Bowling for fish in the strike zone Using lures and spinner baits that glow in the dark. Copyright 2004 By Lynn Mills All rights reserved.

In slightly turbid waters or on cloudy days the strike zone is greatly enlarged and fish often feel safe leaving their hiding places roam and forage. The strike zone in this case might be measured in feet. When a fish roams the strike zone moves with the fish. At night or in deep or murky water the strike zone once again shrinks to a very small size. Not because the fish is afraid of being seen but because the distance the fish can see a tempting meal is greatly reduced. Many night feeders and fish that spend their whole life in dark, or silted waters have developed highly sensitive smell and taste organs on the outsides of their bodies but they must be down current from the food in order to smell or taste it.

     It is obvious that to catch fish we need to present the lure within the strike zone. This is usually easier said than done. There is a way though that you can increase the size of the strike zone on dark days, in silty turbid waters or at darkened depths. Brighter colors will do the trick but there is even a better way.

     Glow in the dark lures have been around for a long time but have never been taken seriously, until now. The old Zinc Sulfide, glow in the dark material faded fast. It's luminescence all but disappeared by the time you got it into the water. Recently a new glow in the dark material emerged. It is a non toxic, non radio active, Strontium Aluminate compound that glows brighter and many times longer than the old Zinc Sulfide. This material will still have a faint glow in the morning after glowing all night. If you lay the two materials side by side and expose them the the same light, then shut it off the difference is striking. The Zinc Sulfide fades rapidly while the Aluminate keeps glowing brightly. Using lures and bait enhancer's comprised of this new material you expand the strike zone dramatically. Now the fish does not have to depend on seeing it's food by reflected light filtering down through the water. Now the lure produces it's own light. Are fish afraid of this light? From my experience it doesn't bother them at all and in fact seems to attract them. Most fish seem to be attracted to light. There is some discussion among the experts about green light attracting fish. Indeed green light does seem to attract more fish. The question is this. Is it because fish are attracted to green light or is it simply because green light is transmitted more easily by water and therefore the fish can see it from further away. Never the less, light, and especially green light does attract fish. That is why night fishers put lights on the bank. That is why the Japanese fishers hang lanterns from there boats. Some fish even create their own light to attract a meal. As mentioned on another page even the brilliance of a red laser and a green laser, which the fish had never seen before, did not scare the fish but instead the brilliant spots of light triggered strike after strike. Luminescent lures are just now coming into their own and becoming very popular as more and more people discover the advantage of expanding the strike zone by illuminating their lures and spinners. Now with the new glow in the dark materials fishermen and  fisherwomen can substantially increase the size of the strike zone by fishing with lures and spinners that incorporate the new Strontium Aluminate compounds for an extra long and brighter glowing fish lure or spinner. FishTackler ® makes 10 styles of triple spinner fishing lures that use long glow in the dark Strontium Aluminate.

     So light up the strike zone   and fill up your creel.