Does UV Make A Difference?

I have tied up several jig patterns, but the one that is most effective has a Chartreuse tail. Another is a white body and a hot pink tail. Another is a steely blue body with a steely blue tail. But the Chartreuse tail catches way more fish than anything else, so I began to wonder why. Is it just the color? What else is different? When I went back to tie up some more of them, I realized that I had used some Spirit River UV2 chartreuse marabou for the tail. So I'm wondering if the UV is the reason that pattern is so much more effective than the rest. My fishing is primarily brushpile fishing in a clear water lake at anywhere from 12 to 20 feet deep, but mainly 18 feet. What do you guys think? Is it more about the color or is it because of the UV?

Skip is who needs to chime in on this. We've had conversations on this and he is a master. UV and Fluorescent colors can be seen by far better than others. Even clear water down 12 to 20 foot deep I would think the color matters.

I would believe UV would extend the distance color can be seen.

I was in on a study in Indiana many years ago with a guy you may of heard of, Dr. Loren Hill. It was found that color is of great importance to fish finding food. There are many other factors tough such as water clarity, sun, cloudy, and a dozen others. UV was in it's infancy in the 80's but there was definitely much interest and promise. Let me just say I am a believer in UV's help. There is a million things to read and study on UV on the web. I would use it while painting my jig heads but have not really used it on chenille or feathers. USE IT, it can't hurt.

:hesaid

I’ve used UV in my plastics off and on for years. Can’t tell a difference in my catch ratio with or without.

Certainly a lot of reading to be digested on the subject

Years ago I read a lot of articles on this and for me I believe your bait being seen is maybe the most important thing right? I mean if they don't see it they don't eat it.

When you use natural colors, meaning no FL or UV, the color that can be seen the deepest was just 40 feet and that color was Blue. One reason my favorite color combo is Chart/Blue/Chart.

One of the articles said that UV colors in the same water you could see UV colors like 650 feet, of course that's a bit over the top of need and expecting anything to come that far, but maybe one will come 10 feet in stained water where they wouldn't have seen it at all if it was not for FL or UV colors.

For sure very interesting stuff to look into and I do think it helps a lot to use FL and UV colors. Of course FL colors are not a higher price like UV is so maybe you need figure out if you want to take the extra step of using some UIV colors as it usually adds a little cost.

Skip

My favorite pro tec paint is the UV Blast, I put it in all my powder paints, even black to make it brighter and more visible. I've been a subscriber to In Fisherman since the 80's and remember the article with Dr. Hill about colors and how certain colors can be seen by fish better. The fish need to see it before they can eat it. Get a UV flashlight and see how your favorite colors look, some are much brighter and visible than others.

Can I tie a jig with regular materials like New Age Chenille and strung hackle and then coat the entire jig with UV? Would the us mat things up, stick together, make a mess, etc. I’ve never used UV so I don’t know why it’s like once it cures. I thought it was like glue. So how do people like Spirit River apply it to marabou?

Good question Gill. I can't see me coating feathers at home as I do not have a clue what that process is. Might save money or just add to the cost. Hope someone who knows chimes in.

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Originally Posted by Gill Fisher

Can I tie a jig with regular materials like New Age Chenille and strung hackle and then coat the entire jig with UV? Would the us mat things up, stick together, make a mess, etc. I’ve never used UV so I don’t know why it’s like once it cures. I thought it was like glue. So how do people like Spirit River apply it to marabou?

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Well that would be Hareline now since they bought Spirit River year before last I think it was. I will ask them next time I call, maybe I will just call them to ask about that Monday unless I forget, lol!

I will say this and it's just my opinion and thinking on this subject, I try to use FL colors as much as possible and of course our most used color Chartreuse is FL so are FL Yellow, FL White, etc. etc. and for my I just as soon just use FL colors as they pop plenty under a black light or a UV light. Also remember most White hair and feathers are naturally Florescent. One thing that make Polar Bear so good and wanted is it's FL! Again just running around inside my thinking a little here.

Skip

David Attenboro did a special on animals and colors. In it they used a specialized camera to be able to film UV light sources, then set about to see how this light is being used by animals.

Birds are very visual creatures and they use UV light to see food, and they use it to attract mates. Butterflies are especially keen to UV light. Insects, some mammals, many plants, and some fish all use it to feed and attract mates. Ghost Crabs use polarized light. We humans have good color vision but cannot see either of those two sources. Our visual system is designed to shield us from harsh forms of light that could damage our retina. Colors that we see are simply reflections. If a substance reflects blue light we see it as being blue. If it absorbs blue, but reflects red, we say it is red. The substance can appear to be a completely different color if the viewer’s eyes are able to see the different colors that may be being reflected. Just like there are sounds we cannot hear, but other creatures can hear, there are colors we cannot see.

I have found that many of our everyday household items are UV reflective. Manufacturers put it in all sorts of things. Tide laundry detergent has UV brighteners to make our bright colors seem brighter. Your white shirt might not be all that white, but washed in Tide it will come out appearing to be very white. The brighteners reflect light and overwhelm our eyes and fool us into thinking it is cleaner, and that is why they put that stuff in their detergent.

I have done some research into UV light and how it affects the world we live in, and have posted in this section what I had learned. I feel that using UV reflective lures is definitely a help to the way I fish- trolling shallow grassy bottom lakes. It should be beneficial to your style and at your depths. I think that it would, but it might not.

I would not purchase a UV additive to spray/squirt on anything. Instead get some materials that have had it applied already. Get a cheap UV flashlight so you can see what things look like, so you will know what is what. Take a look and see how the items you already have appear in UV light. Keep in mind that most of the florescent colors are also UV reflective already even without it being mentioned in the product description. The flashlight shows you and removes any guessing.

We are not able to ask the fish, and even if we could they would likely lie to us, but don’t expect the fish to be jumping into the boat. It will be very difficult to determine if UV additives are making a difference for you. The best way to measure is to use a highly UV reflective lure against a completely UV dark lure and see through experimentation. Again the flashlight will ensure the differences can be seen.

or…… just don’t conduct any studies and start using it and see if there is a noticeable difference.

We are able to see UV light reflections very early in the morning, and on dark cloudy days. The visible light overwhelms the UV to our eyes, but before the Sun rises UV can be seen. Your fishing line will glow. After Sundown there is a diminishing of visible light and as that occurs we are able to see UV light reflections better and better. There will be a minute where everything will seem to glow. Your fishing line will appear to be like fiber optics, and your lures will glow. Then it will be gone.

Crappie have learned that as the day transitions into darkness that their eyes adapt faster than their prey’s eyes. This allows them to get a little bit closer and this offers a better rate of success for captures. Then from darkness to light, again their eyes adapt faster. There is a clue in all of this and that is that crappie hide under docks. Staying in the darkness conceals their presence from their prey. The minnows remain calm as there is no sign of danger. Calm minnows are easier to nab that alert and frightened minnows. The trick being to be able to see the minnows in the darkened water.

We all know that bass and crappie bite best early and late. Well guess why ?

Their eyes are able to see minnows even in darkened waters, but minnows have difficulty seeing equally well. The crappie simply rises up from below, leaving his body in as much darkness as possible, and then once close enough he makes the grab. Think of them as submarines that patrol the depths, then rise to launch their torpedoes. Depth is darkness and if they can see in darkened waters, they can find the advantages, and they have.

UV light plays a huge role in all of this because UV light is better at penetrating water than visible light. Being able to see visible light AND also UV light is a definite advantage when you need to be able to get close in for the strike.

Using UV enhanced lures simply allows the fish to better see your lure. Turning what they see into something they want to bite is still entirely up to you.

Thanks, Micanopy, for your reply. Is it more important to have the entire jig UV, or is it enough to just try to include one material that is UV? For instance, I found in my materials yesterday some Krystal Flash that is UV. Would adding just a few strands of UV Krystal Flash to the jig be enough to make it more effective, or does the entire jig need to be UV. What if just the tail is UV marabou and the rest of the jig is not UV?

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Okay guys they have an agent they use after the feathers are dyed, so it's a two step process to get them with UV. I do not know the agent they use, lol!

Skip

Blue goes pretty deep on that chart. Interesting to say the least

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Blue goes pretty deep on that chart. Interesting to say the least

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Honest thing is that is why my favorite combo in spring here is Chart/Blue/Chart and I started using the FL Blue more because of that study and in my clear water fishing favorite Silver/Silver/FL Blue. That was something like 17 years ago.

Skip

The color that works the best for me is Blue Ice

I've had success dyeing feathers, chenille and hair using Rit dyes whitener and brightener. Colors are already dyed but some colors don't have the UV glow under uv flashlight. With the Rit I can get even Black to have a uv glow to it. Was doing this before Spirit River came out with their lines of UV products.

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Originally Posted by JUNGLEJIMJIGS

I've had success dyeing feathers, chenille and hair using Rit dyes whitener and brightener. Colors are already dyed but some colors don't have the UV glow under uv flashlight. With the Rit I can get even Black to have a uv glow to it. Was doing this before Spirit River came out with their lines of UV products.

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So are you adding this to the dye product, or treating it after you have finished the dying process? Reason I'm asking is the Rit whitener and brightener I found is like a laundry detergent...

One thing maybe being missed is using a Black light or a UV light will also show Florescent and pop under these lights. I can not tell the difference in Florescent and UV color since humans can not see UV colors when talking about feathers or Hair. I can see when I have added UV Blast to a head color that was not FL before and it will make it glow under the lights, but I can not tell the difference in UV and FL.

Skip

For sure going to keep my black light flashlight in my pocket when shopping from now on...