Glow jig charging station ideas

Started by pjstevko, April 29, 2021, 03:57:59 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

David Hall

I been using a little camera flash accessory and it lights them up better than my UV lights did.  It's a blinding flash and boy does it fire up the lures. 

Maxed Out

#31
Quote from: David Hall on May 03, 2021, 04:24:48 AM
I been using a little camera flash accessory and it lights them up better than my UV lights did.  It's a blinding flash and boy does it fire up the lures.  

.....exactly right David. A portable camera flash gets the job done fast too, and fits in a coat pocket

Halibut fishing off Washington north coast in 400-750'. Glow lures just don't work. Black actually works really good. Then just around the bend and into the strait of Juan de fuca, glow or white works and black not so much. Glow on a salmon lure doesn't do diddly IMHO
We Must Never Forget Our Veterans....God Bless Them All !!

pjstevko

The strip lights arrived this week and I did a quick test....

I loosely coiled the 6' strip of lights and placed it in the foil lined container and put a sk jig inside then turned it on to charge the jig for 5 minutes....... The 5 minute charge made the jig glow for over 15 minutes!

It wasn't as bright as when I used the uv sterilization box but was decent for just throwing the light strip in without any real placement.

I think if I buy a longer (9' or 12') strip and carefully wrap it to completely cover the inside of the container it might work better. The distance between the walls and the jig is wider than I'd like but if I use anything smaller in diameter I won't be able to stick the lights to the wall because I can't get my hands in there.....

The jigs I use are around 7 or 8" long by  1 3/4" wide so if there was a way to get the light strip tightly spiraled around the inside of a 2 1/2" piece of pvc that would put the lights 1/4" from all sides of the jig..... Anyone got any ides to accomplish this?

Pj

wailua boy

I thought I remember hearing flat white paint reflects better than aluminum foil, not sure if anyone can confirm or deny this

philaroman

#34
LED light strip inside wire bracket; foil outside wire bracket; insert into tube of choice

could also use wide-mouth (or, custom-cut top) SS soup thermos polished inside...  these 64-oz. are HUGE
not sure if mouth is wide enough, but the wide part inside is well over 8" tall
BTW, pretty good sturdy bottle to get on spec., even if it doesn't quite work as charging station:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/TAL-Stainless-Steel-Ranger-Tumbler-Water-Bottle-64-fl-oz-Slate-Blue/984477723?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222222275653345&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=74492027616621&wl4=pla-4578091573768761&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&wl10=Walmart&wl11=Online&wl12=984477723_0&wl14=tal%2064%20oz%20water%20bottle&veh=sem&msclkid=10d87ea34fb8108ea1441e343df0a4ee

philaroman

anyway, why a tube/cylinder loaded from top -- why not, hinged box?
maybe get SS thermos just right size/shape & cut it length-wise

pjstevko

Quote from: philaroman on May 09, 2021, 07:43:18 AM
anyway, why a tube/cylinder loaded from top -- why not, hinged box?
maybe get SS thermos just right size/shape & cut it length-wise

Can't use a box because the light strip isn't flexible enough to make tight turns which is why I was thinking of doing a tight spiral

philaroman

the main body of that bottle (before it cones up) is approx. 8" x 4" ID
then, 2"+ coning up to mouth just under 2.5" wide...  if that helps
steel inside already better reflective surface than any foil...  could be polished more
could, maybe, drill holes for few individual "high-lumen" LED's instead of strip

jurelometer

#38
As the risk of re-repeating:

1.  Just because a surface reflects visible light well, it does not mean that it reflects UV-A light well (common glass-over-silver mirrors being an example).   At least for some frequencies of UV light, stainless steel does not do a good job.  I did not bother to look up UV-A specifically, because you guys are not paying attention anyways :)

2.  Distance to the light is what makes or breaks your system - Look up the inverse square law- all you photographers out there that use flash know about this.  

For example, if your design moved the distance from the  light source to the jig surface form 1/2 inch to 2 inches, you would only have 1/16 the power (the inverse of the square of the change in distance).  You would need 16 times the number of lights, assuming that your power source was capable of running this many bulbs at full steam.

------------------------------

The camera flash is a good idea.  What we want is a  more light for less time, which is what a flash is designed to do.  The covers/filters over the flash bulbs do filter out UV-light -something of a disadvantage.  While UV-A light is the most effective at charging glow pigments, visible light will also work- lots of visible light is better than a small amount of UV-A.   There could also be an effect on efficiency- for a given amount of energy the pigments will absorb more if it is delivered in a short blast vs a long steady drip (I seem to remember reading this but I am not certain that I am not getting this backwards).  Plus you can get the flash right up tight to the jig.

At any rate - you can't catch fish if your jig is not in the water, and the front end of the bite is often prime time for tuna,  so being able to quickly charge a jig is extremely valuable.  There are cheap, off the camera flashes out there.  Since the flash filters out the majority of UV light emitted by the bulb, you don't have to worry about having a very powerful light source that is invisible to the human eye, but still can be quite damaging.  And you can also use it for a camera flash :)

A quick note on UV light.  It is not visible to the human eye, but that does not mean it is safe.   That purple-ish glow from blacklight /UV-A bulbs is just a small fraction of the total light energy being emitted that ends up in the visible light spectrum.  You can be damaging you eyes without knowing it.   It is useful to minimize exposure to yourself and others, especially if you are using large amounts, or getting it close to your eyes.  Not an expert on the stuff, but I did read the warning label that came with my UV flashlight.

-J

gstours

Here's some filler material to keep this post alive,  to learn more possibly?
   Our eyes see colors differently than quarry,  and different light sources may be measured in us intensity, or power correct?
  Here's a quick test of a split tail plastic design for jigs.   The sun charged it on a cloud less day for 5 minutes.

gstours

Then it was put immediately into a dark room.  Pik #1

gstours

#2 pik shows immediate loss of brightness in 5 minutes.

gstours

Pik #3 shows in 2 more minutes serous differencing.  Does this mean the fish might still see a color or glow?      I dunno.    Just wondering?  🤷‍♂️
  There's a lot of variables in purchasing a lure that is labeled "glow".     Even pigments for paint might need some testing?      Just saying.

jurelometer

#43
Quote from: gstours on May 12, 2021, 06:09:06 PM
Pik #3 shows in 2 more minutes serous differencing.  Does this mean the fish might still see a color or glow?      I dunno.    Just wondering?  🤷‍♂️
 There's a lot of variables in purchasing a lure that is labeled "glow".     Even pigments for paint might need some testing?      Just saying.

If you are fishing with glow in the dark lures, you are probably fishing in a situation wher color matters less than normal. Fish don't care about what they can't see, and most species don't see many colors with much specificity to begin with, and even less when it gets dark.  I haven't found a good argument for more light intensity generally being more effective, although this is the popular opinion.


Here is a more detailed explanation, but take this with a grain of salt, as I like to read about this stuff, but am not trained in it:

The retina in the eyes contain rods (respond to a wide range of colors , AKA black and white or night vision) and cones (color). Rods are more sensitive to light but less specific (hard to get a clear image).  Cones are the opposite, and each cone cell will only respond  to  a single range of light wave frequencies  (red, green, blue,  or UV). Fish  species that live near the surface in clear water will often have three or even four types of cones, but one or two is more common as we get into deeper and murkier waters.

The darker the environment, the more rods will dominate. Fish that live in dark or murky waters will have a much higher ratio of  rods in the retina.  Some (many?)  fish species physically move the rods  toward/away from the retina surface on a night to day schedule.

Different glow in the dark pigments have different properties in terms of how bright and how long they glow.  (I think they also charge differently, but am not certain here).    Greens do the best, then whites, then blues, then reds. Green is also the cheapest.  That is why glow in the dark lures are all green glow. The powder is not inexpensive, and the medium it is embedded in further decreases the performance.  Particle size also affects glow properties and finish.  Most folks that buy lures believe more glow is better, so the focus is usually on getting the most bang for the buck glow-wise.  

Out in the wild, most  bioluminescent food sources  are not large slabs that  glow brightly, or if they are, flash on and off (just as Mom always said, leaving the lights on is a waste of energy :)  ).  And in many fisheries, the target species do not feed on biolumescent prey.  The jury is out for me  on whether glow helps, and if it does, what is the right way to utilize it.  At least the fish can see it, which is more than we say about most of the stuff we obsess over in a lure's paint job.

I have messed with glow a bit to make glow jigs and flies for folks  that want the stuff, but my "expertise" is pretty limited.  There is a longer conversation about how to finish a lure to get a desired glow effect, but maybe a separate thread?  

-J

philaroman

another thought: if trying to mimic natural bioluminescence, shouldn't the glow be
streaky/blotchy/veiny/lateral... anything, BUT uniform?!?!