Fishing glasses?

[MuskieBait]

Sunglasses, especially polarized sunglasses, are not fashion statements.

If you fish long days like I often do, the sunglasses will protect your eyes from UV damage. Fishing a whole day in full sun, your eyes will be exposed to a lot of UV rays and the amount is even increased by the reflection from water or ice/snow.

Aside from the health benefits, anyone who doesn't wear glasses normally will receive the added benefits of eye protection from errant casts. This is especially important for fly anglers, but it is also wise for regular anglers since lures and rigs can often fly straight back into your face when you free them from snags.

Polarized sunglasses will cut down the glare from the water and allow you to see into the water. People often think the benefit is for you to see fish. Sure, that is important, but the primary benefit for me is to be able to see fish habitat like weed clumps, holes in the weedbed, sunken logs, the edges between bottom types (mud, sand, gravel), dropoffs...etc. Once you can find fish habitat, the fish will not be far away. Plus, if you can see these areas clearly, you can also identify where you need to cast and work your lures not only to get it close to fish holding areas, but to avoid a path your lure may take that would cause it to snag. If you can see a pile of branches and there is one branch that sticks up high, you can adjust your retrieve to avoid the branch.

Of course, it is good to see fish...not only to confirm that they are in the area, but to see clearly how a fish reacts to your baits and presentation. It is more important to understand what fish don't like and then figure out what they prefer.

And if you fish in a river by wading, polarized glasses will allow you to see the bottom of the river so you can see deep holes, big boulders, logs and branches that would present as a hazard for wading. As such, it is a safety piece of equipment.

Thus, it is absolutely necessary in my mind.