There are a few things in fishing that are absolutely required to have success. You obviously need a rod and reel. And I would put good fishing line ahead of both of those. From there the absolute requirements start to diminish. But I would argue that a pair of sunglasses is an absolute necessity as well. And I'm to the point now where I would argue you need more than one pair a necessity as well. That's why I tell people you should own at least two pairs of fishing sunglasses. Let me explain.
Fishing sunglasses not only make fishing easier, but they also offer protection and longevity to your fishing. Your eye health is paramount to a long life on the water. While skin protection from the sun gets all the attention these days, eye protection deserves equal attention. Macular degeneration, eye cancers, photokeratitis, and cataracts are all eye conditions that can all be attributed to exposure to harmful UV rays.
Folks will tell you things like they never look directly into the sun, but they often don't realize that they are looking into the water, and the sun is reflecting directly into their eyes as they do this bouncing the UV rays into their eyes. So eye protection actually becomes infinitely more important when you are on our around water and snow.
Most anglers have know problem buying six or seven combos to handle a variety of fishing situations and tackle boxes full of lures as "back ups" to their proven favorites. Yet they will often only have one pair of sunglasses and be stuck in the situation of having left that one pair in another vehicle in a boat or just lost them. And then they are on the water with no eye protection.
But that's not the only reason anglers should own more than one pair of sunglasses.
WHY OWN MORE THAN ONE PAIR OF FISHING SUNGLASSES
Obviously forgetting your sunglasses is a big problem and one that is easily remedied by having a backup pair. If you're like us you keep a pair in your tow vehicle, an extra pair in your boat, and even an extra pair in your tackle bag. To make sure you are never caught without a pair of sunglasses.
Another reason to own a second pair is for different lens configurations. This refers to usage of base colors tints and finishes to give anglers the best view into the water in a variety of different water types. Seeing into the water when it's cloudy is a lot harder with a blue or green base than it is with a yellow base like in our new OX2 Low Light Lens for example.
Seeing into the blue ocean waters requires a different type lens than seeing into the green freshwaters of your favorite highland impoundment. There is a lot of crossover so you can still cut glare in see into different waters with any good base and color combination. But these combination are optimized to work for certain types of waters. So having one for say bright freshwater days and another pair for low light days is a good starting point.
Sunglasses are one of the number one pieces of fishing gear to get lost, next to maybe pliers and clippers. So knowing you are more likely to lose a pair of sunglasses to damage, being blown out on a run, and other extenuating circumstances is reason enough to have a back up pair.
Size of frames can also be why anglers will own two pairs. We are never outside without polarized high-end sunglasses. That means driving to and from the lake, on vacation, grilling out back or wherever we need to go outside. So a lot of people will have a pair for driving a pair for fishing.
As fishermen, we want sunglasses that offer the most protection, widest viewing angles and block out the most rear, top and sidelight so we have perfected vision into the waters we are fishing. This often yields more fish catches and better casting by nothing more than being able to see what we are fishing better. So I might have a big blocky frame like the Mako XL for fishing but then keep a smaller frame in my tow vehicle for just running around and doing errands outside.
WHAT PREVENTS A SECOND PAIR OF FISHING SUNGLASSES
This is an easy one. Simply put, sunglasses are expensive. Yes they are necessary gear for fishing in our opinion but not everyone can afford to have two pairs of $250 high end fishing sunglasses. It's one of the reasons we started Island Optics. To offer anglers super high quality fishing sunglasses at a more digestible cost for your every day angler.
What that means is you can buy two pairs of Island Optics for less than one pair of those more popular brand names while still having fishing sunglasses equal, or in some cases, superior to those other brands. So we try to embrace giving anglers what they actually want and need without breaking their budgets for fishing sunglasses.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXTRA PAIRS OF FISHING SUNGLASSES
Based on what we've discussed here, we advise getting a large frame with high sides and big viewing angle like our Mako XL or Angler sunglasses. And then another pair that can be your other water activities, backup pair or just your running around town pair. My fishing sunglasses options lean more towards function, while my running around sunglasses lean more towards cosmetics and aesthetics.
And many have taken to getting prescription sunglasses now and wearing contacts a lot less for better eye health as well. We offer one of the most competitive offerings for prescription fishing sunglasses you will find anywhere. So you owe it to yourself to make sure your eyes are always protected on and off the water.
