UV lures

A
Airs98
Well, while we are all sitting and waiting for the winter steelhead season to start I want to toss out another topic up for a good discussion...

UV lures, spinners, jigs, spin-n-glows, etc. Are they really superior compared to their non-UV cousins? Are there any specific situation/conditions when they really "shine"? Or, perhaps, the other way around, when they are not to be used? It looks like everything these days is going UV. How much of it is just the marketing hype and how much is the real deal?
 
A
adambomb
I know a guy who makes UV spinners and he said something like this, "in ocean conditions its dark below 40 something feet, salmon and steelhead typically feed at or below this depth. Fish can see one of my spinners several hundred feet away" That's not an exact quote by a long shot , and hopefully he will chime in on the subject. As for my experience, this fall I landed 3 salmon on UV spinners, and zero on non UV spinners. I'm a believer, and always will be.
 
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S
steelhead_stalkers
I just got an email from a guy fishing some of my UV jigs on the east coast out fished his friend by a LOT using a white uv micro jig. His friend was using a white non uv jig and did not catch as many. Will both work? Yes. Does uv help? I think so! :lol: I believe you should give yourself the best chance possible and any little extra help can make the difference between one fish and zero, its worth. Also, I would rather hook ten steelhead in a day than two and if the UV or paint or type of design, action or combination off all help, then I am all for it.
 
C
cchinook
uv

uv

remember that lures are made for fisherman , not fish - what matters the most is the amount of time spent on the water -
 
S
steelhead_stalkers
I would say that is true for lures made in the Philippines but not ones made in the USA. You have to have a product that works and works well to even make money at it when competing with products from overseas. That's why forums like this are good because actual fisherman can give good and bad feedback.
 
M
meluvtrout
Before upsetting anyone I'd like to give some information about myself. I've been fishing in Oregon for 3 years, have been working for a Marine Biologist who has been awarded several federal and non-federal grants over the past 25 years who studies on salmon habitats, juvenile salmon migration, Pacific NW deep sea and channel modeling etc etc. I'm by no means an avid angler, but put a lot of time in the water and study locations, techniques, baits as much as I can. For some I might even be called a sucker for fishing lures as well since I've basically spent a lot of money on what marketers said were "Da Bomb" or the "next best lure"... :)

There are facts that when salmonids are in the ocean they use uv to locate their prays. Krill for instance is one of the many that a)reflect uv b)is high in Omega-3 food chain (salmon love Omega 3). If you watched any of Discovery Channel's shows that focus on deeper seas, you'll remember that habitants of deeper sea tend to reflect light for two reasons a) to scare predators b) to lure smaller fish.Now we're talking about 40 feet or deeper water salt water(by the way, similar eating habits goes for Halibut).

Color spectrum goes as: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet and the last 2 colors visible are Near UV and Far UV (in reality UV means ultra violet = higher state of the color violet, but there are other uses such as Ultimate Vision). Keep in mind that the color you need to use for your lures not only depend on the condition of the water, but also depends on the light conditions. There's a book called "What Fish See" and is available at Fisherman's and BiMart and talks about what depth is each color is visible at best. As far as I remember in normal conditions 0-14 ft of water, these colors will be visible without any issues...

There are no scientific facts that UV is utilized by salmonids after they enter fresh water. It was discovered by a great marketing mind, to lure fishermen as it was done to lure teenagers in the early 80s(remember the glow in the dark t-shirts?) If you go to any tackle stores you will see: UV scents, UV blades, UV jigs, UV sprays, UV enhancers, UV this UV that. All that is the exact same dye that was used to enhance colors under black light in early 80s. If you really want to use "fluorescent colors" buy lures that are candy colored. I've compared a candy orange and a candy chartreuse spinner with a uv spinner and the result was almost identical.

Now did I buy any UV products? Hell yeah, I did. Why would I not have one or two extra items in my tackle box and they say they work when others don't? The first one I bought was a rainbow's end jig and the next one was a kodiak spinner. Did I see any difference? Not really!

My humble opinion is that, you will have more success by putting extra time in the water and learning fish habits, than by investing on marketing tactics. Next time when you're on the water, I'd pay attention to what others are being successful with. For instance, a good friend of mine outfishes anyone on a 2 corky setup(1 greenblack and 1 orange) and another kills on peach yarn and hook only...Just my 2 cents...
 
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A
Airs98
Thanks

Thanks

Wow! Thanks for sharing!
 
T
TTFishon
Apparently petroleum jelly glows blue under a black light. I saw a recipe where you melt petroleum jelly and then mix liquid fish attractant scent into it. I just might have to give this a try.
 
F
FishSchooler
TTFishon said:
Apparently petroleum jelly glows blue under a black light. I saw a recipe where you melt petroleum jelly and then mix liquid fish attractant scent into it. I just might have to give this a try.

Im sure the rivers loooooooove petroleum. :rolleyes:
 
T
TTFishon
FishSchooler said:
Im sure the rivers loooooooove petroleum. :rolleyes:

Petroleum jelly is the generic name for Vaseline. I don't see Vaseline being any more of a pollutant than WD-40. In fact I see Vaseline as being less of a pollutant due to the fact that it gets harder in cold water therefore sticking to your lure.
 
B
beaverfan
Except you'll end up using a lot more petroleum. If you spray wd40 it doesn't get much on if you dunk your lure in pasty petroleum your gonna get a ton on there. Any and all petroleum in the water is bad news. I don't care what the regs say I know for a fact it's illegal to "dispose" of petroleum products by putting them in the water.
 
T
TTFishon
beaverfan said:
Except you'll end up using a lot more petroleum. If you spray wd40 it doesn't get much on if you dunk your lure in pasty petroleum your gonna get a ton on there. Any and all petroleum in the water is bad news. I don't care what the regs say I know for a fact it's illegal to "dispose" of petroleum products by putting them in the water.

I was thinking just smear a little on my lure but I bet you're right. It's probably illegal to use Vaseline and WD-40. I guess I'll scratch that idea.
 
G
GoneFishin2134
Honestly. I would say Yes and No. They work and they don't work. I have had my "Crappy Blue Foxes" work when my UV colored lures have not, and vice versa. I do believe the fish can see them 10x better, but still haven't consistently caught fish on just UV colored blades and lures.

Just curious, but is WD-40 not mainly made up of "Fish oil" lol. I know it stands for Water-Derivative/Displacement. I don't see how it or Vaseline would be any more Harmful than using a Lead painted lure or Lead weight. My $.02. I am not saying use it, because I bet it is illegal to spray lures with WD-40. Just use Sardine scent.
 
T
TTFishon
Here's an interesting fact. Some fishing line is uv. That's got to look weird to a fish.
 
F
FishSchooler
TTFishon said:
Here's an interesting fact. Some fishing line is uv. That's got to look weird to a fish.

New UV fishing line! Now you don't need bait! :lol:;)
 
T
TTFishon
FishSchooler said:
New UV fishing line! Now you don't need bait! :lol:;)

It's not new though. Apparently the line I've always used glows under a black light. Another interesting thing the fisherpeople have been using for years that glows uv is borax.
 

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