How to Choose the Best Sunglasses for Fishing

How to Choose the Best Sunglasses for Fishing

A wise man once said, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Give him the right gear and the best fishing sunglasses and he’ll go fishing his entire lifetime.” And boy was he right. 

Okay, we might have misheard that one, but you totally get the point. Once you’ve got the groove, the appropriate tools and gear, and you’ve already found your spot, there’s no turning back.

So whether you’ve been fishing all your life or you’ve just started to angle, make sure you have the right gear – including a good pair of fishing sunglasses. Trust us, you can improve your fishing game by a tenfold just by wearing the right sunglasses for fishing.

How to choose the best fishing sunglasses

When looking for a pair of sunglasses, whether it’s for fishing, hiking, cycling, or any other sport, you should always look at two things: the frame and the lenses. Having a quality frame and lenses means that your eyes will be totally fine and all you have to worry about is whether you can bring home the catch of your life or not.

With that said, below are the things that you should certainly consider when buying sunglasses for fishing.

Great coverage and fit

Despite it being more of a relaxing endeavour, fishing still requires some action. Especially if you’re eyeing for the big fish. It’s important to buy fishing sunglasses that are a snug fit for your face.

It also helps if the frame features tacky rubber grips or a detachable sunglasses chain, so it won’t fall off your face easily.

Fishing sunglasses should also provide good coverage to your eyes for maximum protection. Wider sunglasses not only shield your eyes and the skin around them, but they also give you a larger field of vision, so you can spot your moving targets. 

Polarised lenses

Every pair of fishing sunglasses should have polarised lenses. It’s not just an option, it’s a requirement.

Polarised lenses are necessary because they cut down all the annoying glare when you’re outdoors to protect your eyes. This is particularly useful on the water where the reflecting light bounces around so much and causes a lot of glare. We don’t want to bore you with all the science behind it, but basically, the job of these lenses is to help you to see your environment more clearly, and, so you don’t have to squint your eyes all the time.

There’s a trick on how to spot legit polarised sunglasses. All you have to do is to hold your sunnies against a computer screen horizontally. Then rotate your sunglasses to a vertical position and see if the lens colour turns black. If it does, there’s no doubt it’s legit.

Check out our polarised sunglasses here.

Lens colour

Aside from the polarised lenses, another thing that you need to factor in is the lens colour. Contrary to popular belief, the colour of the lenses is more than just an aesthetic element of sunglasses. Each colour or tint can enhance your vision in different ways and level up your fishing experience.

What are the best lens colours for fishing?

1. Grey

Grey lenses are the best options for offshore fishing when the sun is in intense mode. This colour offers the most eye protection because it’s meant to block lots of direct and reflected light. So if you’re heading to the open waters, grey-tinted sunglasses are the real deal. Or should we say, the “reel” deal?

2. Copper/Rose/Brown

Compared to the grey ones, these lens colours are more contrast-enhancing. They’re the ideal lens colours for inshore fishing where you’ll need colour enhancement to spot and track your prey in shallow waters.

These colours are also not as dark as the first one, so they can easily transition between sunny and cloudy weather.

3. Yellow/Amber

If you’re the type of angler who prefers dusk or dawn as the perfect time for fishing, yellow and amber lenses are the best options. These lens colours are great for fishing in a low-light environment because they can reduce the blue light and brighten up your environment.

4. Blue Mirror

Mirrored lenses are specifically designed to bounce off more light, resulting in extra sun protection.

Blue mirrors, for example, can enhance your visual experience by blocking the harshest lights from all angles. That’s why applying a blue mirror coating to your fishing sunglasses is perfect for deep-sea fishing where the open water reflects all the light and bounce it all to you from all angles.

5. Green Mirror

Green mirrored lenses, on the other hand, are another great pair for inshore fishing. They’re high-contrast lenses, but thanks to the applied mirror coating, they can take the visual clarity and colour enhancement up a notch.

Learn more about lens colours with this guide.

Durability

Being an angler is not a one-time affair. Once you’ve experienced the true joy of fishing, you might never come back home again. That’s why it’ll be great if you buy tools and gears that can go a long way. Like a durable pair of sunglasses that can handle the wear and tear of the outdoors.

Buying from trusted brands like Oakley, Costa del Mar, and other sunglasses brands will save you a lot of hassle and fish tubs of money, instead of scoring cheap products online that smell fishy from the get-go.

sunglasses for fishing 

Don’t Let These 3 Best Fishing Sunglasses Off the Hook

It doesn’t matter what level your fishing skills are. Whether you’re just a rook or a pro, a great pair of fishing sunglasses is a must-have right from the start. Below are the top 3 pairs that we think every fishing enthusiast should reel into their gear collection. They’re hands-down the real deal. Or should we say, the “reel” deal?

1. Costa Fantail

When it comes to fishing sunglasses, Costa del Mar is certainly the big fish. You simply can’t talk about fishing and not mention Costa sunglasses.

For anyone who’d rather have a bad day at fishing than a good day at work, Costa is the perfect pair. And Costa Fantail is their best one yet.

This beast is nothing short of dependable. It has all the features that an angler needs to battle the outdoor elements, from UV protection to polarised lenses, great coverage, and so much more. Since its release, it’s become a fisherman’s best friend and one of Costa’s best sellers.  

Here are more reasons to love the Fantail:

Unmatched lens technology

The 580 lens technology is Costa del Mar’s colour enhancement feature that can filter all the harsh yellow light to provide greater contrast and enhance the reds and greens for better colour contrast of your environment.

Wearing a pair of Costa bad boys with the 580 lenses allows you to spot their prize even from deep. The best thing about it is that it comes in glass lenses which are more recommended in water endeavours. Glass lenses are scratch-proof and offer the best visual clarity.

Fun fact: it’s called 580 because the yellow light that it filters out is on the 580 nm wavelength.

The tacky grip on your face

When fishing, you always have to deal with water, whether it’s sweat or splashes of waves. That’s why Costa del Mar developed Hydrolite. This material is found on the temples and nose bridge, making your sunglasses tackier despite the water exposure.

A pair that has a good grip and a snug fit on your face allows you to move around without worrying about your shades falling in the water.

Durable and lightweight design

Costa Fantails are made of TR 90 Nylon material which is lightweight and sturdy at the same time. These bad boys can certainly take a few knocks and will not be corroded easily by the saltwater.

2. Oakley Flak 2.0 XL

oakley flak best sunnies for fishing

You may have seen this model in a lot of buying guides online (including ours) for cycling, running, hiking, and other endeavours. And that’s simply because the Oakley Flak 2.0 XL is a jack of all trades or sports. Including fishing.

That’s why if you consider yourself the ultimate angler and outdoorsman, the Oakley Flak 2.0 XL may be the last pair of sunglasses that you’ll ever need. Here’s why:

Great coverage

This model from Oakley’s Flak family won’t be labelled as XL for nothing. Aside from the wrap-around design of the frame, the lens height is also extended. Not to mention, the bottom of the lenses is also curved to perfectly fit around your cheekbones. This way, your eyes get maximum protection from the light, wind, dust, and other elements.

Prizm Technology

Whenever you talk about Oakley sunglasses, you can’t leave off its proprietary lens technology: Prizm. Oakley’s lens wizardry allows every outdoor enthusiast to see the environment more clearly and vibrantly.

Another cool thing about the Oakley Flak 2.0 XL is that the lenses are completely replaceable. So depending on what sport you want to engage in, you can simply replace the appropriate lenses for that sport or activity without skipping a beat.

Secure Grip

One of the features that make Oakley sunglasses the best pair for every outdoor activity is their Unobtainium rubber pads. These pads on the temples and nose bridge get tackier as you sweat, making them more secure on your face.

So no matter how much you move, you don’t have to worry about your sunglasses moving up and down your face.

3. Dragon Meridien

dragon meridien sunglasses

While Dragon is best known for fashionable summer shades, let’s not forget that they also make remarkable water sports sunglasses. Their fishing collection, which includes the Dragon Meridien, is so good that it made waves after its first release in no time.

Take these bad boys to one of your charter trips and test it out yourself! If you want some honest takes, below are some of the features of Dragon Meridien that we absolutely love.

H2O Floatable Tech

The last thing you want to happen when you’re out fishing is to lose your sunglasses in the water. That’s why every pair of fishing sunglasses must have a good grip on your face, so it won’t fall off.

Not only does Dragon Meridien offer a secure fit, but it also floats on water. So if by any chance the codfish you just caught tail-slapped this pair off your face and they accidentally fell in the water, you can easily retrieve them. And that’s what you call an easy catch!

Anti-smudge feature

Dirt, water, oil, and sunscreen beading on your lenses is a thing of the past if you wear Dragon Meridien. With high-tech lens coatings, Dragon’s pairs of fishing sunglasses become resistant to smudges, fingerprints, and other elements making contact with your lenses.

This feature provides any angler with a superb and unobstructed view of their hunting grounds.

Lumalens Technology

Lumalens is Dragon’s proprietary lens colour technology. This feature provides an angler with optimized colour contrast, vividness, and sharpness in different lighting conditions.

Dragon Meridien comes in several of these Lumalens colours. So if you take fishing seriously, you certainly have a lot to choose from. Just make sure to pick the right one depending on where and when you’re going fishing.

 

Shop polarised fishing sunglasses

Whether you like fishing in the open water, or in the shallow lakes and rivers, or whatever floats your boat, you’ll certainly need a good pair of sunglasses for fishing.

Check out our great collection of polarised sunglasses that’s perfect for when you’re on a charter trip and the sun is at its peak. These sunglasses will not only make you look the part of a true angler but will also protect and enhance your vision.

If these bad boys will not increase your chances of bringing home the catch of your life, we don’t know what will!

Get your pair here in Great southern sunnies and we’ll deliver it wherever you are in Australia. Shipping fees are on us for orders above $80!  

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