HEADLAMPS are an essential tool for fishing after dark. Given that dawn, dusk and night are often the best fishing times, it stands to reason that most of us should be carrying some form of light. Compared to a traditional hand-held torch, headlamps are fantastic because they offer hands free operation for tying knots or handling all the fish you’re catching.
However, while headlamps are essential for night-time fishing, using a light of any kind can pose some problems. There’s always the risk of scaring fish if a light is shone on the water. The other problem is shining light in your eyes which makes seeing after dark difficult.
Thankfully, well-known camping and outdoors company, Coleman has designed a powerful headlamp which avoids some of these problems and performs nicely for for night fishing. I’ve been using the Coleman CHT 10 headlamp for several months now during night fishing and evening kayak trips.
The larger CHT 10 is a 100 lumen LED light, meaning it’s very bright and more than adequate for most fishing scenarios. Coleman also make a brighter CHT 15 and a few smaller models. The standout feature of the CHT 10 is its six modes which allow you the option of various brightness settings. These include a low powered red light, a general area light, three bright white settings and a battery indicator.
Recently while fishing Eucembene Dam after dark I found myself using the low powered red light to tie knots, untangle line, and move short distances along the bank. When I needed to move across rougher ground or walk longer distances I powered on one of the brighter white lights which provided enough light to move safely along the slippery bank. The headlamp recognises which setting you’ve selected and doesn’t make you flick through the other lights to switch off.
The CHT 10 is water resistant to one metre, so it’s great for wet weather. I once ruined a non-waterproof headlamp in a wild PNG storm, leaving me with nothing but an iPhone to navigate my way around the jungle campsite at night! Trust me, a water resistant headlamp is the only way to go.
The headlamp runs on three AAA batteries.
Coleman has done a good job designing a powerful, lightweight, and at $49.99 RRP, affordable headlamp ideal for night time fishing.
Visit www.colemanaustralia.com.au to find the nearest stockist.