Seeing Through the Eyes of a Swordfish, 2 Tips to
Catch More Fish.
We
humans tend to view things just one dimensionally through our
own eyes or the way we imagine everything should look to us. If
only we could see through the eyes of a fish, we could
understand a lot more about our quarry and catch more fish! With
the help of scientific knowledge, we can now imagine how to look
through the eyes of a fish, or at least understand how fish see
what we have to offer them, including artificial light sources
from underwater fishing lights. The following tips should no
doubt help you catch more fish and understand how fish see and
why they often refuse our baits and lures or wildly go after
lures and baits that have the fish-attracting power of
underwater fishing lights.
1.
Choosing the right lure colors
Lure colors
vary from crude oil black to bright neon, ‘Vegas style light
colors that stop you in your tracks and then draw you in as if
memorized by a mythical spell. As anglers, we often choose lure
colors based on how we see them instead of how the fish see
them. Did you know fish see differently than humans? We humans
cannot see as many light spectrums (frequencies) as fish. Fish
see the standard light frequencies that we see as well as
infrared and ultraviolet frequencies (UV).
The
standard “visible” light spectrum for humans is 700 nanometers
(abbreviated nm) to approximately 400 nm and known as ROYGBIV,
which stands for (R), orange (O), yellow (Y), green (G), blue
(B), indigo (I), and violet (V). The higher the frequency the
deeper it will travel in the water column. In nanometers, lower
numbers have higher frequencies of light that penetrate the
water column deeper than higher frequencies of light. For
example, Red 700 nm, orange 630, yellow 550, green 500, blue
450, violet 400 represents the spectrum of light that penetrates
shallowest to deepest. Standard light is pure white, but shined
through a prism the light separates into the individual colors
above. The absence of all frequency of light is black. Black,
technically is not an actual color, as it has no frequency.
Because fish see ultraviolet light, (UVA) which is just beyond
the violet frequency at 400nm to 320 nm, it can penetrate to
depths greater than 500 feet. Scientists have proven that many
species of fish, especially salmonoids, use UVA light to find
their prey. Ultraviolet light’s main source comes mainly from
the sun and to a lesser degree, other stars. Ultraviolet light
causes some objects to glow, or become “fluorescent” upon
contact. Molecules in the object gain energy on contact with UV
light and then release the energy in the form of visible light.
This glow is what some fish look for when searching for food.
This
information can help anglers in many ways. Choosing lures for
different depths or presentation is easy if you can remember the
ROYGBIV chart. Since red is the first color to disappear or turn
black in the water column and violet is the last color, you
should choose colors based on the depth you plan to fish and
amount of available light. You should also choose to fish with
underwater fishing lights that create an artificial light source
that attracts fish to your offering. The most powerful
underwater light is the UV Trophy Torch. The UV Trophy Torch
does not seem bright to the human eye because its light source
emits a wavelength of light we cannot see. As seen by the
illustration above, UV penetrates the water column to as much as
500 or more feet, depending on water clarity, plankton bloom and
intensity of the UV light. UV rays come from our sun, as well as
stars throughout the galaxy. Unlike a standard light source, the
UV light will travel horizontally underwater just like the sun's
UV rays travel vertically through the water column. In other
words, your UV Trophy Torch, Diamond Light & Glow Light Wand
will produce UV light waves that will travel in all directions
underwater. That is the power of using UV light and lures that
reflect UV light -- fish can see it from great distances.
Armed with
this knowledge, savvy tackle manufactures have incorporated UV
enhancing materials into their color dies to create better,
brighter lure colors that fish see from greater distances. You
can also use this science to your advantage and learn to choose
lures enhanced with UV “brightener” or “enhancer.” To do this
you can artificially produce a visible UV light with a black
light. While the black light does not perfectly match the UVA
spectrum, it comes close enough to the light spectrum we humans
can see.
You should
also choose colors based on your presentation. Contrast can be a
powerful way to attract fish. Also, consider that each lure
presentation actually has three presentations at once. Since
fish can see up, down and horizontally, your color choice can
look different depending on the amount of light that reaches the
area of lure directly in line with light frequencies. As an
example, if you were for halibut fishing in shallow water and
the bottom was light colored sand, a black lure on the bottom
would create a contrast for a fish looking down. It would also
create a contrast if the fish were looking up, with the light
shinning down. Horizontally the black would blend into the water
but still create contrast. Therefore, I choose lure colors based
on my intended presentation to maximize their ability to be
easily seen by fish.
Before
choosing lures and even flies, I use a AA battery-powered black
light to examine how the lure colors reflect UV. To see the
effects of this powerful color-selecting tool, put the black
light close to the lure and watch for a glow-like appearance.
For best results turn out the lights and pick the lures that
glow super bright. It should also be noted that any glow lure
enhanced with glow pigment will reflect UVA light. Glow lures
have chemical compound that stores light and releases it until
gone, giving the lure an artificial light source. While speaking
at fishing clubs I often ask anglers to bring in their tackle
boxes. With lights turned out, I can usually pick out 3 or 4 out
of 5 of most anglers’ favorite lures. Lures not picked are
always dark and used for special light conditions or
presentations. Using a UV enhanced lure also makes it easy to
take advantage of all three possible lure presentations because
the lure will reflect light making it visible to the fish at all
angles. |