That's what hawks can see....And that's not good for mice. That's also what my good friend Jon Harrang (a super fly tier) can see with his black light as a USDA inspector at dirty restaurants. These two nuggets of useless info will hopefully make a little more sense in this blog post.
For years, people have known that many different animals can see different spectrums of light. Certain birds, butterflies, fish all reflect UV light. This can help animals find mates and it can help them locate food sources. (think mouse pee). That's what we want our flies to do....Help the fish locate them. In the case of steelhead we are are hoping that it triggers a feeding instinct that will make them want to eat our fly.
This seed was first planted in my head by Dave McNeese. Dave knows bugs, and Dave knows fish. He's also a big proponent of the theory that fish key in on UV reflective food sources. Dave also is a master at dyeing top rate UV reflective fly tying materials. He has been my inspiration for tying UV reflective flies.
Now you may be asking yourself....."does this really matter?" Well, I say... "It can't hurt!" In fact, that's why I offer UV reflective fly tying materials on this site. I am hoping to add more of them as time goes on. (also, alot of natural fly tying materials reflect UV light too)
Here's an example of a fly tied with our UV reflective Badger Cock Necks (the marabou and seal fur is also UV dyed):
For years, people have known that many different animals can see different spectrums of light. Certain birds, butterflies, fish all reflect UV light. This can help animals find mates and it can help them locate food sources. (think mouse pee). That's what we want our flies to do....Help the fish locate them. In the case of steelhead we are are hoping that it triggers a feeding instinct that will make them want to eat our fly.
This seed was first planted in my head by Dave McNeese. Dave knows bugs, and Dave knows fish. He's also a big proponent of the theory that fish key in on UV reflective food sources. Dave also is a master at dyeing top rate UV reflective fly tying materials. He has been my inspiration for tying UV reflective flies.
Now you may be asking yourself....."does this really matter?" Well, I say... "It can't hurt!" In fact, that's why I offer UV reflective fly tying materials on this site. I am hoping to add more of them as time goes on. (also, alot of natural fly tying materials reflect UV light too)
Here's an example of a fly tied with our UV reflective Badger Cock Necks (the marabou and seal fur is also UV dyed):
I'm calling this the "Skykomish Floodtide" It's a combination of the classic steelhead fly the "Skyomish Sunrise" and the classic atlantic salmon fly the "Floodtide" and it's got UV materials. Here's another fly tied by my good friend Rocky Maley using his new UV reflective floss "Glow Brite" . You can contact Rocky at www.steelheadjunkies.com The fly in normal light:
Here's the fly in UV light:
So, hopefully this will provide some food for thought for those of you looking to add a little something new to your flies. Please feel free to contact me if I can help.
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