Spring Edition

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Friday, April 12, 2013

Spirit River's UV2 Tying Materials


My philosophey on fly fishing and fly tying is to blend "new school" techniques and tactics with "old school" tradtition. I also like to say the day I know everything about fly fishing is the day I quit; and with that said I'll never quit because the staircase of progression is what fuels my fire for fly fishing and life in general. The new age is constantly tweaking and evolving ideas and science, Spirit River has taken a giant leap into the future with their new line of Ultra Violet spectrum tying materials so that we may increase our chances of hooking more fish.


Most humans can perceive only a small section of the Light Spectrum. We call this the Visible Spectrum, or VS, which runs between about 400 to 700 nanometers

Below the VS light spectrum is the Ultra Violet spectrum. There are 2 types. One is a UV Reflective Light or UVR and the other is UV Fluorescence or UVF.

UVR are the shorter wave lengths the human eye does not usually perceive. These are what we are primarily concerned with. UVR reflects through a material or is emitted by the species and cannot readily be seen by the human eye unless very expensive equipment is used.

UVF are what we all know as the usual florescent tying materials which absorb light and will emerge back out in a longer wave length we can see as brighter or will radiate under a black light.

The UVR spectrum is extremely common in the animal/insect world. This is how bees find flowers and mayflies find mates. While many male species exhibit UVR to attract mates or to feed, many females exhibit less UVR to camouflage themselves and their young.


UVR is abundant in plankton, algae, baitfish, invertebrates & similar species. UV sensitive cones in the eyes of fish allow them to see in much greater detail in adverse water and light conditions. While visible light is lost in red at approximately 10 feet and orange at 25’…UVR and UVF light can penetrate up to 150 feet depending on water clarity. The RODS in a trout eyes do not allow them much sight in low light periods of dawn and dusk. However, UV sensitive CONES in their eyes do allow fish to see more details and at greater depths. Perhaps this is why some species prefer to feed at night. Bass anglers have known about UVR and UVF which is utilized on many of their baits and lures.

Our special UV2™ dye processes on feathers and furs add more UVR by increasing its electron mobility, its luminescence and overall light spectrum. The UV2™ is high in reflectivity and has diffusing properties, which the animal world identifies and exploits. With a special UV light held behind a material, the lighter shades (red and above) will glow ever so slightly.

A better way of saying this is that our fluorescent materials “scream” at you and our UV2™ materials “whisper” to you.


Check out this clip, it will shed some "light" on UV2 materials;


To see the full line of Spirit River's UV2 materials and to place an order click here; http://www.spiritriver.com/



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