Can someone please school me on the legality of having LEDs on the outside of my boat. The way I understand the the laws is that you are still required to have your NAV lights on while underway and that if you wrap your boat all the way in say green LEDs you cannot have them on while underway but, what if you have red on one side and green on the other? And what about interior lighting? I�d really like to do this project but I also definitely don�t want to get in trouble.

You should address this to the LEOs who patrol the areas where you fish. They are they ones who will make the call as to writing the ticket or not.

Lights on a boat are a safety factor, not decorations. They would certainly be illegal under way as they could make the nav lights confusing to another boater. Also, nav light requirements also entail specific degrees of visibility on each side, so anything that affects that ill probably net you a citation, and rightfully so
Nav lights also tell other boaters if you are underway, in which direction, and approximate speed. If lit while anchored, they could cause a boater to think you were under way, which is also what they are intended for. If your lights were to confuse another boater to the point of causing an accident, they could develop into a very expensive toy. If there happened to be injuries involved, it gets more expensive. It gets down to how much risk are you willing to take. There may be no risk, you never know. At any rate, if you really think you need to do it, then by all means, pick a color other than red or green.

Illegal.

Yep above and whatever lights you choose, they have to be USCG approved. From that I understand, the lights inside the boat are ok only if you are anchored.

Ok sounds good, I was thinking about using green lights on the side of my boat for night fishing but I believe I�ll play it safe and just build a couple submersible lights for night fishing. Thank y�all for the advice

To my understanding you just about have it summed up.

The nav lights (red, green and white) should be the only ones on while under way to give others a perspective of how fast and which direction you are traveling.

When not under way (to my knowlege) your anchor light at a minimum must be on so you could light everything else up when anchored. I would still make a call to the local game warden or lake patrol to confirm.

Correct

Not long ago I did ask the warden on Lake Fork about it and he basically said as long as they at on and not overdone (like all the way around) he at least and likely no warden would give you any issue about it - BUT - make sure the regular light on front is with you and works.