By Andrew Marr
“What kind of sunglasses are you wearing?”
I’m not sure which fishing related question I’ve been asked the most times while working as a professional fishing guide? My job involves being asked lots of questions on any given day. Anything from how to cast, what lure to use, why are we doing this or that, when is lunch, how many fish did we catch today and so on and so forth? My job is an endless line of questions from guests, I always try my best to answer, explain and inform my guests when the quiz me. There is one question though that repeats itself more than any other, “What kind of sunglasses are you wearing?”. It gets phrased differently and comes in different forms, “Man you must have really good sunglasses to have seen that fish, I can’t see a thing! What are those glasses by the way?” “How can you tell which way that fish is facing? Must be your sunglasses!” In this article I’ll dive into the answer and background to the question that seems to be on the mind of the vast majority of people that have stepped into my guide boat over the years.
Carpenters have lots of different hammers, athletes have a wide array of baseball bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks, artists the paintbrush, the examples of professional occupations and their required tools are endless. These are things required to do a job or compete in a sport, they are simply must have items to participate. Sunglasses to the fisherman are no different and should really be considered an essential item in any anglers kit. Much like a hammer to a carpenter though there are different types used to perform different tasks. For the average guy doing work around his house a one size fits all approach will often work, one hammer will do most everything required for the weekend fixer upper. It may not be the optimal choice for every task but its can get the job done. A professional builder however will have many different types of hammers or screwdrivers for different specific tasks that allows them to perform their job a little better. This is how how I view sunglasses and their important function to allow a fishing guide to perform to the best of their ability! There are many items in an anglers boat like fish finders, pliers, rods, reels, line, hooks, anchors etc. Each item plays a role and serves to function in a way that enable anglers to preform to the best of their ability.
At the lodge where I work we are fortunate to have owners who take great pride in what they do, are constantly pushing the boundaries to improve their guests experience, and train their employees as best they can. This philosophy is what brought them to invite a company rep from Costa Del Mar by the name of Peter Vandergrift, to come do some fishing and explain the science bind the glasses he represents.
All the guides got to participate in the presentation about their products, it was truly an eye opening experience, pun intended. It was fascinating to hear about how the company was started almost 40 years ago by a group of anglers in Florida who spent their time chasing various species of bill fish way out in the ocean. These guys would spend day after day, trolling the vast open oceans in search of their quarry. In doing so, they soon realized that the sunglasses they were wearing just weren’t up to the task. Little protection from the sun over long periods, eye fatigue, high levels of light transmission trough the lenses to the eye, were all common complaints. Hours upon hours of staring into an ocean that was relentlessly redirecting sun right into their eyes only drove the point home, they knew they needed better sunglasses, but none were available. It was this situation that gave way to them starting their own sunglasses company, the Costa Del Mar sunglasses company was born.
The first lens they developed was their blue lens which cuts dramatically down the amount of light that is able to pass through the lens. These lenses finally allowed the company founders to spend the long hours on the ocean, staring out towards the horizon looking for baits and telltale fins breaking the surface. Eye fatigue an was no longer an issue, the glare was cut back and they could see what they had been missing.
Fast forward some thirty odd years, Costa Peter Vandergrift was staying with us at the lodge, was out with his guide, chasing pike on the fly in shallow bays.
The rep turned to his guide and said “I see your wearing the blue lens Costa glasses, how come?”
The guides response, “Well I think they are great, I’m a blue lens guy, always have been!”
Little did the guide know that his career as a guide/angler was about to change for the better. Peter-“Here, try copper lenses on, they have a lighter lens that will better suit what we are doing.”
Upon the guide trying them on he exclaimed, “Holy crap I can see see everything now!!! What are these lenses? I need these!!” The change was dramatic and instant.
So what was the difference you might ask? Could a different lens in the same frames make that big a difference to an angler or guide? A thousand times YES! You see the guide was wearing the same lenses that Costa created for those long day of staring into the sun off the coast of Florida all those years ago. Those lenses are ideal for the function and specific purpose they serve, blocking out as much sun and glare as possible, reducing eye fatigue while allowing for maximum visibility under extreme conditions like the Ocean. Now for a pike guide in northern Saskatchewan, fishing a shallow sandy bay under bright sunny conditions, those same lenses will work, they just aren’t the best lens option available. Sure a guide or angler in this situation will still likely have greater vision than you would without them, compared to how well one could see with a lighter lens though, the difference is like night and day, literally.
What Costa has done is develop 7 individual types of lenses that allow different levels of light to pass through them, for any light condition and style of fishing. Following is a link to their page explaining it in their own words, its well worth taking the time to read through!
Costa 580 Lenses | Costa Del Mar
So when the guide from earlier took off his Blue 580 G lenses with 10% allowable light transmission, then switched to Copper Silver Mirror 580 G lenses with 12% allowable light transmission the effect was indeed instant. Lets just say the guide is no longer a “blue lens guy”, unless he is driving across the big lake on bright sunny days.
I myself own several pairs of blue lens 580G Costas glasses and still wear them, just rarely while fishing pike. For many seasons now I have always traveled with at minimum of 2-3 pairs of sunglasses in the boat, each equipped with various lens types. Having access to different lens options while on the water allows me to adjust on the fly to any change in light conditions.
The lenses 3 main lenses I use while guiding are the following, as described by the Costa Del Mar website directly:
Gray Mirror
A good everyday choice for activities on the water and land.
- 12% light transmission
- All-around activities
- Natural contrast
Copper
Cuts glare for eye comfort in a variety of situations, from sight fishing to driving.
- 12% light transmission
- Excellent for sight fishing
- Everyday activities
- Most versatile
- Cloudy days
Sunrise Silver Mirror*
Extended wear lens. The perfect tool for dusk and dawn performance.
- 25% light transmission
- Activities during sunrise/sunset
- Heightened contrast
- Low light/overcast conditions
*These lenses are not suitable for driving.
As you can see the two main variables are the lens color, and percentage of light transmission that can pass through them. Each has an outline for the function, and conditions they should be matched with. The Sunrise Silver lens in particular, are unlike any other glasses I have ever worn, I consider them a true game changer in low light conditions. It was not uncommon that at times closer to sunrise or sun set I would have better visibility with no glasses, compared to my darker tinted glasses, with lower levels of light transmission. The Sunrise Silver Mirror lenses from costa eliminates that problem. Even on very dark overcast days in stained water these glasses provided the ability to spot fish at a distance. There is no longer a time on the water when light conditions can’t be matched with proper eyewear.
Some experiences I think highlight just how vital and helpful the right eyewear truly is. I love sight fishing pike on the fly, getting to watch pike chase and eat is a thrill I never tire of. Spotting a great big pike, casting to it, having it turn, close in on the fly and then inhale it is exhilarating! When you spot a big pike laying there, sunning itself, it is of vital importance to try to establish which direction the pike is facing, prior to casting at it, I can not overstate this enough! You just have to try to lead these fish with your cast, if you pick the wrong end your going to spook the pike the majority of the time, blowing the opportunity. Pike don’t seem to like vibrations behind them, this is due to the fact that when bigger pike are being territorial, they often nip each other on the tail. When pike sense vibration behind them, they can panic and flee. Countless times I have witnessed errant casts that land over the middle or behind a pike, they regularly spook as a result. You will catch the odd one but it is certainly the exception instead of the rule.
Even though when guiding I don’t fish, I still get a huge thrill from talking a guest through the process of locating, casting at and catching a pig pike on the fly.
“Pike at 11 o’clock, 40 feet, facing left, nice cast, let it sink, ok it turned, now strip, slow it down and let it close in, ok now small twitches, SET!”
You see, I don’t have to have the rod in my hand to be a part of the action, or join in on the fun, I get just as much of a thrill from those moments as my guests do! The right choice in eyewear makes these moments easier to engineer.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve yelled “SET” to a guest after watching a pike inhale their fly. The guests do indeed set when I instruct them too, sometimes after the hook set they stare at me, with sheer amazement or maybe bafflement! After they feel the solid connection in the line between them the big pike they just set into it is common to hear, “I never saw or felt a thing when you yelled “SET”! This explains the look’s many pike guides receive when scenarios like these play out.
Sometimes it is just that I or other guides have a different angle to the sun or the fish, sometimes the guests doesn’t have great vision, lacks the experience to spot fish effectively, sometimes they don’t have exact right eyewear, sometimes they were just busy watching the eagle soring by and were enjoying the natural beauty around us. There are an endless number of reasons why a guest maybe didn’t see what their guide was seeing, one question is sure to follow though…
“So what kind of glasses are those? It must be the glasses!”
You know what, they aren’t wrong…
