When it comes to the act of fishing, any serious fisherman will tell you that wearing polarized sunglasses is a must, especially for anglers who “sight fish” in any way. This would include ultralight trout fishermen, fly fishermen, many bass fishermen, saltwater flats anglers and generally anyone who want to have the ability to see into the water that they are fishing, rather than having to deal with the glare that is produced by the sun refracting off of the water that you are attempting to catch fish in.
The choices when it comes to polarized sunglasses for fishing can be as vast as the options available on a new car, but the fact of the matter is for the serious angler a quality pair of polarized glasses is something that they need to have. The key word in this statement is quality, because every pair of inexpensive ($20 or less) polarized sunglasses that I have ever come in contact with weren’t worth the cheap plastic they were manufactured from. The point is that if a little more money is invested into a quality pair of polarized fishing glasses they will not only look and perform well, they will also last for many years of fishing. I know this fact from personal experience, because I followed this advice six years ago and invested $120 in a pair of polarized glasses that I use to this very day every time that I go fishing.
While the best polarized sunglasses for fishing are going to vary from individual to individual depending on his or her favorite species and style of fishing, below I am going to outline a few of the more popular and effective choices available to anglers.
- Typhoon Polarized Glasses – Equipped with AquaView Hydrophobic Polarized technology, the lenses in Typhoon Sunglasses are nothing short of amazing. They easily repel water, cancel particle-attracting static and resist oily fingerprints. Typhoon makes quality polarized fishing glasses that are surprisingly affordable as well.
- Wiley X Fishing Glasses – Bold styling, the light- and wind-reducing wide temples, tand no-slip rubberized nose grips coupled with virtually unbreakable triloid-nylon frames. Wiley X has many models of quality fishing glasses that will fit right in no matter what style of fishing that you prefer most. While these glasses are a bit more expensive, they are worth every penny and last for a very long time.
- Smith Action Optics – Smiths optics polarized glasses are designed from an angler’s perspective to provide the finest in performance, fit, comfort and style. Frames utilize the finest in design, materials and workmanship. Smith lenses use our superior Tapered Lens Technology™ for all-day optical comfort and clarity. While these are the most expensive option being outlined here, they are by far some of the highest quality polarized fishing glasses on the market today.
The bottom line is that if you are in the market for the best polarized sunglasses for fishing the best choice could very well be among the aforementioned choices.
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com a website focused on river and stream fishing with a focus on fishing for trout. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and has spent much of that time fishing for the beautiful fish known as trout.