What would you say is the most important skill in fishing? The ability to properly tie a fly or bait a hook? Key skills, naturally. Proper casting technique, perhaps? Knowing how to set a hook when the fish strikes? Reeling it in properly without tangling the line? All good choices.

How about the ability to see?

Polarized Brown Sunglass Lenses for Fishing

Vision is one of the most underrated senses we have, and one often taken for granted. Yet proper vision – and the ability to enhance it – can greatly add to the enjoyment and success of outdoor activities. In fishing, this means cutting down on glare cast from the surface of the water, which masks everything under the water line and causes eye strain and potential headaches.

The right pair of sunglasses does far more than simply shade your eyes. It provides eye protection from UV light, as well as protection from airborne objects, like a rogue pole net, a sudden wind-driven seawater mist, or the occasional miscast hook. And if your lenses are polarized, you can actually see through the surface of the water. When sunlight strikes water, it reflects off in horizontal waves, causing blinding flashes of light to strike the naked eye. Polarized lenses filter out these horizontal light rays.

Without polarized sunglasses, looking into lake or seawater is almost like looking into a mirror; glittering light obscures anything below the surface and makes vision uncomfortable. Slip on some polarized sun glasses and the effect is more like looking though a glass-bottom boat. You can see past the surface, and if the water is relatively clear, you can make out underwater objects. Schools of small fish (which attract larger prey) become visible in shallow water, as do rocks, vegetation…any object you may wish to either avoid or investigate for lurking fish. Your sunglasses also become a very useful tool in judging water depth.

Polarized lenses are available in many different colors and shades, all of which serve specific functions. Yellow and amber lenses enhance available light and serve well in low-light conditions; they’ll be most useful around dawn or dusk. A reddish color is also good under the relatively low light of a cloudy day, and will still be helpful when the sun breaks through. Gray works well in transmitting true color to your eye and as an all-around polarized filter.

Brown, however, is the recommended shade for polarized lenses used in fishing. Brown provides the ideal mix of good contrast and color trueness and is the best color for days when the sun is in the moderate-to-bright range. It will serve you well in most of the various light conditions a typical fishing day will present, and works best at filtering sunlight during peak daylight hours.