UV or not UV?

UV or not UV?
Ted Proseus
Ocean Arsenal

Ultraviolet light (UV) deserves the bad rap it gets with dermatologists. Invisible to humans, UV light with wavelengths below about 380 nanometers (1nm = 1 billionth of a meter) carries enough energy to damage unprotected structures such as the DNA in living things. In addition to the visible light we humans see as colors, the sun produces lots of invisible high-energy UV light, much of which makes it to the Earth’s surface. Although we miss out seeing these UV rays, lots of insects, crabs, some birds, and a wide range of fish can actually see UV light very well. This ability affects lots of fish behaviors including feeding and mating.

Water is poor at absorbing UV and these rays can penetrate many hundreds of feet down to depths at which most other colors of light disappear. Some fish and sea animals take advantage of this and have body parts that react to UV light and shine brightly even in the dim depths. Look at a deep water video of our local black sea bass and note how bright in particular the white patches on their tails become. You are seeing the effects of UV light hitting the fish.

Fishing tackle developers have wasted no time in taking advantage of the fact that many fish see UV light and have incorporated UV-responsive compounds into a wide variety of soft and hard plastics, paints, and sprays to construct or apply to lures. They use two basic strategies. One, the fish species that can see UV light will see the UV reflected back to them off the lure. And two, even fish that cannot see UV get a blast of visible light given off by the lure when it absorbs UV light and sends it back out as bright colors that even we humans can see (these lures “fluoresce”). Studies show both of these effects make a lure much more visible even in stained, turbid water, i.e our inshore and surf waters a lot of the time. The lures are also more visible on cloudy days and early and late in the day when many predator fish are most active.

So are UV lures a gimmick? I don’t think so. Fads in fishing tackle come and go and some of them catch more fishermen than actual fish. At least the science behind UV lures is sound, and I have incorporated UV-responsive parts into my own lures, Surf Bullets. Matching the size and behavior of the prey of the day are no less important than they ever have been. But especially in conditions where visibility is low, using baits that capture UV light could be very helpful.

Ted Proseus
Ocean Arsenal
Anglers can purchase Ocean Arsenal’s Surf Bullets online at DS Custom Tackle and locally at Icehouse Bait and Tackle