Ultroviolet Light and Fishing

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Fishing can be a simple matter of throwing a worm on a hook, tossing it in the water, and hoping a fish grabs it, then reeling it in. On the other end of the spectrum, some of us like to be more scientific about it and complicate the equation. We try to figure out the best time of the day, best days of the month or to hit the cycles that cause fish to bite at a certain season.

On top of that, we look for the most attractive presentations, baits (live or artificial) colors, sounds, scents and a host of other things.

One of the latest hot doodads to add to our arsenal are lures and baits that reflect UV rays. Fishes eyes are similar to ours, but without getting into the details, some of them have more “cones” in their eyes that are able to pick up ultraviolet light.

UV Spoons

There is visible light, made up of red, yellow, orange, green blue and violet (the RGB spectrum) and there is ultraviolet light. It is well known that certain colors penetrate the water better than others. Of the visible light colors, red loses it’s color first as you go down in the water column. Yellows and oranges are next, followed by greens, blues and violets that penetrate the deepest. UV rays penetrate even deeper than any of the visible colors, so it makes sense that if fish can detect UV and you are fishing deep, using UV reflective paints and coatings could increase your bite rate. Depending on the clarity of the water, and the wave action, how high the sun is in the sky, the UV penetration varies. In clear water, such as in Lake Superior, UV can penetrate as deep as 150 feet or more.

There’s more explanation about these matters on the Internet. Here are some of them:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2010/02/25/forget-x-ray-vision-these-fish-have-uv-vision/

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/2013/08/are-uv-lures-fish-catchers-or-just-groovy-gimmick

There is are many companies out there that are jumping on the bandwagon of UV lures and baits. Many fishermen, me included, are using them to their advantage. UV Blast is one product on the market. Here is a little video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP-fW32nVP0

UV Blast

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About Brian Helminen

Brian is the owner and Captain of Sand Point Charters, LLC. He also owns and operates Designotype Printers, Inc. with his wife, Margaret. They have a cottage on Lac La Belle that can be rented by the week in the summertime.

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