Shore Fishing Australia
Shore-based fishing report August/September 2006
Reports By Gary Brown
What's New
Fool-a-Fish Spray on Formula First off, this is
not a sales pitch for the above product, but an account of my experiences since
I have been using it. Over the years I have being using a variety of spay and add
on fish formulas. Some of them have been useless, while a few of them have been stand
outs. The latest one that I have been playing around with is the FOOL-A-FISH spray on
formula. Before I tell you about the experiences that I have had with this product I
will give you a bit of back ground as to where it came from.
Back in September / October of 2005 The strange story started when Milan
Jeckle, a 67-year-old Spokane physician, was driving to a waterfowl hunting spot a couple
of years ago and it dawned on him that an article he'd just read in a science magazine might
make his decoys more effective in attracting ducks and geese. Researchers had discovered that
while humans see three colours - red, green-yellow and blue - birds as well as fish species
that have skeletons see a fourth color in the ultraviolet range. The doctor, who was a chemist
before he went to medical school 40-some years ago, theorized that reducing the amount of
reflected UV light from decoys and camouflage clothing would help reduce the white glow
that UV apparently translates to a bird's eyes. This would let waterfowl react more
naturally to the decoy paints and camo colours designed to fool them. However, by
the time Jeckle had looked into the ingredients that might be applied on water
fowling gear to absorb UVA, the duck season was over. It was time to go fishing.
"He's an avid fisherman and hunter and I do none of that," said David Cleary, a
professor of physical chemistry at Gonzaga University. "When Dr. Jeckle approached
me to help with some of the technical problems (in creating the products), the
initial conversations were about the challenges of hunting and fishing, and I
was learning a lot. "The more he explained, the more plausible it seemed,"
Cleary recalled. "He was interested in the practical application; I was
interested in the technical challenge of making a formula that wouldn't
dissolve or wash off the lure in the water." Both men tapped the 30 years of
research in sunscreens to help them come up with answers.
Fool-a-Fish is based on titanium dioxide, which is considered by dermatologists to be
one of the most effective sunscreen ingredients. "UV has a short wavelength that humans
don't see," Jeckle said. "We just get sunburns from it. Titanium dioxide reflects it.
In simple terms, the wavelength of light humans can see is absorbed quickly by water,
but UV light penetrates into water a half a mile." The ingredient comes as a white powder.
Professor Cleary developed a plastic carrier to make it stick to the bait, lure or fly.
Eventually you have to spray on another application because the titanium dioxide is like
miniscule grains of sand and it comes off little by little in the water. I imagine it looks
like a shooting star to a fish." Traditional uses of fluorescent colours to attract fish might
still have some credence in shallower water, but Fool-a-Fish seems to shine in deeper water.
"Light visible to the human eye penetrates clear ocean water to a depth of about 30 feet,"
Jeckle said. "At 40 feet deep in a lake it's black as the inside of a cow, but UV light
travels up to half a mile. "Lures and baits sprayed with a thin layer of Fool-a-Fish
reflect UV light in every direction, just like a spinning 'Disco Ball."
That's how the home-grown line of Fool-a-Bird and Fool-a-Fish formulas was conceived. But
months of research followed before the products debuted last December. I have been trying
Fool-a-fish for about 2 months now on soft plastics, hard body lures and baits with great
results. Last weekend I was down at Bawley Point fishing for yellowfin bream, silver trevally,
tailor and salmon with 7 other anglers. What they did not realize was that every time I cast
out a new bait or a soft plastic I sprayed it with Fool-a-fish. The results were about 5 to
one. Before that I was fishing in the Port Hacking off the wharf in Yowie Bay for yellowfin
bream. I was using 2 outfits at the time that were exactly the same, even down to the type
and breaking strain of line. The bait that was sprayed with the Fool-a-fish caught more fish
than the one with out it. I was fishing in about 12 to 13 metres of water at the time.
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