From my understanding fish only pic up and hone in on the UV spectrum during certain life stages so they may not be more effective than any other lure during certain times of the year/for certain species.
This is true. However, my understanding is that UV lures don't require a fish to see in the UV spectrum. UV lures are merely a specific type of fluoresence...defined by excitation by one wavelength of light resulting in emission of a different (and longer) wavelength of light. The distinction is that in traditional fluoresence both the excitation and emission wavelengths are in the visible specturm whereas with UV the excitation is not visible (but the emission wavelength is visible).
So, if you are fishing under conditions where only UV light is present, then a UV lure should be easier to see because it will emit visible light. Traditional fluorescent colors would give no added benefit.
Very close. When UV light hits a fluorescent lure it absorbs the UV light and absorbs some of that energy and gives off energy of another color. So, a lure could absorb UV light and give off red color at a depth that a visible spectrum red lure would look black. Likewise for other fluorescent colors; you can use a UV flashlight and see what the fluorescent color given off is.
But UV light, which penetrates deeper than visible light, can also hit a lure and give off light in the UV spectrum, which salmonids can see but we can't. What we would see by shining our UV light, is probably just a purple glow which is at the low end of our visible perception.
Some better fishers than I am think that many of the traditionally successful lures are successful because they reflect, or emit, UV spectrum light even though we did not know it.
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