Sunlight acts as a double-edged sword when it comes to fishing - especially sight fishing.
It's great for seeing what's going on below the surface but with it comes a blinding glare at times.
Some of the biggest challenges that anglers face when sight fishing have to do with wind, water clarity, and glare.
We can't control the first two (wind, water clarity) but we can at least reduce the effects of the third (glare).
Here's a simple tip for the next time you find yourself sight fishing on a sunny day.
Sun To Your Back = Reduced Glare
Something we've discussed in the past is the importance of polarized sunglasses.
Polarized sunglasses do a really good job of cutting down on surface glare by filtering out certain portions of reflected light.
However, sometimes it seems like even a good pair of glasses doesn't get the job done either.
In these cases, take a moment to look at where the sun is in relation to you and the water you're sight fishing.
Is the sun facing you, more to the side, or at your back?
Even with the advancements in polarized lenses, being in the path of directly reflected sunlight is going to hinder your sight fishing capabilities.
The easiest way to avoid this is to put the sun to your back.
By doing so most light coming from the sun will be reflected out and away from you rather than into your face.
When visualizing a clock, think of yourself as looking towards 12 o'clock.
The sun doesn't have to be right at 6 o'clock - just somewhere behind you between 3 and 9 so that the majority of light is reflected out and away from you.
Yes, you'll still see some glare at times due to the curvature of ripples and small wakes on the water surface but the intensity of the glare will be much much less.
Plus, your polarized sunglasses will do the job of reducing most of the remaining glare you encounter.
From a boat this is an easy adjustment for the most part.
If fishing from the bank putting the sun to your back can be challenging.
Depending on where you're fishing it might be impossible to get the sun behind you.
In those circumstances do your best to position yourself to where at least your gaze isn't looking directly into the glare of the sun coming off the water.
This sounds like a super simple tip - and it is.
However, it's super easy to forget about when sight fishing because as anglers we're always scanning for our next place to cast.
So the next time you notice a bad glare look up and see where your gaze is in relation to the sun.
A Word Of Caution...
Unless it's an overcast, having the sun at your back will cause your shadow to be casted out in front of you.
Be mindful of this.
Fish can be easily spooked by shadows regardless of whether you're in a highly fished area or not.
The higher the sun is in the sky, the smaller your shadow.
The lower the sun is, the longer your shadow.
Time to go catch 'em!
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