Polarized glasses

[Danny L]

Looking to pick up a pair of BodyGlove or Bill Dance polarized sunglasses from BPS on the weekend as I have never used them before - know all the spots on my home lake so I never had a need for them.

I know alot of guys use them to hunt roaming fish but do they work as well as they say they do on eliminating the glare off the surface of the water...?

What kind do you use and what colour lens works best?

[Woody]

I'll listen in on the answers to this, good question!

[KenReece]

I just won a pair of Haber's from North American Fishing Club, they where gray tinted. These are the best glasses I've ever used and it makes a HUGE difference. I've owned many glasses(polarized) and it is a must when fishing for me. One of the most important reasons for wearing them is protection from the sun, but I'll not get into that part of it. Most important things for me in these glasses are they are durable, scratch resistant, and good nose bridge. These last pair I have(Habers) are almost indestructible and has a comfortable bridge to not rub your nose wrong all day.

No matter what type of water glasses help you out greatly, if you are on clear or semi-clear lake you will not believe how well you can see the bottom and really be able to see the fish in their habitat and be able to make decisions on how to fish from that. On stained lakes(which I fish the most in Canada) they are a must because you can see things that are impossible to see without them. Sometimes you might not be able to make out things perfect but just seeing big rock,deeper weedbed is all you need to get those extra fish you might have missed. Many times if you are cruising the shallows you can see fish(a dark shape) moving along, this brings in sight fishing which can be some of the most enjoyable fishing there is.

Not sure what type you are looking at, but like most things you get what you pay for. Not saying you have to spend alot of money, because I have a decent pair that I bought from Wal-Mart for $30.00 that are a good back up. Just try them on first and make sure they are comfortable.

[Master Basser]

I have a pair of Rapala`s from Canadian Tire, and even though they are not the best...they are when it comes to helpin me with shore fishing.  If I didn`t have these, then the success I have had this year, last year wouldn`t be 1/2 as good.  Pick yourself up a pair, but don`t get these ones...I will still complain about em even though I love em...they pull my hair out, thats one bad thing. The nose gaurd rubber is cheap...but they still help me catch fish.  BUY BUY BUY!

[szomo.ca]

If its a cloudy day i'll have grey lenses . If its sunny i have auburn lenses.

I just find it works well in those conditions ...

My glasses are Costa Del Mar Rincon with 580 lenses auburn
and Oakley Gascan - White with a grey lense

[KenReece]

Szomo.ca,

I'll have to try out the auburn on a sunny day compared to my gray tints. My back up is Auburn so I'll see if they do work better on sunny days.

[szomo.ca]

i just find that grey is great over all ... and auburn doesnt work well in low light condition like cloud ... atleast for me ...

grey an over all good choice ... i guess depends on peoples eyes .. costa del mar can throw you off cause their 580 lenses will say something like green or blue glass ... when thats really just the tint on the front and nothing to do wit the glass

[ST]

picked up a $13 pair from canadian tire last yr...works great.

[Clive]

Definitely a great question, and every fisherman should have a set of polarized glasses! I've had notoriously bad luck breaking sunglasses, so I usually stay below the $30 range. If you have the funds, spend a little more for sure, you will notice a difference.

Martin (szomo) recommended the Costa Del mar glasses, and I have heard nothing but good things about them.

The glasses I use have an auburn lens and they work great in the slightly stained waters I fish in Nova Scotia.

[Danny L]

Picked up a cheap pair of BillDance floating polarized sunglasses at BPS on friday on my way up to the cottage - they didnt have the BodyGlove glasses I wanted, apparently they dont stock everything in there store that the website offers JSYK.

The glasses i got had grey lenses, water clarity on my lake is clear, the sun was blazing without a cloud in the sky all weekend. When the sun is high the glasses really do help with cutting the glare off the surface of the water and allowed me to see bottom up to 10' deep and roughly 15-20' out from the boat. However as the sun lowered later in the day and especially right at sundown the glasses did absolutely nothing for cutting the glare off the surface of the water. I was unhappy with my purchase so on the way back home I stopped into BPS and returned them for a full refund.

 Further investigation proved that these glasses are also available in a amber lens for low light conditions. Tried a few blue as well as green lenses from some of the other inexpensive glasses available but they didnt cut the glare as much as the ones I had purchased. It was difficult to determine just how well any of the glasses would work as they dont have much water in the store to test them with. I walked over to the mall entrance with a handful of glasses as they have a few small pools there with HID lights above so I used that to test some of the glasses.
Other notes I made were that they didnt carry any glasses in a vermilon lens colour (apparently the best for sport fishing) - the old adage pays true when purchasing polarized glasses as well - you get what you pay for, so I guess Im still in the market for some better than average performing glasses and will have to spend alot more than $25 for a good pair.

[Whopper]

I've been a fanatic about wearing polarized sunglasses for years and tried everything from $10 specials to $150 a pair
I'm hard on them but I've been wearing a pair of Ono's for the past four years and love them. They have a built in set of readers which us old guys need  .
There are only advantages to wearing polarized sunglasses, protection from the UV rays, flying hooks and most of all being able to see on bright sunny days.
I wore the Bill Dance set for years and like the fact they had side shields also.
Best advice I can give ya is find a pair you like and wear them.
I've also learned a lesson that will save you money in the long run, buy a set of lanyards so you don't lose a set to the bottom of the lake

[ctom]

 I bought a Berkely pair for $5 at WalMart, and they work great! Really helpful for eliminating glare. The lenses are a little flimsy, but hey! that's a mighty nice price.

[Woody]

£2.50 for a pair of Specs?...You can't knock 'em for that money!!!

[Adam]

I'm in the market for a new pair, for backup, myself, this thread has been very useful.  At the moment I am using a cheap (1,800 yen, about 20 Yankee dollars) off-the-rack pair with dark grey lenses that does the job okay for my fishing.  I share Clive's way of thinking when it comes to glasses as they get bashed about a lot and put through a lot of use.
However, I would definitely recommend their use to anyone who hasn't tried them yet, aside from their very real medical benefits, after I first tried such glasses I couldn't ever consider fishing without them again.

However as the sun lowered later in the day and especially right at sundown the glasses did absolutely nothing for cutting the glare off the surface of the water.

That's not really the fault of the glasses.  By definition, the lenses are directional and give you optimal polarisation when the sun is middle distance from the horizon.  When the sun is very high or low in the sky, the glasses will give less polarisation. At sunset you will get weird reflections off the waves and actually your visibility on the horizon is probably worse.  Not sure if more expensive or special low-light glasses will make a difference, though, as I've never worn a pair; please let me know the make if you find a pair that does.
Cheers,
Adam

[Whopper]

I knew better than to reply to this thread

I broke my Ono's this weekend