranks first pull every time and runs like a sewing machine so for me the choice was obvious. It was money well spent. Also a proper HPS setup shouldn't pull enough from the genny to make it run much above idle speed as I discussed in an earlier post. It all depends on what lights you buy, but I have already discovered that the more money you put into it now the more you will save in headaches:doh and trouble in the long run.

Gnwdad

As a child I floundered with a intertube, wash tub, car battery and 1 12 volt light. It was fun and we thought we killed enough till I started floundering with a buddy. He has (8) 500 watthalos and two Honda 2000's. I was jealousand wanted my own floundering rig, I bought the first boat I found (thought it would be the best rig out there, boy was I wrong). I could not talk my wife into us getting a $1000.00 Honda to flounder with so I bought the Coleman, it is 11 db louder than the Honda and $700.00 cheaper. This is my third year using it with no problems, it has never been off the boat always sat in the rain, oil has never been changed and has probably 200-300 hours on it and have no regrets buying it. If I was to do it all over again knowing what I have learned from my mistakes and from others here I would take the short cut on the generator and go with the best lights money can buy.

X-Shark

That is not a lot. It is a TON LOUDER! unacceptable for me.



The next project you should consider is a box to deflect the noise rearward.

Gnwdad

I not sure how to weight sound using tonnage, but my wife and daughter havefallen a sleep many night less than 3 feet from it.

Kodiak_Man

Being new to HPS lighting, I don't have a clue about them. I looked them up on google and found a list of different variations. Could somone please inform me which of the lights on the link are appropriate? if any of them? If I'm on the wrong track, could someone post a link for those of us oblivious to these heavensent lights!

Thanks

:usaflag

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en...1&ct=title