Very interesting....

[CrappieJohn]

For a long time I have maintained that fish see colors different from the way we see colors. Now get a load of this...

In tonight's paper here in Rochester, an article describing a new bait coloring tactic that has been slam dunking fish from Alaska to Florida has come to light. Literally. It seems that humans have the capability to see reds, blues, yellow/reens the most effectively along with a multitude of colors made up by mixing the first three. We also see white, black and a whole gammut of grey shades too.

Fish, they have proven now, also see the reds, blues, yellows/greens, but they also see a fourth color which we cannot....that being ultra violet is its most pure form.

Researchers have discovered that titanium dioxide, a white pigment, gives off a stupendous amount of this ultra violet light...which we cannot see, but the fish can....and have found ways to apply it to lures and baits. Apparently this coating makes those suckers absolutely ignite with a bright glow as seen by the fish and it drives them into feeding frenzies. And apparently it has to be this titanium dioxide color to get these results.

The titanium dioxide pigment is environmentally friendly, no-toxic,lasts for two hours or so when applied to lures and can be removed with soapy water.

I have a web address with more specif info available about this coating and I am going to snoop around it tomorrow to see whatI can find out about this stuff. Now I may be off base a bit here, but I have dabbled in art paints and I think I recall seeing titanium dioxide listed as a base color when painting canvas. I guess I have to do some store checking tomorrow as well, because if I can find this white pigment cheap, I will try it.

For those who remember the glow purple that I feel inlove with last winter, I still have it, use it and catch fish on it in a wide variety of jigs ranging from 1/16 go devils to much smaller baits. I think the light given off by this color boarders right on the edge of where the visible ultraviolet and the invisible ( to us) ultraviolet merge and is why the glow purple can be so hot at times.

Jig/bait/plastic color has always intrigued me and sparked a ton of questions as to why certain colors perform the way they do and others are just duds. Maybe this new theory will deliver some answers or help to direct some logical thought into what colors really do trigger fish into hitting.

I love stuff like this. I'll let everyone know what I find off this HSOforum.

[crappie todd]

Titanium dioxide is the most widely used white pigment because of its brightness and very high refractive index (n=2.4), in which it is surpassed only by a few other materials. When deposited as a thin film, its refractive index and color make it an excellent reflective optical coating for dielectric mirrors. TiO2 is also an effective opacifier in powder form, where it is employed as a pigment to provide whiteness and opacity to products such as paints, coatings, plastics, papers, inks, foods, and most toothpastes. In cosmetic and skin care products, titanium dioxide is used both as a pigment and a thickener, and in almost every sunblock with a physical blocker, titanium dioxide is found both because of its refractive index and its resistance to discoloration under ultraviolet light.

[CrappieJohn]

Exactly. lol

[Genofish]

Crappie Todd, do you work with Thin films? I have been in the opthalamic Thin films for the past 18 years.

[tonyjor]

So there ya go, Crappie Tom. Just spread a little baby block on some lures. Its waterproof and contains TiO2.

I think Hanson's fever is spreading....

[Dan Thiem]

I heard about this same topic on Paul Harvey. And, as everyone knows, if it's on Paul Harvey it's gotta be true!

[CrappieJohn]

CTodd...

You must have some chemical engineering background so I will ask this of you. And I may have my understanding of how light craetes colors....absorbtion or reflected portions of the light spectrum. I am thinking that we see reflected light as color, but maybe i need to think that absorbed light portions of the spectrum are what we see as colors.

I understand the multitudes of uses for this stuff. My interest is why it would have a "glow" if it has no fluorescing properties. Or is it such a pure white that the ultra violet simply bounces off it? Or is absorbed more completely? I know that there are "blue blocker" products to use on hunting clothes that help to, or are supposed to help, eliminate the visible glare of hunter orange to animals since their eyes see that color with blue enhancers as white or a bright grey. These "blocker" products are a milky white as are those described in this article about the fishing.

If the use of this stuff is so effective, why won't white paint do just as much as for a jig as titanium dioxide is supposed to do? It must have something to do with the way the chemical make-up of that compound filters or reflects light.

Another puzzlement is that water with staining or a specic color to it tends to filter out sunlight pretty effectively and that in its own rigfht should render this stuff just about useless in all but the clearest of lakes....like Lake Superior.

If you have any ideas, it would be great to hear them.

[oil painter]

As an artist I was stunned to see your post! it is availible at any art store titanium white oil or acrlic. I use winsor& newton but it is like the most common paint there is u need it to mix colors lighten take sheen off etc.You can buy a small tube at blicks for 3-5 bucks.thanks for the tip Ill try to use it this year but if I use oil it will take awhile to dry acrilic might be the way to go!I wonder if other dioxcides work to or they have to be titanium?

[hanson]

Quote:

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I think Hanson's fever is spreading....

---

Hey now! I don't think Titanium Dioxide has anything to do with why they don't paint both sides of a lure with pretty colors.

I think Tom is still running a fever from the Brawl. With the kind of company we had while fishing, its not too hard to figure out why.

[delmuts]

care to explain about "that kind of company"????

[Rick]

All latex house paint made in the US uses titanium dioxide. It replaced lead as the material needed to produce the white pigment. It is also more abundant. DuPont is the largest processor of titanium dioxide in the world and their biggest plant is in Florida.

If your lure has white on it - 99.999% sure it has titanium dioxide on it.

[CrappieJohn]

I knew that my oils had a titaium dioxide, but I could not find the dumb stuff.

I have never been a fan of white jigs, black yes but not white. The bulk of the paints I use today require no undercoating so using it in that arena is minimal. If titanium white is a commonly occuring pigment, then about any white coating will yeild the same results perhaps.

When I read this article I was attracted to the "glowing" aspect. During daylight hours it stands to reason that white would gather the most light, or reflect it, and maybe even appear to be glowing. Used as it was in this article, it could be an effective marketing ploy for something already in use, but dressed up to look like something unbelievable.

I guess it's time to get those black feathers and egg off this face....eh? lol

[deeky]

Tom -

I would look at it more as an 'aura' than a glow. Short of the sun, lightbulbs, and flourescing paint, all light that you see is reflected light. If an object appears red, it is absorbing all light colors other than red. Titanium dioxide reflects all colors of light, including the ultraviolet spectrum (white light is the presence of all colors).

I think the best way to explain the uv glow of TiO2 is thinking of it like a very white piece of paper in direct sunlight. It is reflecting so much light, it is difficult to tell where the edges of the paper are. It appears to glow, except TiO2 gives off the aura in the uv spectrum.