Close your eyes for a minute and imagine fly fishing without sight. While it is certainly possible to cast, hook, and land fish without the aid of vision, it can be very challenging. Try fishing on a cloudy, moonless night in the back of beyond, and you’ll quickly realize just how much you rely on those gel-filled blobs in your skull. Let’s take a look at some gear we can use to take full advantage of this invaluable sense. The obvious place to start is sunglasses.
Polarization
If you fish, you need polarized lenses. It’s that simple. Without digging into the laws of physics, when light is reflected off water, it becomes polarized. As you have probably guessed, polarized lenses absorb this polarized reflected light, which significantly reduces surface glare and allows you to see into the water. If you aren’t sure the lenses in a pair of sunglasses are polarized, there’s a simple way to find out. Rotate the glasses (like the hands of a clock) in front of a computer monitor. If the glasses go dark as you rotate them, they are polarized. If there isn’t a monitor nearby, get hold of another pair of glasses you know are polarized. Hold the lenses of both pairs face to face and look through both lenses at a lightbulb or the sky. Rotate one pair, and if the lenses go dark, then both are polarized. Did your fishing glasses pass the test? If not, it is time to buy a pair that will.
Lens Color and Nanometers
What we perceive as colors are actually different wavelengths of light, waves so small they are measured in billionths of a meter, or nanometers (nm). The human eye perceives light from violet (400 nm) to red (750 nm), with peak sensitivity in the green (550 nm) region. As you have no doubt noticed, the lenses of sunglasses come in a variety of colors, based on the dyes or coatings incorporated in or applied to them. Having a selection of quality sunglasses with tints to match specific fishing situations is certainly a nice idea. If you fish from Kenai to Key West and
can afford several pairs of sunglasses, by all means go for it. The ability to see more clearly will make your days on the water more enjoyable and productive. If you don’t have the resources to own multiple pairs of sunglasses, there’s no need to fret. In reality, one pair (or perhaps two pairs) of polarized sunglasses should cover 99plus percent of your fly-fishing needs.
Big-game anglers swear by gray lenses, because they don’t block blue light, allowing them to see deep into clear offshore waters. However, fly fishing as practiced by most folks is a freshwater or inshore sport, where even in the cleanest waters, you’ll be lucky if you can see down 20 feet. And let’s not forget that the backs of most freshwater fish are typically green or brown, not blue. Last, but certainly not least, in most bodies of fresh water, minute particles and minerals reflect blue light, creating a mistlike haze in the water. To see fish and fish-holding stuff such as weed beds and rocks, your sunglasses need to reduce or eliminate this blue-light haze while passing through every possible photon of green light through red light. Take a look at the transmission spectrum for lenses with an amber or copper tint, and you’ll notice they do exactly that. With amber lenses, blue light is typically reduced by 50 percent, but 90 percent or more of the green-through-red light passes through. If you have enough money for only one pair of quality sunglasses, go with an amber or copper tint, and you won’t be disappointed.
Glass or Plastic?
Glass is generally optically superior to plastic. Being harder, it is also less likely to get scratched. Viewed from this perspective, glass lenses would seem to be the obvious choice for fly fishers. But from a practical perspective, I feel plastic is actually a better lens material. The optics of quality plastic sunglasses are pretty darn good. I used to have 20:10 vision, which meant my sight was significantly better than the 20:20 average. Over the years, I have used lots of sunglasses in real-world fishing situations, including everything from clear high-altitude lakes and bonefish flats to tannin-stained rivers and murky farm ponds. The honest truth is I couldn’t see any difference in image fidelity between plastic and glass.
Lens quality isn’t the only consideration. Whether we like to admit it or not, fishing isn’t always kind to eyewear. In moments of carelessness or excitement, we drop sunglasses on rocks or boat decks. Subject to such abuse, glass will sometimes crack, but plastic simply bounces. I know this from personal experience, and no doubt many readers do, too. Plastic lenses are also lighter, which means they tend to leave less of a dent in your nose after a long, hot day on the water. So by all means get glass lenses if you want the very best optical quality and have a Zen master’s control of your body and emotions. If not, go plastic.
Of course, this doesn’t mean any pair of plastic sunglasses will do the trick. Dime-store polarized sunglasses can have optical defects that will cause eye strain and likely result in a pounding headache. They also have a nasty habit of breaking at a hinge or the nose bridge. By all means buy a pair as an emergency backup, but make sure your go-to sunglasses come from a reputable company. A well-made pair of sunglasses will last several years, so the amortized cost is actually just pennies a day.
Peripheral Light
Now that we have covered the basics of sunglasses, let’s look at some other ways to enhance vision. You may have noticed that light sneaks through the top and sides of some sunglasses, creating annoying reflections off the back of the lenses. For casual use, this isn’t a big deal. But once you get on the water, those reflections can be really irritating. Several manufacturers make sunglasses that fit close to the face, which helps reduce peripheral light and really does improve image quality.
If your sunglasses don’t block this stray light, there are a couple of simple fixes. The first and most obvious solution is to wear a hat or cap with a brim that has a dark underside. The top will stop light from above, and the dark underside will absorb any reflected light coming off the water. If your favorite fishing cap doesn’t have a dark underside, you can easily fix that with a dark marker pen or fabric paint. An added benefit is that a dark underside absorbs UV rays reflected up from the water. According to researchers, dark blue is the best color for absorbing UV. A blue Sharpie turns most light-colored fabrics dark blue.
To deal with light that sneaks in behind the sides of the glasses, you can buy slide-on side shields or fabricate a pair from any flexible plastic. If all else fails, simply hold your hands against the sides of the glasses. You’ll be amazed at how much these simple fixes improve your vision on bright days.
Low-Light Conditions
Periods of low light such as dawn, dusk, or heavy cloud cover are often the times when fish are feeding confidently. Under these conditions, most sunglasses will block too much light and can be a handicap. No amount of squinting will help you see that tiny speck you call a dry fly or the small indicator that may or may not have gotten pulled under. There are two solutions.
The easiest and perhaps obvious answer is to use sunglasses with photochromic lenses. Through the magic of chemistry, these lenses darken when exposed to sunlight and fade to clear when the sun sets or the clouds roll in. You will lose some of the contrast-enhancing effects of the tint when the lenses go clear, but at least you will be able to see the huge trout that just refused your fly. These glasses will cost you a bit more than regular fixed-tint lenses, but the extra cost may be worth it.
There is another option if you aren’t ready to cough up a bunch of Jacksons for a pair of photochromic sunglasses. It involves a trip to the local hardware store, which, let’s face it, most of us frequent on a weekly basis anyway. What you are looking for is a pair of quality safety glasses. That’s right, the nerdy things you’d never be seen dead wearing if they weren’t mandated by the health-and-safety officer. Polycarbonate-based safety glasses are cheap, lightweight, and very effective. I have several pairs that I use for morning surf sessions and evening caddis/Hex hatches. I love yellow-tinted safety glasses. The total elimination of blue light does mess up color vision a bit, but this is more than made up for by the increased contrast. Everything seems so much brighter and better defined, you’ll wonder how you ever saw anything before.
Of course, another solution to lowlight fishing is to take your sunglasses off. This does have some potential downsides, however.
Eye Protection
Fishing isn’t a particularly dangerous sport when compared to Buzkashi and Hoi Phet (look them up), but it does pose a very real threat to your eyes. A 2005 retrospective analysis of the United States Eye Injury Registry found that out of 732 cases of sports-related eye injury, almost 20 percent occurred while fishing. Most fishing-related eye injuries are due to impact from things like sinkers and bobbers, but hooks flying at speed are clearly capable of penetrating an eyeball. Even if you don’t spear your eye, you can still scratch the cornea, and the impact of a hook or split shot can result in hemorrhaging of blood vessels. While not as gory as penetration, both of these injuries require prompt medical attention. That will certainly screw up a casual trip to a local creek or lake, but what if you are off the beaten path and hours away from the nearest medical establishment? All of this unpleasantness can be avoided by wearing sunglasses or safety glasses.
Ultraviolet Light
It should come as no surprise to anyone in California that too much ultraviolet (UV) light can be bad for your health. This is just as true for your eyes as it is for your skin. Ultraviolet light is divided into three subcategories (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C) according to its wavelength, but let’s keep things simple and just lump them all together. Long-term exposure to UV light can result in cataracts, macular degeneration, and cancer. In addition, a number of medications can make your eyes more sensitive to damage from UV light, increasing the risk of certain eye diseases.
Fly fishers spend a lot of time outdoors, often on rivers and lakes in the foothills and mountains. Because there is less atmosphere to absorb the UV rays at higher altitudes, exposure levels increase. For every 3,000 feet of elevation, you increase UV levels by 10 percent. That means a weekend trip from the Bay Area to the Pit River will bump UV exposure by almost 14 percent. In addition, you likely spend a lot of time looking directly at the water, which adds another 3 to 13 percent of reflected UV to the equation.
What if it is cloudy? Doesn’t that reduce the amount of UV exposure? A bit, but the fact is that more than 50 percent of the UV reaching your eyes is from scattering and cloud reflection. And wouldn’t you know it, because of its shorter wavelength, UV scatters more readily than visible light.
To reduce the amount of UV light frying your eyes, you need sunglasses that provide 99 to 100 percent UV protection. The best way to ensure this is to buy from reputable companies. Many cheap sunglasses on drugstore racks will also block all UV light, but beware of deceptive labeling.
Perhaps you already have a pair of sunglasses that you like, but don’t know if they block UV light. There’s a relatively simple way to check. Purchase a black light from a local hardware store. Blacklight is another name for UV-A, the dominant type of UV we get from the sun. Black-light flashlights are commonly used to help folks locate things such as pet urine on carpets or scorpions in crawl spaces. Simple LED-based black-light flashlights cost under $20, and you can get black-light CFL bulbs for under five bucks at your local hardware store. Grab the black light, your sunglasses, a driver’s license or credit card, and head into a dark room. Shine the light on the card, and you’ll notice that a formerly invisible security image appears. To test the sunglasses, simply shine the light through one of the lenses at the card. If the security image appears, the sunglasses do not provide UV protection. It’s time to buy a pair of sunglasses that do.
If you are feeling adventurous, take a black light into your backyard or along a river, pond, or lake at night. You’ll be amazed at how many natural things biofluoresce under UV light. The SyFy Channel looks pretty tame by comparison.
High-Energy Visible Light
Some research suggests high-energy visible light (HEV) may increase your long-term risk of macular degeneration, a disease that destroys the central portion of the retina. HEV is short-wavelength light (400 to 500 nm) at the blue and violet end of the spectrum. Glasses that block HEV are sometimes referred to as “blue blockers.” Not all sunglasses block HEV, so read the manufacturers lens specs before you part with your hard-earned cash. If you want to check your favorite pair of sunglasses, there’s a really simple test. All you need is a sunlit room and a CD disc. Place the CD in the sunlight so a circular rainbow is displayed against a white wall or piece of white paper. Now look through the glasses at the blue/violet section of the rainbow. It will disappear if the glasses block HEV light.
Magnification
Do you have trouble tying on anything smaller than a 4/0 Deceiver? Welcome to presbyopia, yet another irritating malady associated with getting older. Most folks take care of this simply by donning reading glasses. I’m wearing a pair as I write this. However, I don’t like carrying a lot of extra stuff when I go fishing. Extra face furniture is a hassle I can do without. Plus, taking glasses off and putting them, especially when wading, is a great way to lose them. I’m betting the bottom of the state’s rivers and lakes are littered with hundreds of thousands of pairs of glasses.
A number of manufacturers produce sunglasses with magnifiers located on the lower edge of the lens, and these are well worth the investment. If you aren’t ready to splash some cash on sunglasses with built-in magnifiers, there are a couple of options. Clip-on magnifiers are very popular. Attached directly to sunglasses or the brim of a hat, they can be quickly flipped down when needed. Another option is to purchase Hydrotac magnifiers. At just $15, these wonderful little reusable lenses turn any pair of sunglasses or safety glasses into bifocals. I have some on my safety glasses, and they have made rerigging in dimly lit hours almost bearable.
