In order not to miss the bite at night, many different devices and signaling devices have been invented that greatly facilitate the work of the fisherman. Today we will talk about tackle, which is called a firefly. Many users use it because:

• easy to manufacture;
• has a low cost;
• it is easy to use.

What is this tackle

A fishing firefly is a kind of “flashlight” that is attached to a float antenna or to a feeder. Models differ from each other in the shape of the case, length, thickness, and can work in different periods.

Fireflies are capsules consisting of several compartments: plastic and glass. One of them contains a special chemical solution (hydrogen peroxide), and the other contains reagents (oxalate and fluorescents). If the float is in its normal state, then the substances do not interact with each other, but as soon as the tackle is bent, it begins to glow.

The color background inside the float depends on the reagents in it, and can be blue, yellow, or green. Fireflies with a yellow-green glow are considered the most popular among fishermen. Such light does not irritate the eyes, and is noticeable from afar.

The purpose of fireflies

These items of equipment were invented specifically for night fishing so that anglers can watch bites in the dark. Since the tackle can be fixed in different ways, it is used both when fishing with a feeder, and with float rod. The float shines long enough: 5-15 hours.

Benefits of using:

• suitable for different types fishing;
• shines for a long time;
• easy to fix;
• has a small size;
• low cost;
• Possibility to choose different lighting colors.

Disadvantages:

• they are disposable;
• spilled reagents can damage human skin if broken.

Varieties of fireflies

There are two types of fishing fireflies: battery-powered and chemical.

The first option consists of an LED light bulb, which is powered by several small batteries. The advantage of this model is that it can be disassembled. This makes it possible to reuse the tackle, and, of course, replace the batteries.

The second option is the most common, and does not require special handling skills in the process of fishing. In order for the rig to start working, you just need to bend it, and then fix it on the gear.

Proper selection and use

1. Before you go night fishing, check the firefly tackle to make sure it is in good condition and has the necessary fasteners.
2. To activate the glow of a firefly, the float must be bent so that the glass capsule cracks, then shake it until a cloud of luminous substance appears.
3. Try not to damage the outer shell, otherwise if oxygen gets inside it, the whole effect will disappear. In addition, reagents can damage the skin of the hands.

Now a few words about how to choose tackle:

1. Buy products from well-known manufacturers. It is time-tested, the company guarantees the quality of its products.
2. The glow period must be long.
3. Select the internal volume of the flask as large as possible so that more reagents enter inside.
4. The float fittings must match your rod.

As a rule, two fireflies are sold in a package at once. There is no general fixed price. Each manufacturer puts on its product the price that it considers necessary. Many factors influence it.

If the “flashlight” is of high quality, then it is capable of producing bright light for more than ten hours, and then it glows dimly for about a day. A low-quality product shines within three to four hours, a barely noticeable glow emits about two days. Advice: choose floats of medium quality for yourself. Such a model will normally work for seven hours, and this is quite enough for use on a summer night.

Making your own firefly

There are many options for making such gear. Let's see how you can do a few of them:

Firefly with reflective element.

Five millimeter thick strips are cut from yellow or white foil. We glue the float antenna with them. It is advisable to use a waterproof type of glue. This kind of firefly works very simply - while fishing, light is directed to the float (the light of an ordinary flashlight is enough).

We build a float using an LED and a jar of ascorbic acid

We take a used plastic container from an ascorbic acid, put an LED and batteries inside. It is not necessary to choose a powerful LED - a part from an ordinary lighter is quite suitable. The equipment can be used in conjunction with a feeder, with a bell. If you want to achieve a better glow, make a small window in a jar of vitamins.

Despite the demand, today the market for bite alarms does not really play with offers, limited to floats, bells or electronic signaling devices, which are especially popular in feeder fishing, but at the same time entail significant financial and time costs.

Bells and other rattles are a different story, extremely irritable. In most cases, according to my observations, the bell is hung directly on the rod .. but I want to hang it anywhere, even on my nose, but not on the rod - it bites or it doesn’t go, but it constantly rings and annoys everyone and everything.

A float is good for everyone, but if there are problems with vision, or the sun is too blinding, or dusk sets in, you have to look for universal solutions and in most cases buy special glasses, and sometimes even several.

But what signaling device to choose for night fishing? The most correct solution would be the same electronic light and sound signaling device. If you want to save both in money and in carrying weight, while maintaining mobility (electronic signaling devices require racks, preparation, settings, etc.) or does not involve bottom fishing, have to be content with bells. But how to enjoy the silence and beauty of the night nature, if something is constantly beeping, chirping and whistling?

We return to the old grandfather's way - we play sniper in position - we listen, we feel, we strain our eyesight. Or make the float glow.

Back in the distant 70s (I personally saw this date), smart Soviet engineers invented bulky but interesting night floats - inside there was a light bulb on a movable contact pad, a tablet battery, the float was located in the water from bottom to top, when biting the fish pulled fishing line down, the float turned over, the circuit closed and the light turned on - everything is simple.

It all ended there - I have not seen more such floats.

In 2012, in one of the fishing shops, I was offered Finnish night floats - I still regret that I didn’t buy it. The operation of the LED in them was similar, but the float itself is much more compact.

Perhaps now somewhere you can buy something similar, but the same query on google does not really give anything.

Many fishermen, like me, have had to settle for fluorescent floats or fireflies (their work is based on the chemical reaction of several liquids when mixed, resulting in a slight glow for up to 5-6 hours). But, to be honest, I personally don’t like one option or the other - I almost don’t see a float at a distance of more than 5 meters.

The solution, in fact, was found in the Chinese market - LED floats.

Night Fishing Float Overview

Price: depends on the seller - from 300 to 400 rubles. (free delivery)

Package contents: tube 3 pcs, float — 3 pcs, 3 batteries

Length: 32.5 to 33.5 mm

Weight: 2 to 2.2 gr

Float material: plastic (debatable)

Battery type: specialized 3V lithium battery CR425 (price for 1 pc - from 25 to 30 rubles)

Comparative model of typical batteries

It consists of 3 floats, 32.5, 33 and 33.5 mm long, respectively (very long). Weight from 2 to 2.2 g in increments of 0.1 g.

The curb weight of the float + 0.8gr (battery). The material, according to information from the seller, is plastic, but wood chips are clearly visible inside the float (I’ll find out for sure when I break it).

What I especially liked was that each float was in its own rather strong tube!

Principle of operation

Battery+LED+optical cable(?)

We insert the battery - the float consists of two parts connected through a reliable threaded connection, we just insert the battery into one of the parts, then the circuit closes - the LED lights up and transmits light up the plastic fiber. I'm not exactly sure about the latter, but most likely it is he, or some conductive plastic that is ultra-sensitive to light.

The float has 5 sections on the tip through which light passes (in theory, this is exactly that part of the light that was not reflected from the walls after refraction due to the low reflectivity of the walls). The cut of the tip produces the brightest neon beam, the sections are dark red (bottom) to orange (top) - perfect colors!

The length of the float can be easily reduced - by carefully breaking off part of the same top (nothing will go bad!).

According to equipment - the float is not equipped with rings either from above or from below, so cambric can be used.

Battery life up to 4 hours, taking into account the fact that the battery can always be removed.

The battery is very small

Insert the battery and screw it on.

If necessary and in order to avoid leaks, we apply a sanitary film to the threaded connection

As soon as the two parts of the float are connected, the contact closes, the diode starts to shine

Total - the float is clearly visible both at dusk and at night at a distance of 10 meters

(with my vision of -2 in each eye, it was not a problem for me to fix bites).

Leaks, short circuits or malfunctions have not yet been noticed.

The only thing is that the float is heavy - all the equipment is not designed for catching small fish (in principle, at night, a trifle does not bite willingly)

Many devices have been invented for night fishing - bells, flashlights, signaling devices. Fireflies do not lose their popularity because of their low cost and ease of use.

fishing firefly for night fishing, this is a modified “flashlight” that is attached to a feeder rod or to a float antenna. They have a different shape, length and thickness, and are also designed for different periods of work.

On the appearance, fireflies are plastic capsules that contain special chemicals. Inside each capsule is another one with a different chemical solution. In a calm state, the liquids do not react with each other, but if the capsule is mechanically acted upon (bent), it emits light.

Depending on the reagents, the color can be different - blue, yellow, green, but yellow-green is considered the most popular among fishermen. It is this glow that is easier to perceive by sight and does not irritate.

The firefly consists of two capsules - one is plastic and the other is glass. The glass capsule contains hydrogen peroxide, while the plastic capsule is filled with fluorescent dye and oxalate.

When the glass shell bursts, the components react, from which energy is released. It, in turn, is absorbed by the dye, from which light radiation appears. Different types of dyes emit different color radiation.

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What are they for?

Fireflies were invented specifically for night fishing, so that in complete darkness the fisherman could watch the bites of the fish.

Versatile mounting options allow them to be used for both feeder fishing, and float gear. The glow period of one firefly can be from 5 to 15 hours.

The benefits of fireflies include:

1. Ability to use for different types of fishing.
2. Glow duration.
3. Ease of fastening.
4. Small sizes.
5. Low price.
6. You can choose a different backlight color.

Some cons:

1. Used only once.
2. Chemical constituents may cause irritation if contacted with the skin.

What are there?

There are two types of fireflies - with a chemical composition and battery-powered:

Chemical

The most common option, because it does not require special knowledge during operation. It is only necessary to bend the plastic capsule until the glass one bursts. Then it is attached to the gear and ready to go.

Battery operated fireflies

These fireflies consist of an LED bulb and several small batteries. Externally, these fireflies also have the shape of a capsule, with only one advantage - they are collapsible. This allows you to use them repeatedly, the main thing is to change the batteries on time.

How to fix?

Depending on the type of fishing, firefly mounts differ:

To the float

To a greater extent, they are designed specifically for float gear. They are attached using a silicone tube that comes with the kit. One side of the tube is put on the float antenna, and a firefly is inserted into the other.

Often there are floats with a thin antenna, and it is not possible to attach a firefly in the standard way. In this case, you can use the rubber bands cut off from the nipple tube. Two elastic bands are put on the antenna, and a firefly is passed through them.

More recently, large floats have appeared, in the antenna of which fireflies are placed. In its upper part there is a hole with a cap through which the alignment process takes place.

To the tip of the rod

When fishing with the feeder method, a float is not needed, which makes the process difficult, and bites often lead to fish coming off, because you can’t see them in the dark. In this case, two silicone rubber bands are threaded through the tip of the feeder rod. The gaps between the 2nd and the third ringlet (it is possible between the 3rd and the fourth one) become places for attaching the firefly.

This method has its pros and cons. Plus - this is a good visibility of the movement of the rod tip directly close. The downside is the possible hooking of the fishing line during the casting of gear, which can lead to its breakage. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended that the edges of the firefly be covered (wrapped) with tape.

There are special ready-made plastic attachments for fireflies to the tip of the rod. They are designed to work 1 or 2 fireflies at the same time.

How to use and choose fishing fireflies?

Before starting night fishing, you need to make sure that there are fasteners and they are in good condition.

To "make" the firefly glow, you need to bend it until the glass capsule cracks, and shake it several times. The result will become visible immediately - a small cloud of luminous substance will appear inside.

Recommendation: the outer shell must not be damaged. When oxygen enters the middle, the chemical reaction stops and there will be no effect. Also, reagents, getting on open areas of the skin, can cause allergic reactions.

There are many types of fireflies on the fishing market, but there are several factors to consider when buying.

Criterias of choice:

1. It is necessary to purchase fireflies from well-known companies that have an excellent reputation, and the products are time-tested.
2. Fireflies should be designed for a long bright glow.
3. It is advisable to choose fireflies with a large internal volume of reagents.
4. Fasteners of fireflies must correspond to the gear used.

There is no single price for fireflies, each manufacturer has its own product ratings. As a rule, fireflies are sold in packs of 2. The price ranges from 40 to 90 rubles. for packing. It all depends on the number of fireflies, shape, thickness, period of bright glow.

High-quality fireflies are able to emit bright light for 8-10 hours, and another day - a weak and dim light. Less high-quality fireflies last 3-4 hours in bright mode, and in dim mode up to 2 days. It is better to choose the average option, which allows you to fish for about 7 hours, which is quite enough for one night of fishing in the summer.

How to do it yourself?

It is impossible to make an identical product, as from a factory, at home, but you can replace the luminous capsule with improvised materials. The similarity of a firefly will be painting the antenna of the float with fluorescent paint. It is able to glow when the slightest light from a flashlight hits it.

If there is no paint, the antenna can be pasted over with a special light-accumulative tape, which is not inferior in light output to a liquid counterpart.

Results

Most large specimens of fish prefer to bite at night, when the water becomes a little cooler and there is less otherworldly noise in the reservoir. Going night fishing without fireflies is often a waste of time.

It is they who help to notice the bite in time, and the correct hooking and the process of fishing is a matter of the skill of the fisherman himself. It is advisable to always have fireflies in stock, because unforeseen situations with the glow are possible. Good preparation- recipe for success.

Night fishing, especially in the warm season, is no less popular than daytime fishing. This is due to the fact that in summer a nightly decrease in temperature can activate the fish quite well. On the ponds with the onset of night, you can count on catching large crucian carp or carp, while on the rivers there is a high probability of pulling out a good bream or even catfish.

With the onset of autumn, on suitable rivers, burbot may also appear in the catch. In order not to miss a bite, the most diverse float illumination is used - reflective materials, LEDs, a firefly float and other methods.

Some of the designs are more convenient, while others often do not work as they should. Fireflies for fishing are most widely used, primarily due to the simplicity and reliability of the design.

The most common fireflies for night fishing are chemical. They have the form of a hermetically sealed plastic capsule, inside of which there is another container with a reagent that easily collapses when pressed. To get started, you need to put a little pressure on such a firefly, or bend it a little so that the inner capsule bursts, and the outer one remains intact. mixed up, chemical substances begin to glow, most often with a yellowish-green light, but other options are also possible. Due to its simplicity and reliability, as well as low cost, this design is most popular among anglers.

Photo 1. Chemical firefly in action.

The kit usually comes with adapters for attaching the firefly to floats with different antenna diameters, as well as sometimes plastic mounts for fixing the device to the feeder tip.

Photo 2. Can be inserted into the float instead of the antenna.

In addition to the color of the glow, such a firefly on a float may differ in the duration of operation, as well as the volume of substances that provide the glow. The most successful options are fireflies with a duration of about 7 hours - they are enough for almost any night. The luminous float should remain bright, if only a dim residual glow is visible, it is necessary to change the capsule to a new one.

Photo 3. Use cases.

Important! When fishing at night with a feeder using a firefly, you need to be especially careful when casting. The fact is that the cord often overlaps behind the firefly, which threatens to break the tip.

Photo 4. Attachment to the top with silicone rubber bands.

Neon lights

Luminous floats for night fishing can be found on the shelves of almost any fishing store. Most often they have the form of an ordinary float, but inside this design an LED and several batteries are hidden. This option has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages that such a float has for night fishing include the possibility of its repeated use (unless, of course, it is the cheapest Chinese product that is likely to fail on the very first fishing), as well as a brighter glow. The disadvantages include the low reliability of budget options, as well as big weight, and as a result, less sensitivity of the float (a heavy float can also scare away cautious and inactive fish at the time of a bite, since more effort is needed to sink such a design).

On sale you can also find removable structures with LEDs. There are both options with fastenings for the feeder tip, and for the float. At the same time, using cambrics of different diameters, you can attach LED backlight to almost any antenna, except perhaps for the thinnest options.

Homemade options for fireflies for night fishing

The easiest option is to paste over the finished float with reflective tape. This method, although it does not provide luminous float, but allows you to maintain sensitivity when using delicate gear, in the case of which neither chemical fireflies nor LEDs can be used. For normal visibility with this design, you need to use a light source. When using high-quality LED strip, even a weak flashlight with diffused light is sufficient.

How to make a firefly with minimal time and materials? The easiest way is with heat shrink tubing. For this you will need:

• LED of the required power and glow color;
• heat shrink tubing;
• flat battery;
• silicone for filling the tube;
• silicone tube, as well as a lighter or other source of fire.

The battery is placed in a suitable size shrink tube, so that approximately 1-1.5 centimeters of the tube remains on both sides. After that, first on one side, then on the other, silicone tubes are fixed inside the heat shrink by heating.

Important! The diameter of the lower tube must be selected based on the size of the float with which the firefly will be used.

The next manufacturing step will be filling the upper silicone tube with silicone, which, in addition to isolating the structure from water, will also fix the LED. Such a do-it-yourself firefly is easy to manufacture, and to turn it off when there is no longer a need for backlighting, just pull out the tube with the LED. The only drawback of this design is the impossibility of replacing the battery.

Important! If, after the LED is inserted, it does not light up, you should insert it the other way around - perhaps the contacts were connected incorrectly.

Fans of night feeder or bottom fishing sometimes use impromptu fireflies if, for one reason or another, more successful lighting options were not available. Many have lighters with a built-in LED flashlight. It can be pulled out and attached to the tip of the feeder or donkey using tape. For float fishing this method will not work, since such a firefly does not have insulation from water, and will quickly become unusable.

Preparing the place to fish

At the place where night fishing will take place, you must arrive before sunset. While it is still light, you need to decide on the point of fishing on the pond, and clip in if feeder rods are used. Also, in advance, you should place fishing rod stands, a landing net, a fish tank, a folding chair or chair on the shore, as well as arrange bait, bait and spare gear so that in the dark when illuminated by a headlamp they can be quickly found. All these works are carried out before dark, as it is extremely inconvenient to do this at night.

You should also feed the fishing point in the evening, before sunset. So not only the fish will be collected as quickly as possible on the bait table, but also the angler, in the case of feeder fishing, will get used to the casting distance, and it will be easier to re-cast the equipment at night.

While fishing, disguise should be observed - it is advisable to avoid not only noise, but also too frequent use of a flashlight.

The night bite signaling device is used when fishing at night:

• on a bait
• to the feeder
• on a spinning donk
• when fishing for donka-zakidushka

Bottom fishing at night is quite effective, but reliable bite signaling devices are needed. Bite signaling device for evening and night fishing - bells combined with a firefly (flashlight).

Night bite alarm.

firefly bell

• A firefly (flashlight) shows us where our donkey is.
• The bell gives a bite signal.
• By the fluctuation of the firefly, you can determine on which bottom it is pecking, especially when it pecked big fish, for example, bream or catfish, and in some cases, for example, with a one-time jerk of the white bream, the bottom on which it bites will still have to be determined, for example, you can additionally use bells with different sounds.
• A rod with a firefly will be more convenient to grab when biting.
• The firefly will not let the bell get lost at night.

We attach a bell with a firefly closer to the tip of the rod, since the tip has a large oscillation amplitude and you can better see the bite signal.

Fishing for a donkey at night

Budget night bite alarm

Bottom fishing at night will be more successful if you use a reliable budget bite alarm. This bell as a bite signaling device can be used not only when fishing with a bottom at night and during the day, by removing the flashlight. Flashlights for the signaling device are sold separately from the bells and cost as much as the bells cost. The signaling device is assembled simply - there is a hole on the bell into which a flashlight can be inserted. The design of the flashlight is also simple: a collapsible body, an LED, two batteries. The flashlight is turned on by turning the batteries over.

Additionally, of course, there should be a flashlight at night ... if the battery runs out on the bite alarm, or spare fireflies on the bite alarm.

On this signaling device, the flashlight is constantly on, the batteries run out accordingly. Batteries are enough for one night and maybe for the second. But if you replace the LED with an LED from a lighter flashlight, the batteries will last for 20 nights, for the whole season.

Watch the video - night bite alarm

There are various models of night bite alarms on the market for fishing at night. There are models where the flashlight is combined with a bell, where there is a flashlight without a bell, both can be either constantly lit up or lighting up during a bite.

Night bite signaling device - a flashlight without a bell glowing only when biting

This signaling device flashes green until there is a bite, while the signaling device flashes intensively in yellow-red color during a bite. There are models in which the LED is constantly on before the bite and flashes during the bite. How the signaling device works must be checked when buying. The signaling device is fastened with clamps to the tip of the feeder. Plus there is no scary sound. Such a signaling device can be used during the day when silence is required for fishing.

It costs 10 times more than the budget.
SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS, ADD TO YOUR ONE TAPE ASSNIKOV, ON THE WALL IN CONTACT ...

Night bite signaling device for fishing with a bell and a flashlight triggered by a bite

combined bell and flashlight in the signaling device

Such a signaling device for fishing flashes only when biting. It also costs 10 times more than the budget. More such devices are used as a night bite alarm for the feeder.

It should be noted that the signaling devices for fishing with a built-in electronic circuit, triggered by a bite, are quite capricious, you may have to suffer to set them up, this is if these Chinese inventions do not break down on fishing at all. But when fishing with a donkey at night, it will be difficult to set up a capricious signaling device. The budget one will be guaranteed to work, but until the battery dies.

But there is an option when catching a donkey at night, sharing two signaling flashlights of various types.

We are all sitting waiting for a bite!

Luminescent varnish (luminous varnish) on night fishing instead of a night bite alarm

To prepare gear for night fishing, you can use luminous varnish as a signaling device for fishing at night:

• so the varnish can be applied both to the bells themselves and if the circuit malfunctions or if the batteries run out, the bell will glow
• varnish is also applied to the rods themselves, first of all it is necessary to varnish the tip of the rod, and the rest of the rod can be covered with strokes, dots
• the varnish can also be used as a night bite alarm for the feeder.

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