U.v. Craze

[Tom S]

 I have a lot of the guys I paint for asking me about U.V.. I see its in fashion now with salmon and steelhead, and gaining traction with other species. Besides flourescent paints that glow under a black light I dont get the U.V. craze. I believe flourescent colors are brighter and show up better under low light, but is there more to it than that? Have you guys looked into this? Is there something other than flourescent  paints I should know about? Or if someone has a good link to some info I would love to read up.

 

Tom

[Anglinarcher]

No, you have about summed it up.  Numerous studies have been done on many fish species and of the ones that I know of that have been tested, trout and salmon can see some UV, but other then that, only the "Minnows", to include carp, can see UV.

 

The fact is that UV does penetrate water the deepest, but it is not a color that can be seen by most fish.

The fact is that UV does excite fluorescent so that they are more visible. 

The fact is that you cannot add a UV reflector to your paint and actually make it visible to fish, except as noted.

 

For the nay Sayers, they take very small pieces of the fish retinas and expose it to light of different wave lengths.  They then check for chemical changes in the samples.  If there was a chemical change, then the evidence is clear that the rods and cones were receptive to the wave lengths.  So far, they know that the sunfishes see Red through Blue.  They know that walleye see mostly red and green, so when you catch them on blue or ...... they are probably seeing it as black.  Black is not a color, but a lack of color, while white is not a color, but a combination of all colors.  They know that trout and salmon can see near UV through red.  They know that the minnow family can see UV through infrared, a very impressive ability.

 

The fact is that NOT ALL fish have been tested, so......... Who knows, if your target it Tarpon, then I don't have a clue.  If your target is Marlin, again, I don't have a clue.

 

One more fact, a side note that can mess the entire argument up.  I will use Walleye as an example.  The peak reactions are at Red and Green, but we all know that Orange and Yellow are between those two colors.  Yellow (a primary color) does cause some reaction on the green receptors and orange (a secondary color) does react some on the red side, so in reality walleye do see from green through red, but we must assume that they see a blend of green and yellow or red and yellow like we do.  Who knows anything for sure??????

[tupong]

The thing with UV is that it doesnt penertrate water that well, and there are lots of factors that will stop it penetrating. I'm not exactly sure off the top of my head what depths it goes to but water clarity is one that can prevent it from penertrating. Also some days there is more UV present than other days so that would also limit the amount getting down to the depth your fishing.

 

If using a lure with UV properties gives you confidence then I'd keep using them as confidence in a lure is what makes you use it more than others and the more ofetn you flick a lure the more chance you have of getting a fish on it. 

 

regards mick

[mark poulson]

Well.....I am so confused!!!

I just try and keep it simple.

Successful predators, like bass, have adapted to be able to find their prey.

If their prey reflect UV and shine in that light, then I'm guessing bass have found a way to detect it.

I've seen pictures of crawdads in a black light, and they glow, so I'm guessing they use UV to attract mates, and bass can see it.

Edited March 25, 2013 by mark poulson

[BobP]

Yes, it penetrates water.  Blue and violet UV penetrates the deepest.  How deep that is depends on the amount of turbidity (stuff that reflects/absorbs UV) in the water and the angle of incidence of the UV rays (in other words, the time of day, cloud cover).  Do UV formulated plastics show up better at the depths they are usually fished?  I don't know and can't find any testing - including by the bait companies that are marketing UV plastics, but I suspect there is some effect.  Do bass eyes detect UV radiation and are they attracted to baits reflecting UV light?  Do prey bass prey species reflect UV light?  Again - dunno!

 

Am I willing to pay a premium for UV baits?  Not yet.  I do fish glow in the dark painted lures in very deep situations, like jigging spoons 50 ft deep, with good results.  But that's an altogether different animal.

[hazmail]

The Jap's have been using UV paint for quite a while (not publicised much), so maybe they think there is something in it--then again they have different fish there too.

There are fish here that are supposed to be able to see in very muddy water ('Golden Perch'), they reckon they can see in Infra Red (like snakes)--then again we have some odd creatures here  ,,,,and people !!

Pete

[ravenlures]

I belive it is more of a contrast with surroundings, yellow lure above green or through green weeds stick out like a sore thumb. Why do guys use black lures at night still must be contrast with the area. As Paul said blue goes down the deepest, The guys here fishing for trout in Green Bay like Blue and Silver the most. Blue can be seen down 30 feet or more add silver for flash. UV Light will go as deep as the water and clouds will let it.

Wayne

[A-Mac]

LOTS of fish use UV for mate selection.  This is very common in birds too.  For instance several species of apparantly all black birds will have multiple hues that become apparent in the uv spectrum.

 

2 things to think about though with UV.  If a fish is advertising two things come to mind.

a) It's trying to attract a mate

it's a warning to predators (may signify it is toxic)

 

The fish trying to attract a mate is taking a risk in advertising.  To my knowledge, UV is NOT used by prey to say EAT ME I'm TASTY!

 

So you could attract a strike just as easily as you could deter one.  Hard to pick the right colors since we cannot see the entire spectrum.

Edited March 26, 2013 by A-Mac

[A-Mac]

  the   was supposed to be a b )

[quickdraw]

It is interesting though that this company uses a UV enhancer in all of their bait gels. You would think that they have done the investigation and have reasons to commit like that.

http://www.pro-cure.com/gel.html

[Anglinarcher]

Well.....I am so confused!!!

I just try and keep it simple.

Successful predators, like bass, have adapted to be able to find their prey.

If their prey reflect UV and shine in that light, then I'm guessing bass have found a way to detect it.

I've seen pictures of crawdads in a black light, and they glow, so I'm guessing they use UV to attract mates, and bass can see it.

 

Mark, I have given some thought to that.  Scorpions glow in UV as well, but they have no predators to speak of.

 

As for Crayfish, it is not UV light that you see reflecting from the crawfish, but fluorescent pigments in the shell, just like Scorpions.  Is it more likely that it is something used for mating, just like Peacocks?

[BobP]

It's worth reading the article by a Pure Fishing scientist cited in the "Ghost Crankbait" post above.  It says that bass have only green and red cones in their eyes and can see shades in those colors best.  They struggle to see shades of blue and violet and probably see them just as "something dark".  Unlike some other fish species, they have no cones for UV light at all.  Do UV enhanced baits emit UV light rays like glow-in-the-dark paint?  If they do, it wouldn't be detected by bass.  But if they fluoresce when hit by UV light and if it's a green or red paint, that might make a difference.  But my question is this:  if the paint fluoresces in UV light, wouldn't we also be able to detect that?

 

So color me doubtful on UV plastics and UV enhancers in paint.  Show me valid testing that proves higher catch rates and I'll buy it.