all charged up....

[CrappieJohn]

Winter is accompanied by a whole new set of angling rules and some of these can trouble some fishermen. One that comes to mind more and more is the issue of charging glow baits.

New flashlights, different colored flashlights, camera flashes, sunlight....you name it and it has been boasted as the best for charging these baits, BUT there is nothing that will help to get a deep lasting charge into these units like heat. If you experience troubles in getting a color, like the hard to charge purple glow, to accept much of a charge try putting a couple in a small zip-lock and keeping them in a very warm inside pocket. As you need to re-charge a jig, simply take the second or two to tie a new one on and put the chilly one in the bag to be re-warmed.

As the "glow mania" started up last season, many persons were thinking that the paint itself may have worn itself out from charging over and over again, but this is not likely. And while there may be some degree of degradation of phosphorescent paint while hanging on a card in a shop or laying in a bulk tray, it would not be enough to noticeably alter the character of the paint itself. This got me to looking at what external influences could change things and temperature and humidity were the only two variable I could come up with so I did a bit of a test using the good old refer in the kitchen.

I took a purple, blue, red, orange, and yellow glow jig ( actually 4 of each color)and placed one of each in the refer, the freezer portion, on a cool portion of the countertop and the fourth bunch on top of the water heater. All were in paper sacks to eliminate light. After an hour at these locations, all four bags were emptied onto a cookie sheet, spread out in their respective groups so they'd get equal charging and zapped them with a camera flash. Twice. The group from off the water heater were by far and away the brightest in glow, followed by the ones from the counter top, the refer, and finally the freezer. They were all viewed and compared in a totally dark room. The jigs were then re-bagged and stored for two days in total darkness. This test was done over over three more times on that many days, following the identical procedure using a light designed specifically for charging these lures, a flashlight and even sunlight.

Each set of test jigs showed the same preference to taking a charge when the jigs were the warmest. Granted, the red glow is by far the most aggressive glow and blue can be a charmer too. Both charge very easily. Its the other, less used, colors that are the tough ones to get fired up and this is where I think keeping these jigs warm will become an asset on the ice. Had I known this last winter, the purple glow I had such outstanding luck with would have simply been re-tied instead of waitng ten minutes to make it glow.

It is often the little things that make a world of difference with ice fishing. And time can be of esscense when you get on a bite. If your bite goes to pieces because you have lost your glow, it may be easier to save time by re-tying a warm jig and getting a jiffy charge into it.

[Deitz Dittrich]

CT- other than re-tieing a warm one.. do you think there are any possiblities to warm the jig without re-tieing?.. IE with a hand warmer or lighter? OR is re-tie the only real way you think?

[say_der]

I would be nervous about having a lighter or other high intensity heat source close to the line tied to the jig.

Those little quick clip things might be an option, but I do prefer to tie directly.

I'm thinking having 2 jiggle sticks ready for each hole would be best - keep one combo warm & then warm the other while fishing. Not as much re-tieing = more fishing.

[MNmikew]

Have one of those disposable hand/feet warmers in your pocket. When you change bait or unhook fish, place jig in middle of warmer and fold around it for a few seconds.

[CrappieJohn]

Heat sources could be numerous if one got to thinking...even not so hard of thought. But heat does seem to make a huge difference. They don't have to be hot, just warmere than lake water covered with ice or warmere than the air in a shack. A direct heat source such as a flame or near hea heater screen would smoke the line.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I would bet that even if the glo jig was warm and took a good recharge once it hit the water the glow time would quickly diminish.

Here's another experiment for you to try tom, Recharge the warm ones. then place your test groups in a gallon of water at ruffly summer fishing temps, lets say 68 - 72 degrees F.

Measure the amount of glow time. Next warm the same group of jigs back up and recharge. Place these in a gallon of Ice water, lets say 34 degrease F. Then measure the glow times of these.

I'm thinking thequicker the lure "chills" the quicker it will loose its charge.

If we could only get Mr. heater to make a underwater jig warmer!

[CrappieJohn]

Air....Glow paints are not equal when it comes to discharge of imbedded light. The red ones are very short lived even in water of 60 degrees or more. I have been using then extensively for several weeks and can say that they diminish in intensity as fast in warmer water as they do in cooler to cold water. The blue will last all day or over night in the same water temps. Purple is somewhwere in betwee the two.

Based on personal observations thru use during basically every season Minnesota has to offer, the only time temperature has really comes into play is when the charge is attempted and not during use. At least this is what I have noted. The red paint needs to be recharged every ten minutes or so and is the easiest to take a charge regardless of physical temperature. Blue is right on red's heels as far as taking a charge, but does so a bit better when a touch warmer. The blue seems to shine forever. I have fished thru the ice with blue until dark, packed it up and gone home. The next morning the blue was still at it shine-wise. And this was in a garage with a temp of much less than the water I was fishing. If temps played into discharge rate, why would the blue still have life in a colder environment than what the water offered?

[Bob Horn]

Tom, your observations are right on. I read on one of those glow company spec sheets and they said the colder it is the shorter the glow life there is. Boy that was a lot of testing.

[76k20]

I could toss a jig in my mouth for a few seconds to warm it up but if i did that I would have to find a new place to keep grubs...

[fisherdog19]

If you had a heater that allowed it, you could keep a can of water on it that stays warm and dip the jig in the warm water every so often.

[wallydiver]

Fisherdog,

That water idea sounds pretty good. Using warm water would probably be the fastest way.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Good info Tom!! You do your homework well!

I like the idea of hot water.

[CrappieJohn]

The guys in the tents will have the heat on likely so why not do the water to keep them warmed up. Even coffee would work. I put a thermometer on the water heater yesterday for ten minutes when it was at rest and the temp found was at about 85 degrees. The water heater is found in our furnace room and this area stays fairly well closed even with very good ventilation.

[MJP]

I have a lot of experience with using many of the products you guys have read about and tested. I can say that the one I use now obviously glows well with light, but I have found it to glow very well with the little light of my sunflower along with the heat from it.

Matt Phelps

[Philo]

Darn, I thought this post was going to be about us confessing our excitement for the upcoming ice season. I know I can hardly wait!