Years of making underwater cameras has taught us that IR lighting in the majority of underwater environments is more effective than LED lighting. LED lighting is visible and in some cases might attract fish but it also has the tendency to reflect back into the camera lens particles that are in most lakes and rivers to varying degrees. This is called particulate reflection. IR lighting does a better job cutting through the particulates in just about every situation. The ideal way to light an underwater camera would be use a large light set some distance from the camera shinning at an angle into the viewing zone. While not as practical, this is also considered illegal in many areas as lights for underwater cameras have to be attached to or directly related to the camera head.
Here are a couple of videos showing the effectiveness of IR lighting. Both videos are on the same body of water and same area 1-year apart. These videos are shot at night in over 30-feet of water on a river system that would be considered moderately dark water clarity. You will notice how different the particulates are from one year to the next as water conditions were slightly different. In both cases the IR lighting shows the angler the Sturgeon coming into the viewing zone. LED’s lights would have given the viewers a snowstorm look preventing decent viewing.