Thread: Ultra Violet Light and lures

Originally Posted by "G"

Sorry....you have not run afoul of anything. I was just trying to help you get some information. I do not know why the url link I gave you does not work for you....i just tried it on my phone, my table, desk top , and lap top and it works for me. Any it had three pages of threads and half of them were on subject with some good discussions. Personal experience with baits that glow....i really did better without them....i think they scared the fish...or perhaps did not look right to them. But that's just me...some people loved them.

Well thank you for the effort anyways. It says nothing matches. I use an IPad Pro and it probably doesn’t like something. I would love to read more about this subject. It did occur to me that it was possible that instead of attracting crappie, it scared them away. If that is the case using a light to eliminate everything treated with UV enhancements would be good. However, Jim here thinks it makes a big difference and I do like his stuff. I trust that he too has good experience to draw from, even if I have to guard my wallet when I get to looking too close at his creations.

I plan to go with as much UV glow as I can get on two jigs, and no UV at all on two jigs. That way I will be able to draw some sort of silly and completely useless conclusion regarding all of this. The world’s best discoveries were simply stumbled upon, but the key factor was the willingness to be observant. I always felt being observant made me a better surf fisherman, and I am sure it will make me better at this little game as well.

Thanks for the replies. Anyone else ?

As with all things...the main thing is ...learn...experiment...have fun and enjoy yourself. And now that link does not work for me

I have a couple uv flashlights on my desk all the time. When I go jig tying material shopping I take one with me and even check tying thread to see how it looks. Favorite color thread is Fl. orange that looks red but is much brighter than red under uv flashlight. My favorite hair the past few years has been opossum and bought several skins. I had two cut into crosscut strips for my bass jigs. Under uv light some of these baits have a pale pink color instead of bright white which is interesting, possibly from the tanning process. Whatever the reason, they catch fish and that's what is important.

Interesting and good thread. Thanks!
Bob

Originally Posted by JUNGLEJIMJIGS

I have a couple uv flashlights on my desk all the time. When I go jig tying material shopping I take one with me and even check tying thread to see how it looks. Favorite color thread is Fl. orange that looks red but is much brighter than red under uv flashlight. My favorite hair the past few years has been opossum and bought several skins. I had two cut into crosscut strips for my bass jigs. Under uv light some of these baits have a pale pink color instead of bright white which is interesting, possibly from the tanning process. Whatever the reason, they catch fish and that's what is important.

I was out at my favorite spot fairly close to the house last year and an older Gent and I got to gabbing about tying jigs. He mentioned back in the day,( he was well into his 80's), he remembered tying jigs with opossum hair and doing very well on crappie. I had never seen him their before, or since. Figured I would give it a whirl and see what happens. Thanks for reminding me about the opossum hair jigs....

I've tied quite a few with possum hair and they work great.
PPG

While using my UV light to cure resin today I noticed some of my plastics really shined up. I can imagine that those baits, while brightly colored, may be UV reactive.

Originally Posted by MCG1

While using my UV light to cure resin today I noticed some of my plastics really shined up. I can imagine that those baits, while brightly colored, may be UV reactive.

Could be but bear in mind that flourescent colors will shine with that light, even though they might not actually be UV reflective. That light is catching enhancers added for brightening or whitening perhaps. Paper has these and is not UV reflective..... I don’t think. However if those things were UV you could find all manner of things to use. Thanks.



So I bought a mold to make Bell sinkers and poured a few- 1/8-1/4-3/8-1/2-5/8-3/4-1.0-1.5-2.0 ounce sizes. Real pain to position brass eyes though. I use these for my rigs being pushed out the front. There is a clip on the end of the main line that captures the sinker. The jig’s leader clips to the sinker eye as well and that clip is small and sports a small swivel as well. When the fish grabs the jig, those two clips act in a way that helps transmit “BITE BITE” to the rod tip.

I fished Wednesday and only caught six, but they were strong bites. I did see a few small bites that I missed though. I was using 1/2 ounce sinkers and could have used 3/8 instead, and will next time if I can. The rods handled the fish no problem.

So I powder painted my sinkers. I used to make highly specialized sinkers for surf fishing, and invented a few along the way. Maybe made 10 thousand or so. Anyways these sinkers require you to grab the sinker and reset the grip legs every time you bring it back in. One day I was on my way back home and stopped and bought a Whopper to eat. Halfway through the burger I noticed this grey coating on my fingers. I did not finish the burger. It was lead oxide residue transferred to my fingers, being transferred onto my sandwich, and into my gut. Needless to say I wanted to do something and that was when I learned how to powder paint. I did it more to keep lead off my hands than anything else.

Fingering these up Wednesday also left lead residue on my fingers. I saw it. So I been painting them to gain a barrier between the lead and me. I dipped in plain white then clear with UV additives, and then baked them. White will increase the reflective ability, as it does with Glow in the Dark stuff as well. They came out white glowing a beautiful blue.




I did up all but the 1/8 size. Because the inscribed size numbers are hard to read I used a Sharpie.

Next because I also like to pull jigs behind the boat, I bought some trolling sinkers. These came in 1/4-3/8-1/2-3/4 ounce sizes. These I dipped in plain white, then an orange, then the clear with UV enhancements. I was showing it to my wife when the Magic Moment happened, when the visible light is fading away and UV becomes dominant. She grabbed her dish and set on deck railing next to my sinker and each glowed like crazy.



I also found a cool crank bait. Rapala Shad Rap Jointed size 4 in ultra flourescent colors combinations with.....wait...wait for it....UV enhancement. These were cool. Very bright flourescent and a great action. Best dive is said to be about five feet.

So Wednesday I put two lines with jigs way back behind the boat, and two much closer but with sinkers involved, and two crankbaits. The jigs accounted for half my six fish total. I like the idea of using weights instead of long lengths of line. Probably tougher dial in, but definitely would be easier to land the fish. I kind of like surfing them along.

I also managed my first fish on a jig that I made, well tied.



I think that he and two others were more interested in the smell than the details as offered. The Chenile soaked up the Slab sauce I am figuring.




Released like the others were. I noticed the osprey always visit me from behind. They check out to see if I might have tossed a fish out back there. Clever birds.



View out the back

View from the front




I also acquired a Do It Pony Head mold in 1/16 ounce-six cavities and another 1/8 ounce size cavities. Going with willow leaf blades and a wide gap jig hook to try to gain a little advantage with hook ups. I figure these will troll nicely, and done up with chenile and Slab sauce...well.

I also ordered Pawzke’s crappie balls in the blue shad style. I couldn’t help myself.




Saw this on the way to the lake and thought you might be interested. Took picture at highway speed. Couple of whimps here.





Anyways I am gonna have at this UV stuff some more. Let me know if you have and ideas or suggestions for me to test. So far the fish have been sparce for me but that is because of all the other issues I have to work through. LOL