Fishing Sunglasses - Protecting Your Eyes While Crappie Fishing

B.A.S.S. Polar Vision Sunglasses - Cat 1

Here, I am going to talk about protecting your eyes with the proper eye wear.

Sunglasses have been worn to look "Cool" or on top of
your head. This will not protect your eyes from the bright
sun, nor impress the fish.

Stop and think that you will be looking down at the water where the sun is shinning and causing a bright glare. Do that all day and you will wonder why at night you might be having problems seeing.

You can either spend big bucks on some fishing sunglasses if you think it will impress the fish or look cool to your partner, or you can use your head and do some reading up on the Harmful UV RAYS.

What Do I Look For In A Pair Of Fishing Sunglasses

Make sure they are Polarized type

Make sure they are rated UV Protected

Being Water Repellant is a Must

Prefer Anti-Reflective Coated Sunglasses

Prefer Scratch Resistance

Another thing that I look for is if the sides of the glasses have lens, or panels, so that your eyes are protected from light. These steps might add a few years on on your sight.

Polarized Sun Glasses Help Me See The Fishing Beds Better

You will notice if it is indeed Polarized. You will be able
to see the fish under the water a lot better than with a
regular pair of sun glasses.

This will be very important in Spring time fishing when you are looking for the Hogs on the beds, and even seeing the beds.

Which Sunglass Lens Color Should You Get?

Cloudy days and sunny days each require a different color of sunglass lens to be used while fishing.

For example: on a cloudy day I personally like to wear the amber lens and on bright sunny days, the blue lens.

Other lens colors offer benefits as well:

• The copper lens offers improved contrast in brighter, high glare conditions. 
• The neutral gray lens minimizes color distortion in bright conditions making it ideal for water sports, beaches and offshore fishing. 
• The yellow lens gathers available light in low light conditions and creates a "highlighting" effect that provides the highest level of contrast. 

Which Fishing Sunglasses Are The Best To Buy?

That is hard to say with so many brands on the market.

As you will see below, I like my cheaper Strike King glasses because luckily this pair fits over my precription glasses but I still have a pair of $249.00 Costa Del Mar fishing sunshades. 

I'm also say check out the Vistana or Cocoons OveRx sunglasses discussed below.

You'll have to make the decision on how much to spend on sunglasses. Remember, you want to be able to see the best while fishing but at the same time the priority is protecting your eyes.

Ask  your fishing partner or other anglers that you know what brand of fishing sunglasses they are using and see if you can try them on. 

Another good way would be to listen to what other fishing folks have to say and what kind of sunglasses they have and do they recommend them to other anglers.

Prices Vary For Fishing Sunglasses 

I am not going to tell you they come cheap either.

Attached are the two sets of fishing sunglasses I carry in
my boat.

The first set of three are all from a local bait shop or department store sporting goods.

They run anywhere from $19.00 to $49.00 and are all Polarized.

I know what you are saying, "Is this guy for real". He carries 6 pairs of sunglasses in his boat?

The reason I do this is the constant changing in water and weather conditions on a typical fishing day. Muddy, cloudy, clear, or slight stained water then the weather is cloudy, sunny, partly sunny or dark.

I am not telling you that you need to go out and buy six pairs of sunglasses, but I would get more than one pair for different weather and water conditions. Who knows, you might just lean over and drop a pair off in the water.

The second picture is three polarized pairs that run from $120.00 to the last pair that sells for $249.00.

Again, do not think you have to go out and buy the best that is on the market, like I did.

I have discovered a pair of Strike King sunglasses purchased from Walmart that will fit over my prescription glasses.

Even though Strike King does not advertise their Polarized glasses as OverRx sunglasses because they are not engineered to fit over prescription glasses, I did find a pair that worked for me.

However, these Strike King sunglasses may or may not work for your type of prescription glasses due to size of your lens but don't worry, you're still in luck.

OverRx Sunglasses To Cover Prescription Glasses

I did find two on-line companies that carry some brands of polarized OverRx sunglasses that are engineered and advertised to fit over your prescription glasses.  

FishUSA.com Carries Two Polarized OverRx Sunglass Brands

Cocoons OverRx Sunglasses for $44.95

While both brands of these sunglasses are engineered to be worn over prescription eyewear, they can also be worn as regular sunglasses.

I say check out the Vistana or Cocoons OverRx sunglasses.

Both brands seem to be just what the fishing folks need and remember, you are not trying to impress the fish or your partner.

The Vistana and Cocoons' price is a fraction of the cost compared to the $249.00 I've spent on a pair of sunshades that did not even fit over my prescription glasses.

Bass Pro Shops carry the following OverRx Sunglass Brand. They also carry prescription sunglass brands.

Who Else Makes Sunglasses That Anglers Use?

I am going to give you a list of glasses not in any order, but you will see who has them out on the market: Cocoons, Solar Bat,  Maui Jim, Strike King, and Costa Del Mar.

Several Pros have come out with their brand also.

Regardless What Brand You Choose: Go Polarized

You have got to take care of those baby blues; you only get one set and they can not be replaced.

You can wear those other sun glasses that are cool and the ones you want to impress someone when you are driving or everyday living.

Have given a lot of thought to a good example of what it would be like without Polarized sun glasses and came up with this example:

It is not recommended that you try this, but this is a small example: Look directly into a flash on a camera and flash it about four times and see what you see afterwards...I can promise you it will not be a pretty site. Again, Do not do this; it will cause damage to your eyes. Get the picture?

I put this information out so you can enjoy the outdoors and all that Mother Nature has to offer.

I would not want to think that you could not see this beautiful site because you did not take care of your eyes and decided not to wear sunglasses while fishing.

A little Safety on your part and you will be able to enjoy the Great Outdoors.

Keep the Hooks Wet!

Steve McGoldrick

Visitor Comments

Leave A Comment
Your Name (Required)
Your Email Address (Required - Will Not Be displayed)
Add Your Comments
Enter Verification Code:
Terms of Service Agreement
I have read, understand and agree to the Terms of Service
	© 2006 - 2008 - The Commentator