­­­Tip for Feb.

   This winter I have been tying at some of the shows in the Southwest and I always get big response when I tie flies with blue and/or purple. People always ask why purple, why blue? In last month's new letter we had a purple midge for the fly of the month and this month we are putting an electric blue midge, flies that I have tied in these shows. These two flies have been getting a lot of attention and questions.

    So why purple, blue? This has to do with the spectrum of light and how it penetrates the water. The white light we see is made up several colors and water tends to act as a light filter. Depending on the wave length of the color, the deeper it will travel through the water column. Scientists have discovered that ultra violet (UV) and blue light penetrate the deepest. So in turn, these are the last colors the trout before black darkness in the deep water. What does these mean to us as fisherman? The colors on the flies we see are actually the colors of light being reflected. When we cast the fly in to the water it will reflect that color until the water is deep enough to filter it out. If we use blue and UV colors, the fish see it much longer then say red (which is at the other end of the light spectrum) as the fly sinks.  If the trout can see the glow or flash of the UV fly longer, it gives them a better target as the water current pushes it to them. In lakes, this concept is especially true because of the deeper depths the trout hold in. You need a fly they can see, if they can't see it they won't eat it.

    The other factor to consider also is the fact UV and blue are not used as offer as other colors. Check in the fly catalog companies put out, you can usually count the UV, purple or blue ones on one hand. Sometimes just changing a color on a popular fly to purple or blue can trigger takes. It is something they have not seen before. Trout do not have legs or arms to grab it and inspect it, they inspect it by grapping it with their mouths.

     (It is good to note here that when I mention purple, I really mean violet. Purple was the name invented by Crayola that is commonly used now but when you look at the chart of the light spectrum, you won't see purple but violet and ultra violet.)

     On your next fishing trip, if the fishing slows down, try a purple (violet), UV or blue fly. You will be surprised how it can trigger takes.