Polarized Sunglass tint preference...

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

...for the marsh. Which one do you prefer for average conditions like mostly sunny?

 

Kirk

[SmallieBumm 0]

Theres a video on drakemag.com called Heart of The Marsh. Watch it and see what kinda shades those guys have on. Good inspirational flick to watch anyway.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Thanks for the link Smallie, great video. Those are my fishing grounds.

 

I think I can be more specific in my post too. I am wondering mostly about Amber tint. I hear Amber tossed around a lot but most amber lenses I've tried are usually to yellow, almost like shooting glasses and they tend to vary from brand to brand from being yellow to almost brown. So, it seems that the amber tint color is not defined very well.

 

Kirk

[tmc 0]

There is an interview with Capt. Seth Vernon on the Itinerant Angler podcast where he said his preferred lens for fishing inshore redfish is vermilion (he described the color as pink). He said the vermilion lenses highlight redfish in the marshes and grass flats that he fishes. Sounds like this may apply to your situation too.

 

You can listen to the episode here.

[Robert M 0]

I have always heard to use amber/brown on the flats and in skinny water and the blue/grey in open or blue water.

Both types work much better than plain glasses when there is glare on the water.

Your right the ones they call amber vary from nearly low light shooting glasses (Yellow) to dark chocolate brown tones.

 

A while back I picked up some cheap Berkley polarized glasses in a reddish color, medium brown color, grey color and blue color I have not noticed a big difference between any of them wearing them at work and fishing local lakes. May be a function of their cheapness though.

[Tailn'Jax 0]

I've got a pair of Amber Smith's that are great, the only problem is the plastic lenses aren't very durable, and the saltwater really messes them up over time. They have a great warranty though. Those have become my back ups now. I recently bought a pair of Costa 580 glass and they are great. I got the green mirror, which I think are amber base, and they are the best glasses I have ever owned. I don't think the marketing they put behind them is hype, I fish sitting down out of a kayak most of the time, and I am spotting fish that I would never have spotted with my Smith's. If you are going to get a new pair I would definately recommend costas, and PLEASE do not get Ocean Waves, they are based in Jax and I have dealt with them, at the factory, numerous times, and their service is horrible, and their warranty is absolute crap. Costa has an awesome no-questions-asked warranty.

[SmallieBumm 0]

I have Costa 580 ambers and there nutty like a klondike bar. I can see so much more then my buddies can when were out together. They allll want my glasses when they try em on. But its no open water or anything. Just streams and rivers but they've never done me wrong. You can get the 580s in glass or plastic if your worried about corrosion.

[eastern fly 0]

What model are the 580's? I googled it and see a lot of different models.

 

Kevin

[Tailn'Jax 0]

permit

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Eastern, 580 is the name/number for a Costa technology for eliminating yellow light spectrum or something like that. Most if not all the model sunglasses Costa Del Mar makes have an option to get the 580. Go to Costa's website and look at all of the models, click on one and you will see in the side bar where you can click on an arrow that will allow you to pick frame color and then another block that you click on to select the lens tint/style and 580 is usually one of the options (580G is glass lens, 580P is poly lens).

 

Kirk

[eastern fly 0]

Thanks I will look again.

 

Kevin

[Li'lDave 0]

Most of us in the "deep south" wear Spotters... They are fantastic.. I have "thunder" and I think my wife wears "ice"... A few of my mates in the fly club have also had them made to fit their prescription. They are typically a bronze lense, and are great on the flats and streams... and dare I say it they are not bad when the light is a little low as well...

 

I have not had the pleasure of trying a lot of fishing glasses, but these are some of the best I have ever worn.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I like the Smith Optics (also called Action Optics, I believe)with the glass lenses in amber or brown. They're very durable, I can pick up closeouts on E-Bay for less than half what some of the premium brands (translate that to much more about high price than better vision, in my opinion) sell for. Since I'm on the water year 'round and often in rough circumstances the premium brands don't hold up any longer than what I'm buying for a lot less. For those that have never handled more than one or two tarpon at the boat it's not uncommon to take a full on shot to the face from one of them while you're trying to be so, so careful not to hurt them. There's a famous sequence in one of the Walker Key Chronicles tv shows where "Dozer", real name Capt John Donnell, takes a shot to the face that breaks his nose while belly down to release a big tarpon....

 

As I get older I often find that I might go most of a day working shallow fish without using sunglasses at all. I suspect it's more knowing what to look for than the extra seeing ability that good quality shades provide. Of course I'm also grumpier but that just goes with the territory....

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Bob, a friend of mine in Key West, Bubby Rodriguez, had a 80 lb tarpon take his fly ten feet from the boat and immediately went airborne, it came down across his back knocking him down to the deck. He was able to push the fish and deflect it back in to the water before it landed on top of him. He was scratched and pretty banged up for a couple weeks.

Something you don't think about chasing redfish and bass; I sure wish redfish jumped!

 

Kirk

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

To date the biggest I've had jump into the boat was about 60lbs and it was at night. By the time I was able to get that fish back in the water it looked like it had taken a beating... Of course the next week I had to re-fasten the center console on my skiff to the deck and that night my feet needed a few band-aids. Wearing flip flops while tarpon fishing isn't something I'll ever do again. Years ago, back when we routinely pulled big tarpon in the boat for a photo (glad we've quit doing that) I had one get loose for just a moment and it broke three fly rods with just a flip of its tail. They're pretty rough customers at times, big sharks are as well - but much more likely to hit you with their tail than bite you (not that they don't make the effort).

 

What I've found is that when you're on the water day after day things like fancy raingear made with the latest version of Gore-Tex and premium sunglasses just don't hold up very well. I probably look a lot more like those commercial fishermen up north some days than some of the very fashionable anglers on my skiff. Guess it just comes with the territory.

 

Tight Lines

Bob LeMay