This is a question that many anglers ask, and I simply wanted to outline some of the advantages to wearing polarized sun glasses. Just so you know, this is coming from a guy who didn’t wear polarized sun glasses for the first part of his fishing life. I didn’t think I needed them, because I caught plenty of fish without using them for so long. Besides, I never quite realized how they would actually help me.
Then one day my fishing partner hooked a very large rainbow trout. He always wore polarized sunglasses and was wearing them on this day. He fought the fish for almost an hour, before he had the large trout close enough to net. The trout was keeping it’s nose buried in the bottom as large trout usually do. Once it was getting close my fishing partner started screaming, “Oh my God, it’s huge!” “Can you see that fish?”, he kept screaming. I couldn’t see the trout because of the sun reflecting off of the water. Then he pulled his glasses off of his face and threw them to me to look. I was flabbergasted! Not only at the size of the trout, but at how I could suddenly see the fish, when I couldn’t before putting the polarized glasses on my face.
Although the trout’s teeth broke the four pound test before I had a chance to net it, this experience opened my eyes as to the value of wearing polarized sun glasses. So I went out and bought a pair the next chance I had. The problem was that as I am known to do at times, I tried to save money and buy cheap a cheap pair. The pair that I purchased made everything look distorted, not at all like my friends made thing look. When I asked my friend about this he informed me that good polarized sun glasses aren’t cheap and that I was going to have spend a little bit of money to get a good pair. So I took his advice, because I had seen them in action, and bought a good pair of polarized sun glasses.
Now I don’t fish without them and am still amazed that I fished for so long denying the truth, just to save a few bucks. The good thing about my glasses now is that I’ve had them for over 7 years! I found out that if you spend a decent amount of money on them, you take really good care of them. And I suppose if you amortize the cost of those glasses, they weren’t ant more expensive than the cheap ones I bought. Imagine that!
So, to answer the question do you have to wear polarized sunglasses while fishing? The answer is no, you surely don’t have to, but once you give them a shot you won’t use anything else. Although polarized sun glasses are great for helping you see fish under the water, I think I like them more for seeing structure under the water. In the river I love to fish, there are fallen trees and branches all over the place. Being able to see those underwater obstructions and being able to fish and/or play you fish accordingly is a huge advantage to me.
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!