Uv2?

[Allan]

For years, no make that decades, the scientific community and fly fishers with a scientific bent have tried to figure out a few things as far as trout and the connection to what they see, how they see it, do they see color, do they smell, etc. It's as if these people 'know for a fact' that they can determine any of the above through some test or another. The scientific basis is always - The fish do something as we determine they perceive it. In other words, trout see something the way we say because that's how we believe they see it. So the scientists establish the end result then determine how the trout reaction fits into the desired result. Gee, that almost sounds like 'manmade global warming' theories. But I digress. Decades ago I was given several boxes of hooks that were painted white. The guy told me that helps reflect light better and keeps the color of the body, especially dubbed fur, closer to the original color. I also read numerous times about white and silver mylar for underbodies.
You want an experiment, here's one that you can rest assured will be accurate IF you are very observant: Take 10 flies tied regularly and 10 of the same pattern tied with some uv body material. Go to a bridge that spans some good trout water. Just drop the 20 flies and see which ones are taken by the the trout. I say this is a good test but you have to be able to differentiate the uv from the regular. Not that easy. You may need a friend to observe with another set of eyes. One time on the Hale's Eddy Bridge, it spans the west branch Delaware, I accidentally dropped some flies. They were quickly taken by some trout. Interesting because when you do this the flies have absolutely no drag. Anyway, I was a smoker at the time and flipped a cigarette butt into the same area. It too was quickly taken by the trout. I draw no conclusion from that experience other than, cigarettes can catch trout too!
IMHO - the use of uv materials helps if you have faith in the fly. If you think the uv material does squat or makes no difference, your results will probably confirm your previous opinion.

[ScottP]

Things could be worse; we could be fishing for Mantis shrimp. They can see not only UV, but IR and polarized light; Hareline and Wapsi would love it.

Regards,
Scott

[Silver Creek]

Lest we forget, a mirror reflects light and reflects UV light. Therefore any silver reflective tinsel will reflect into the UV range and in fact they also reflect into the infrared range. That is why the "space blankets" have a reflective inner and sometimes outer surface to reflect body heat back to the user or away from the user.

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/s...ce-blanket.htm

So reflective tinsel, silver wire, etc reflects UV.

A prism refracts UV. That is why we get the visible light spectrum that we all know as ROYGBIV (red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-violet). Above the violet is Ultraviolet and below the red is Infrared that also gets refracted but we cannot see. So refractive materials also will split off UV so just a looking a a rotating prism ill look various colors, moving fly with prismatic materials will seem to change into various colors including UV.

If the reflections or refractions occur BELOW the depths that visible light penetrates but UV still does, these reflective and refractive materials will look UV colored. And they will look reflect/refract the IDENTICAL UV SPECTRUM. UV materials have been used in flies from very early on.

The second point about UVR materials is that they cannot create UV. They cannot reflect more UV light than is available. So a material that is highly reflective will reflect more UV that one that is not.

The third point is regardless of how much UV or which spectrum of UV is reflective, how do we know how to dress our flies with this material so that it matches the natural. If anyone can answer that question, I would appreciate it since it is the Rosetta Stone of determining what UV material to use and how to use it. Right now UV materials are used as attractants and not as matching the hatch BUT they are being sold to the public as if they match the hatch.

I have no doubt that in some circumstances UV will catch more fish but let us not fool ourselves into thinking that it is because we are somehow matching the UV reflection of a food item. If they work , they do so by attraction just like the Purple Haze Fly Craze a couple of years ago or a Royal Wulff.