Dale: It is better to wear a headlamp(s) at night as the brim of a hat will restrict your field of vision.
It is easy to see shiny stuff lying on top of the sand on full moon nights. When, the moon is full I usually detect in the stealth mode and only turn on the headlamps t when I am having difficulty recovering an item.
When I need light I prefer to hunt with the two red light emitting diodes (LED) on to retain my night peripheral vision.
If I am blinded by someone’s light in my face I switch to and remain in flood light mode (all white LEDs) on for maximum light.
It is easy to see shiny objects in your scoop using either red led or white led light.
You can easily get disoriented and even lost at night, unless you know the area you are hunting well since it is difficult to see distant objects.
It is more difficult to fill your holes under the lower light conditions as they are harder to the see, especially if you walk to the water to sift the sand from your scoop. I often have to follow my tracks back to find the open hole to fill it...
As night time, can be crime time I take precautions – hunt with a buddy(s), or when hunting alone, I prefer resorts which have security over public beach which can get spooky. I carry ID and introduce myself to the guards and inform them where I will be hunting. In Hawaii, all beach is for public use and they cannot restrict you along the shore line.
There are a lot of advantages to night hunting and it is well worth the effort to develop the different skill sets needed.. If you are hunting into the evening it extends your hunting time. You can also hunt before day break to extend your hunting time. Also, there are many places that you cannot effectively hunt during the day.
This is an excellent summary of the issues, and pros and cons, of night beach
hunting. I'll add a couple of minor points.
I prefer to wear a cap with a clip-on light on the brim. I find the headband-type
of light makes my head sweat more and gets uncomfortable after a while. However,
I DO like the red LED light on the headband. I have only found bright white lights
in the clip-on type of light. If anyone knows of a red one, I'd like to hear about it.
In the dry sand, I find that I rarely need to turn on the light, especially if there's
a decent moon to provide a little light. I'm willing to wait until I get home to
examine my finds closely, rather than turn on the light for each one. BUT, I
usually hunt in beach areas that have some nearby lights from streetlights,
parking lots, etc., so I'm not hunting in total darkness. And, yes, when I
encounter a small object that keeps falling through the holes in my scoop,
I turn on the light to help me find it. That's also the only time I use
my Pro-Pointer on the beach, by the way.
If I'm hunting wet sand, I turn on my clip-on light each time I dump a
scoop of wet sand on the beach. It's too hard to pick out the target
in a pile of wet sand at night without the light. For me, anyway.
--Tom
