To UV/Fluoro or not to UV/Fluoro?

[Korrie]

In most of the fly tying circles, there are a big debate about UV and Fluoro materials.
Should you use the materials or is it just another fad, introduced by the fly tying material manufacturers to sell new materials?
Whether it is fresh water or salt water flies, the basic talk is the same.

Do you use UV/Fluoro materials?
Have you seen a difference? If not, do you think, it is a hype, or have you not got around to using them, but you believe in the materials?
Have you encountered interesting articles, list them here for us to read.
Or does it work sometimes?

[gkieser]

At WP lakies trials a few years ago I used uv straggle flies on a di7 to very good effect. The Fish just loved them and wouldn't eat the others.

My uneducated opinion is that the uv adds to visibility at depth where uv rays may reach when normal spectrum rays do not. If the fish can see it better there is more chance they will eat it.

[Gerrit Viljoen]

I'm not too fussed about UV I have nothing "UV worthy" incorporated into my flies and I'm referring to proper UV i.e the stuff you and I can't see with the human eye not the packet that reads UV I'm doing pretty ok ito catches so it would have to feature on Carte Blance before I take anything UV related seriously. Just kidding but seriously, show me data sheets that goes back further than "last weekend with my buddies", conclusive tests that UV flies work better than a well presented fly (without UV), etc to have me spend money on material based on your experiments. There is a bigger fuss about articulated streamer flies vs UV flies just saying.

Ps. I'm always open for improvement, evolvement,etc but don't come with unproven bs/hype/fad please it's old.

[smallstreams.co.za]

It adds to my confidence (if nothing else), so at least that is worth something to me.

[Korrie]

http://post.queensu.ca/~hawryshc/Pub...2001%20JEB.pdf

[Korrie]

What about fluorescent colors?
Fluorescence occurs where a surface has the property of absorbing ultraviolet radiation and converting its energy to be reflected as a lower wavelength within the visible range of the eye. This converted reflection is added to the reflection of normally visible light wavelengths, causing it to appear more intense than one would expect to be possible. Divers have noted that in tainted water fluorescent red, orange, and yellow are the most visible, and in clear water any fluorescent paint will do. At long distances or in deeper water, fluorescent yellow and green are more visible. Note that UV penetrates deeper than the visible blue wavelengths, so all fluorescent colors are visible to the UV limit, which is beyond the depth at which their natural color becomes invisible.

Effects of Low Light:
However, in tea stained water often found in trout streams, the opposite is true. The UV wavelengths are filtered out first, but the distance affecting the red wavelengths is not affected by the stained water. Therefore, fluorescence is useless in stained water a short distance below the surface. However, near the surface where it receives UV rays, the red and orange fluorescence will be visible at a greater distance than the shorter wavelength colors of blue and green.

An important feature of the trout's vision is that the rods and cones physically swap places at the start and end of daylight. In the evening the cones that need high light levels to operate and that provide the color response are withdrawn into the surface of the retina and the rods tend to rule. At dawn the reverse action occurs. This change is not instantaneous, but occurs over a period of time. Therefore, as night approaches, the color response in trout diminishes until at night a trout has no color response at all. Under these conditions, black and white is likely to be the most effective combination. Tinsel may have some value if the moonlight is significant.
From http://www.troutprostore.com/class/c...ion_trout_eyes

[MCC]

Disco Flies: Are Fluorescent Accents the Next Big Thing?
by Kirk Deeter
1

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I ran into my pal Steve Parrott, co-owner of the Blue Quill Angler in Evergreen, Colorado, the other day at the Bass Pro Shops Spring Fishing Classic. We struck up an interesting conversation about the use of "hot spots" or "trigger points" on fly patterns.
Basically, by adding fluorescent material accents in key places like the collar or tail of a beadhead nymph fly, you create these "hot spots" or "trigger points" that trout may indeed see better, and theoretically react to more favorably. These two photos show Steve's fly box in natural light, and then again in ultraviolet light, which simulates deeper water conditions. Those "hot spots" make you notice, don't they?
The point in all of this is trying to make a closer connection between what you, the angler sees, and what a fish really sees. Sometimes, we anglers get too wrapped up in what a fly looks like in our hand above the water, and not enough thought is given to what it really looks like below the water. I can tell you, having spent a lot of time scuba diving in rivers, lakes and oceans, that colors change dramatically as natural light penetration through the water diminishes.
For example, that hot pink San Juan worm doesn't look all that hot 10 feet below the lake surface (it looks gray), especially when there's a lot of particulate matter suspended in the water. The less light penetration, the more you lose the reds, and the better you see yellows, for example. And blues maintain a solid silhouette.
I would assume this factor would have to have an influence on fish as well, wouldn't it? We know through science that fish do indeed see colors. They also already give us other hints as to why perceptiveness matters. It' no coincidence (in a slap your forehead kind of way) that those chartreuse, orange, and yellow pike baits would work well in the more tannic, stained waters where pike typically live. We know that purples and blues work great.
Have you ever seen anything natural that looks anything like a purple Prince nymph? No, of course not. But the way that color acts in the light environment of a river is its real appeal. Steve theorizes that those fluorescent red accents work well in shallow clear water, and lose effect with depth. He's written about all this on his website, which you can check out here.
I'm intrigued enough to want to check this out in more detail, do some research, and maybe write about it in the magazine. The thought that bait colors vary in importance according to water conditions is certainly nothing new (ask a bass angler when to use green pumpkin versus junebug on a soft plastic if you want to open that, um, can of worms). But the notion of changing those colors based on light penetration through water, and specifically the use of fluorescent accents to make flies "pop" could add a whole new layer to the way we think about subsurface flies and the rationale we use when tying them. And having a deeper understanding of the color factor can only pay dividends for the angler.

[MCC]

Hot Spots Make Flies Sizzle
Do hot spots really improve nymphs? You bet! Add a dash of fluorescent color to your favorite flies, and you will catch more trout
.
by Aaron Jasper
Several years ago, before I started using the new European nymph-fishing techniques, I thought that fluorescent colors were only for catching steelhead and fishing dirty water. If had someone said that I would soon use flies tied with fluorescent colors, I would have laughed at them. I discovered trout flies with hot spots when Torrey Collins, a good friend and fantastic angler, showed me some French-style Pheasant-Tail Nymphs featuring collars of fluorescent fire orange thread behind the beads.
For several months, Torrey and I debated about whether a fluorescent hot spot would attract more fish than a fly tied using only natural colors, but when I tried Torrey’s hot spot Pheasant-Tail Nymph, it worked. Until then, I thought that a nymph imitation had to imitate a real insect with respect to size, shape, and color; fishing a fly made using unnatural colors was new to me.
Although this article sings the praises of hot spots, you must understand that they only enhance flies; adding hot spots does not constitute entirely new patterns. Nymphs without hot spots catch trout, but under certain conditions, nymphs with hot spots catch more fish.
History of the Hot Spot

The idea of incorporating hot spots and fluorescent colors into flies started on large lakes and reservoirs in the United Kingdom. Fly tiers added fluorescent colors to the tails of streamers, nymphs, and wet flies to attract the attention of trout from greater distances. Once the fish zeroed in on the hot spots, they came to inspect the flies out of curiosity, realized they were potential food, and struck. The same principle holds true in rivers and streams: Even though there are numerous food items floating in the water, hot spots create triggers in nymphs that elicit reactions from the trout. You will not only catch fish that are actively feeding, but also encourage idle trout to take your flies out of curiosity.
A fluorescent color reflects light of a longer wavelength than it receives. Don’t confuse this with phosphorescence, which is when a material continues to emit color in the dark after being exposed to light. Fluorescent colors absorb any color of light in the spectrum and still reflect their own color. Blue, green, yellow, orange, and cyan are absorbed by the water, whereas violet and red continue to disperse through the water column. No matter what color wavelength reflects off the fluorescent orange thread or bead, it will reflect fluorescent orange; even if violet light reflects off the fluorescent orange hot spot, it will reflect fluorescent orange. This is the secret to a hot spot: The fluorescent bead or thread continues to reflect light and stay true to its color even though the rest of the fly changes color as it descends through the water column.
When trout are keying in on sulfur nymphs, a Pheasant-Tail Nymph does the job because when it is four feet deep, it changes to black or gray, but the trout still key in on the size and profile of the fly. If the pattern has a hot spot, the fish will be more likely to see the fly and react.
I have watched bass-fishing shows my entire life, and I have been able to draw on bass-fishing techniques and apply them to fly-fishing. Despite their differences, bass and trout are both freshwater fish and can live in similar habitats. Bass fishermen use colorful, flashy lures that don’t look anything like the forage found in lakes, and yet the fish still bite. Anglers seeking trout can learn a lesson from bass fishermen and use some of the flashy, bright, high-contrast patterns to increase their catch rate.
Here’s a collection of flies tied with fluorescent orange hot spots. Even under ultraviolet light, the hot spots reflect orange light.

Incorporating a tiny hot spot at the tail of the fly works well in areas where the trout have been subjected to heavy angling pressure. By tying the hot spot at the end of the fly, the contrast and color absorption of the fluorescent thread are still the key, but this spot is smaller and more subdued than a thread collar behind the bead.
I will tie a micro nymph with the hot spot behind the bead or at the tail of the fly, but not at both ends. I have experimented with hot spots at both ends of a fly, and they seem to deter, rather than attract, the trout. My observations lead me to believe that two hot spots confuse the fish: they see a trigger at both the head and tail of the fly, are unsure which end to explore, and so reject the
pattern altogether.
Instead of tying a fluorescent thread collar behind the bead head, why not use the bead itself as the hot spot? Fluorescent orange, pink, and chartreuse beads work well in high, stained water, but I was surprised to find that they also work well in low, clear water. In New Jersey, the Pequest River is home to large trout that get chased by fishermen every day from dawn until dusk. The water level gets quite low in the winter, and anglers sight-fish to the trout. Fish that are typically tough to catch on small midges react quite aggressively to size 18 to 14 nymphs tied with fluorescent tungsten bead heads. Watching these fish eagerly strike flies time after time has proved that reaction strikes occur more often than we think.
Add a Hot Spot to the Middle of the Body

Using pink and orange UV dubbing in the middle of the abdomen of flies such as caddis larvae makes a huge difference in the ability of these patterns to catch fish, especially in deeper water. The fish seek out the larval shape of the real insects, and the hot spots draw the attention of the fish.
On a local limestone creek in eastern Pennsylvania, the forage is primarily small mayfly nymphs and tiny midge larvae. The best fly for fishing this stream is often a Czech-style rock worm larva with a pearl foil back and pink hot spot. The midges and mayflies greatly outnumber the caddis larvae, and after not catching any fish using a natural-looking caddis larva, I switched to a large caddis larva with a pink hot spot in the abdomen and caught dozens of fish.
When I was introduced to hot spots, I was very resistant to the idea. I could not wrap my mind around the fact that something so unnaturally colored would catch more fish; this required me to go against my better judgment. But my willingness to try new techniques and reading Dr. Kagayama’s book caused me to experiment with hot spots on flies. I learned that even the most abstract and far-fetched idea has practical applications. I encourage all skeptics to try incorporating hot spots into some of their flies. Little things often make big differences.
__________________

[MCC]

Make your Flies Pop with Fluorescent Materials!!!
Posted by Steve Parrott on Mon, Feb 27, 2012 @ 08:54 PM



We all have our favorite patterns that we use each and every time on the river. Some days they work great and others just mediocre. Why not spice those old patterns up a little by incorporating some fluorescent tying materials to really make them "pop"
The addition of brightly colored fluorecent dubbings as well as fluorescent thread collars or tags can really make a difference when the going gets tough. One particular type of nymphing comes to mind when I think about the use of fluorescent materials in fly patterns, the European Nymphing Techniques. These brightly colored fluorescent section incorporated into the flies are often reffered to as "hot spots" or "trigger points"
When I look at most of the European style patterns in my fly box or in magazine articles, there is almost always some type of hot spot or trigger point somewhere. It could be a small section of fluorescent dubbing separating the thorax from the head on the grub/Czech flies or a hot orange collar behind the bead on the French micro nymphs. There are instances where I will use a fluorescent wire for the ribbing on my flis or add a small section of fluorescent material near the tail, which I have found extremely beneficial in heavily pressured waters.
The most important question you should be asking yourself right now is??? Why do Hot Spot or Trigger Points stack the deck in your favor?
The answer to this is really simple once you comprehend what happens to the different colors of light as the water you are fishing gets deeper and how fluorescent materials react to that light.
Fluorescent types of material reflect light at a longer wavelength than it receives. How does this effect your flies tied with fluorescent materials? Fluorescent materials absorb any light color in the spectrum and will still reflect their representative color. The water column disperses most of the Red, Yellow, Green and Orange light as you gain depth where Blue and Violet colors are still present.
This creates a huge advantage over flies tied without fluorescent materials as they will appear dark brown or black with a brightly colored section glowing like a beacon in those deeper runs. This is an open invitation for fish to check it out and since they cannot grab the fly and inspect it with their hands, they use their mouth!!!
Below is a picture taken under Ultraviolet light showing some flies tied with fluorescent hot spots while others were not.
Flies at the top of this image do not have a ''hot spot'' incorporated into the fly. As you move down the page, there are patterns that have a dubbed hot spot, a thread hot spot either behind the bead or at the tail of the fly and then flies with fluorescent orange beads
You can see that most of the colors of the flies are hard to distinguish but the fluorescent orange and fluorescent chartreuse colors really glow.
Here is a picture of the same page of the fly box taken under natural light.

Pretty amazing the difference the addition of fluorescent materials into your fly patterns makes!
What is the best fluorescent color to use for your hot spot's or trigger points

For deep, dark streams with little or no penetrating light, often found back East or in the Pacific Northwest or water that is off-color due to run-off or a recent rain event, Fluorescent Yellow, Fluorescent Chartreuse and Fluorescent Orange are the best choices. They emit the most light due to their overall brightness on the fly and really cut through that dark or stained water.





For clear, low water, Fluorescent Red is the best choice. Most fish have the ability to process Red colors very well under water where to a human eye it would look dark. The addition of a Fluorescent Red hot spot into your shallow water fly arsenal will provide the right amount of contrast to the fly itself making it more appealing to a fish. Once you get into deeper water where the light is dissolving more, the Fluorescent Red color will begin to dissolve into the body color of the fly. In this situation, the brighter orange, chartreuse and yellow's are a better choice.
How much fluorescent materials you incorporate into your flies is really up to you. I tend to use a bead, collar of thread or a small dubbed section on most of my flies rather than tying the entire fly out of the fluorescent materials which might be too much for some fish. We want to trigger the fish to eat, not scare the spots off of them.
Incorporating the correct color of fluorescent materials for the water depth you are planning to fish into your flies will greatly increase their visibility. By increasing the flies visibility, especially in fast moving runs, pockets, riffles and off-colored water, the chances of a fish seeing them goes way up and hopefully taste testing them as well!!! Look for the ''FL'' or ''Fluorescent'' wording next time you are buying fly tying materials and incorporate them into you flies, you will not be disappointed!!
Tags: tying european nymphs, hot spots on flies, flies for european nymphing, nymph fishing, flies for nymphing, fly tying tips

[MCC]

UV and Fluo may seem complicated but ten minutes with Dr Google and things become a bit clearer..... :-)

At the end of the day all you need to remember is that you should never go shopping for fly tying materials without a UV torch and not all bright colours are fluo.