Polarized Sun Glasses, Mandatory fishing equipment!

No matter what kind of fish you like to pursue, if you’re going to be on the water you need some sun glasses over those eyes! This is not just for eye protection, which is important in its own right but to gain an advantage of actually being able to see through the glare on the waters surface to what resides below. Not only this but a long day on the water with the glare being reflected to your eyes will make for a miserable days fishing.

What really got me on this subject was a friend that I fished a couple days ago. We were going after beach tarpon that were feeding on schooling pogies. We we met up at the beach that morning, the first thing I asked him was had be brought some polarized sun glasses! He had sun glasses but not polarized ones! Boy was he at a disadvantage! He could see the bait when they would flip out of the water or make out the school when it was swimming on top and rippling the surface but when they were just below the surface…..He was %!#$!%! outa luck!

Additionally, as we drove along the beach scouting for schools of bait, out behind the breakers, he just couldn’t see them. When the bait is schooled up it creates a dark cloud looking shape in the water. Without polarized glasses to cut the glare off the surface, it’s almost impossible to see unless the sun is just right.

Personally, I do not own a pair of sun glasses that are not polarized. I am around water so much it just does not pay to own a pair that aren’t. Tuesday found me on the 10th floor of a Condo inspecting some repair work and I took full advantage of the view to scout for bait.

Like anything else there are a pile of sun glass manufacturers that produce polarized glasses and a  number of them make them specifically with the fisherman in mind. Everyone has heard of Costa del Mar glasses and they are great glasses, I own a pair my self. However, they come at a hefty price that ranges from $130 to about $300!!!

If that’s your cup of tea then I can recommend you a couple I prefer which are the; “Zane”, “Brine” and “Howler”.

Lens color is a personal preference but I prefer the amber lenses my self.

From my perspective, the problem with spending $200 on a pair of sunglasses is that they tend to take a bit of a beating and I can’t stand a pair that has a scratch or blemish on the lens. For me this happens all to often and then they are trash at that point.

This led me to seek out a pair of reasonably priced glasses that I wouldn’t want to shoot myself over if they got damaged. I eventually found the flying Fisherman brand of sunglasses and I have been fishing with them for 3 years now. I love em’! They do exactly what they are supposed to and look good doing it. When one of my early pair began to show some delamination of the lenses I sent them in to the manuf. and they sent me a brand new pair, no questions asked! You can’t ask for more than that.

The great part is you can get outfitted with a pair of these from the “Action Angler Series” for $15-$20!!! A price that most any of us can afford!

I wear “San Jose” most of the time but also have and like the “Sundance” model. You just can’t beat the quality for this price.

Flying Fisherman’s “Sundance” Sunglasses
Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

If you want to spend a little more but not as much as you would for the Costa’s you can look at Flying Fisherman’s  Master Angler Series in both Glass and  Polycarbonate Lenses. For under $60 bucks you can pick up one of their poly models and I would recommend the “Panama” model. I am not really a fan of bulky frames.

Amazon has great prices on all of these glasses that are really hard to beat. If you are looking for a pair click on one of the links and you can get all the details.

See you on the water,