Polarized sunglasses were designed to help resolve the issue of surface glare.
Surface glare is commonly seen on things such as water, glass, or anything else that provides a flat surface for light to reflect off of.
As anglers, we are constantly around something that does a good job of producing a bunch of surface glare - water.
This is problematic for fishing.
First and foremost the surface glare places a heightened strain on your eyes since your gaze is typically fixed on the water.
Secondly, the blinding reflection limits your ability as an angler to see what's going on below the surface.
Thankfully, polarized sunglasses are the answer to both of these issues.
Below we'll dive into an explanation of polarized sunglasses and why anglers benefit from using them.
Light and Polarization Explained
It all has to do with the orientation of light waves.
Light waves coming from a source, such as a lightbulb or the Sun, are constantly changing the way there are oriented.
This is considered unpolarized light.
Its when the light either travels through a filter or comes in contact and reflects off of an object that it becomes polarized with an oriented wave form.
The direction of polarization is the same as the orientation of the wave form which means a vertically polarized light wave is the same as a vertically orientated light wave.
For a visual, the below image illustrates an unpolarized light wave traveling through a vertically oriented filter and becoming vertically polarized.
For light that reflects off of a flat surface, such as water, it will commonly become horizontally polarized.
This is what we know as surface glare.
For a visual, think of a broomstick.
The broomstick represents the orientation of the light.
If you were to hold a broomstick in front of you and constantly twirl it you would be imitating unpolarized light.
If you hold the broomstick with the ends facing out to the left and right you would have a horizontally oriented broomstick and therefore be representing horizontally polarized light.
If you hold a broomstick out in front of you with it pointing straight up and down you would have a vertically oriented broomstick and be representing vertically polarized light.
Keep that illustration in mind...
Polarized Sunglasses Explained
Polarized sunglasses include lenses that are able to eliminate large portions of the horizontally polarized light, or surface glare, that we experience when on the water.
Here's why...
Within the lenses of polarized sunglasses there are filters that reduce the amount of horizontally oriented light that gets passed through them.
Just like the above illustration, the filters are applied onto the lens in a way that encourages vertically oriented light to pass through instead of horizontally oriented light (i.e. surface glare).
Think back to the broomstick example...
If you hold a broomstick across your body and try to walk though a door you'll soon realize the door blocks you and your broomstick from entering.
This is what happens when horizontally polarized light such as surface glare, tries to enter through a polarized lens with a vertically oriented filter - it gets blocked.
Now hold the broomstick where the ends point up and down and you will be able to walk right through the door.
Polarized sunglasses are doing the same thing with the light based on its orientation.
It eliminates as much horizontally polarized light (surface glare) as possible while still allowing vertically polarized light to pass through the lens.
Benefits of Polarized Sunglasses
The main benefit received from polarized sunglasses, especially for anglers, is the ability to see below the surface without there being a surface glare.
The glasses help to cut down on the surface glare thus allowing you to focus on what is actually below the surface.
The above picture helps to illustrate the difference between what an angler see when not using polarized sunglasses (left) vs using polarized sunglasses (right).
This makes polarized sunglasses great for sight fishing.
Having the ability to pick up on subsurface details that another angler not wearing polarized sunglasses would fail to see (submerged vegetation & trees, spawning beds, rock piles, etc.) becomes a game changer when on the water.
The more obvious advantage to having a good pair of sunglasses is that you better protect your eyes from overall light exposure.
Any half-decent pair of sunglasses on the market today are made up of multiple layers that are geared toward protecting you from the more harmful aspects of light (surface glare, Ultraviolet light).
This makes them a great investment - not just for fishing but for your overall eye health as well.
In Conclusion
Polarized sunglasses provide anglers with a completely different approach to fishing thanks to the ability to reduce surface glare and better see what is going on below the surface.
There's a reason so many anglers wear them - they work!
With today's advancements, many brands come in a multitude of frame designs as well as lens colors giving you as the buyer more freedom in making the right choice based on your own personal fit, comfort and style.
TIP: When the time comes that you need a lens replacement check out Revant Optics. They make replacement polarized lenses for a wide variety of frames which can save you from having to buy an entire new set of sunglasses.
Time to go catch em'!
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