It's a fact that most big trophy fish hunt for food after the sun has gone down. Somewhere along the line, fly fishermen got the bright idea (pun intended) that using glow-in-the-dark products and materials might be a good way to catch fish at night.  And, there's plenty of stuff out there that has been either intentionally designed specifically for fishing, or materials that fishermen have put to good use to make their gear glow.

It all sounds cool, but does it work?  Is it just a gimmick, or does it really help you to catch more fish?  I know plenty of guys who use all sorts of glowing products, and some that won't even consider using anything at all.  We're going to look into this question from two perspectives.  First, we'll look at whether or not the glow in the dark stuff helps the fisherman; then, we'll take a peek at what kind of impact it has on the fish your using it for.

The fisherman's perspective - What works?

Line. You're on the water and the sun has gone down.  Darkness surrounds you, and the deep blue night sky hangs overhead, dotted with stars.  You begin to hear the familiar sucking sounds of fish coming up to feed, and you know your daring to be out so late is going to pay off.  You cast your line... and it disappears into the night.  If you can't see your line, you can't control it the way you might need to.  You have to rely on feeling, which is doable, but wouldn't it be easier to see the line?  A glow-in-the-dark fly line is great for just that: they let you know what direction your fly is located on the water, and allow you to watch your line so that you can mend it and increase your ability to set the hook on the strike.  A great product that I have used for years, and I recommend it to anyone who is considering some night fishing.

Rio is, right now, the only line company that we are aware of that offers a true glow-in-the-dark fly line in a 6wt and 8wt. Rio does not list this fly line in their line catalog, but they still make this line and offer it to their mid-western distributers and fly shops. (See the review here) If you don't live in the mid-west, a quick internet search should get you a seller.  I currently use Rio's LumaLux 6wt line for dusk and fishing at night for any fresh water fishing I do.  A quick zap from my head lamp, or better yet, a UV light, and the line is charged for some night time fun. I'll fish with it for a while, zap it again on the reel, then strip and cast again.

Flies. "How about store bought flies, or even your own fly tying work?  Would that be good to have these glow, too?"  Great question!  Seeing your dark or black fly on the water is important, which is why so many patterns, especially terrestrials, are tied with a visual indicator of foam or yarn in bright colors that let you see them easily while fishing during the day.  The same should be true when fishing at night, and a glowing fly would let you do just that.  I have used glow in the dark paint on several of my flies in the past few years, and really appreciate being able to visually track my fly on the water after I cast.  I know some fly fishermen that tie 100% glow-in-the-dark gurglers for catching really big trout after dark.  Very fun, very cool.

But, there aren't many local fly shops that offer materials that glow in the dark.  So, you might have to get creative if you want to try to give your night flies a little glow.  Craft shops are great for finding glow in the dark materials that you can easily find uses for in tying flies.  From water-proof paints and pens, to yarn and thread, to beads and trinkets, you should be able to find something that you can apply to your favorite pattern to make it so that you can see it on the water, no matter what time of day it is.

The Fish's Perspective - Does it make a difference to them?

Charter fisherman have been using glow in the dark spoons for some time with great success catching salmon and steelhead on the Great Lakes.  I have talked to a few of these fisherman I know, and they have told me time and again that there is no difference in the numbers of fish they catch with a pattern with glow or ones without glow in the dark materials.  My own on the water experience also bears that out for warm water fishing. So, from the point of view of the fish, they don't really see the glowing fly as either a thing to avoid, nor as a thing to eat, any more than any other fly out there.  The fish see the shape, and if it looks yummy, they go for it; they don't care if it's glowing or not.  In fact, from their perspective, looking up at the fly with the sky above it, they may not notice much difference. 

Now, to really maximize your use of these materials, you may want to consider creating patterns that use the materials in such a way that don't impact it's usability during the daytime.  For example, here is an example of a pattern that's all benefit, with no down side.  The FTP Frog, a pattern that we have here on this site and is great for catching big bass, is a great fly that I like to use some glow-in-the-dark paint on, just to make it useful both in the day and the night.

Drawbacks

Now, there is one down side of using glow-in-the-dark materials: you can't see it very far from you.  If you make long casts, don't think that you're going to see your glow in the dark fly way out there in the water, like some kind of glowing beacon of light, because you will be disappointed. When folks start using glowing lines and flies, they start to think that they can rely on the glow, but you really can't.  Like all tools, glow-in-the-dark stuff will certainly help your fishing at night, but it is still night, and you still can't see in the dark.

Instead, you may want to adjust your cast, bringing the line closer to you.  This is not as bad as you might think.  At night, fish are just not as spooked by a big human in their water as they might be during the day.  You can be closer to the fish, and don't be too surprised if the fish even move closer to you!  I have had big fish just 10 yards from me while fishing pretty late on a lake near my house that would have panicked and ran at that distance during the day.

Final Thoughts

One final thought: you'll want to bring some kind of lighting instrument with you to charge the glow-in-the-dark material.  Nothing is worse than spending hours making plans for getting on the water at night with your new glowing stuff, only to find that after 20 minutes of fishing the line is just as invisible as the fish are.  A head lamp might be a great idea for fishing at night anyway, and it does a pretty good job charging your line or flies.  But, if you want to really light up your flies and the line, you'll want to use a black light (UV).  Man, does this work great!  It will really charge anything that glows in the dark much quicker than any white light, and the glow will be significantly more bright.  Additionally, the glow will last longer, all making it easier to see it at a somewhat greater distance.  Finally, a UV light will not affect your night vision at all, which contrasts with the bright flash of the white LED light that might come from a flash light or head lamp that might leave you with several moments of blinking and spots before you can see five feet in front of you again.

The Bottom Line
We say, give it a shot.  Infuse some glow in the dark materials for your next fly on the vise, get some line that glows, and see if it helps your fishing trip after dark.