Why Should I Wear Polarized Glasses While Trout Fishing?

For people who have never worn a pair of polarized sunglasses while fishing a question that is often

asked is why exactly it is that a pair of polarized sun glasses should be worn? I know this is a question that I used to ask myself all the time, right up until I actually purchased and used a pair of quality polarized fishing glasses. Since doing that, you would be hard pressed to find me on the water fishing without a pair of polarized sun glasses covering my eyes.

The bottom line is that if your favorite style of fishing involves sight fishing in any way such as; bass fishing over spawning beds, drift fishing live bait in a river or stream, or fly fishing in any way a pair of polarized sunglasses are one of the most important pieces of fishing gear to have. So why exactly is this the case?

The main difference between regular sunglasses and sun glasses that have polarized lenses is that the polarization cuts through the glare created when the sun refracts horizontally off of the water or other objects, enabling you to see into the water rather than seeing a ton of glare. Without getting into the science of polarization and boring everyone to death, the point is that wearing polarized fishing glasses is key to fishermen because by wearing them the glare is eliminated and you can then see into the water (for lack of a better, more concise description). Not only that, but keeping the glare from entering your eyes is good for the health of your eyes themselves.

For many styles of fishing, such as the ones mentioned above, polarized fishing glasses are a "must have" item. There is however one caveat to polarized sunglasses whether they are being used for fishing or any other outdoor activity and that caveat is that when it comes to polarized sunglasses you get what you pay for. In other words if you head out to your local mall or super center and buy a cheap pair of polarized sunglasses they more than likely aren't going to perform very well and leave you disappointed. No matter what type of product you are referring to, quality products are more expensive and when you are talking about polarized sun glasses this rule certainly holds true.  

I used to try to buy polarized glasses for twenty five bucks or less and found that they were terrible and didn't "work" very well, if at all.  As a matter of fact the cheap glasses that I would buy used to distort my vision to the point that I thought polarized glasses were some sort of joke.  Then a fishing friend convinced me invest in a quality pair of polarized fishing glasses (that cost me $150 by the way) and I realized what all of the "hubbub" was about. The point is that when it comes to polarized sun glasses expect to "invest" $50 to $150 and you will be extremely happy with your decision because not only will the glasses look good, but they will perform as they should as well.

As to the answer to the question posed in the title of this article, "should I wear polarized fishing glasses", the final answer is a resounding YES.