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Thread: Polaroids for trout fishing

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    Default Polaroids for trout fishing

    I’m in the market for some new polaroids for the upcoming trout season.

    Mainly fly fish (dry and nymph) and use the polaroids primarily as an aid to wading, and keeping tabs on the leader/tippet, rather than sighting fish.
    I’ve used el-Cheapo polaroids for many years ($10-$20 range) and they’ve done the job OK, but would like to move up to something that affords a little more water penetration and less superfluous light if possible.

    Reading some of the fishing forums indicates a variety of opinions.

    Some swear by the top end of the market – glass lenses, special coatings, etc, such as Mako, Spotters, and Maui Jim ($300 range) – while others claim similar performance from the bottom end (polycarbonates) such as Cancer Council and BCF Steel/Stingray ($25 - $90 range).

    I’ve never spent $300+ on a pair of sunglasses in my life, and it’s not something I particularly want to start doing now, but if that's what it takes.............

    Would like to hear the experiences of anyone who has addressed this issue, either satisfactorily or otherwise......any trouties out there??



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    I've found the Cancer Council sunnies (at <$50) to be as good, if not better, than others at polarizing light regardless of cost. The price of expensive options tends to be based on 'fashion' and brand name and little else.
    What would make a major difference would be if you need prescription lenses for perfect focus at lowered light levels and then you're getting into the $100's for quality specs but worth it where the smallest improvement is a significant advantage. The frames can make a difference - should have side shields and fit your face to exclude light from the edges.

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    I have learnt that your eyes only prefer the light coming thru the glasses to make it as pure as possible , I use tac glasses as they fit my ugly dum better and dont allow any excess light in for what its worth Don

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  • 02-07-19, 08:11 PM

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skepticist View Post
    I've found the Cancer Council sunnies (at <$50) to be as good, if not better, than others at polarizing light regardless of cost. The price of expensive options tends to be based on 'fashion' and brand name and little else.
    What would make a major difference would be if you need prescription lenses for perfect focus at lowered light levels and then you're getting into the $100's for quality specs but worth it where the smallest improvement is a significant advantage. The frames can make a difference - should have side shields and fit your face to exclude light from the edges.
    I've seen some very favourable comments about the Cancer Council glasses on a number of fishing forums, so you have added some more weight to that.

    Big W stock CC glasses, and have quite a range at $25 a pair.....not sure if these are the same ones that are on the councils' website for around the $50 mark, but will check them out for sure.

    I've used some glasses with side shields in the past and am not real thrilled with them.....I find that they significantly reduce my peripheral vision, and have a tendency to fog up much quicker than the regular old 'D' frames. For the same reasons, I've never taken to the wrap-around style either.....it can practically rain inside them, and they start to feel a bit claustrophobic after a while.

    I find a reasonable brimmed hat provides acceptable reduction of peripheral light.

    I'm interested in getting something "mirrored" this time.......this is supposed to significantly reduces useless bits of the spectrum, particularly the Green/Blue mirroring in respect of freshwater.

    No need for prescription stuff......I just need something that will give me the deepest and clearest vision into the water column.......fishing with Nymph without a surface indicator requires close visual contact with as much of the submerged leader and tippet as possible.

    Many thanks for your input.

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    Quote Originally Posted by george65 View Post
    Thought you were wanting an instant camera to take pics of the fish you caught!
    No.....they don't make them with a sufficiently wide-angle lens for my fish

    Quote Originally Posted by george65 View Post
    Never heard Sunnies being called Polaroids before.
    Polaroiding is the term commonly used in Australia and New Zealand for the practice of casting to fish that have been visually detected beforehand by using polarised glasses......

    The Yanks call it Sight Fishing....which is kinda strange when you consider that the polarised glasses that are used were invented in the U.S.

    Polaroid Eyewear

    Edwin Land, born in 1909 in Connecticut, invented Polaroid, the world's first polarizing material for commercial use, in 1929. He founded the Polaroid Corporation in 1937 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
    The company initially produced Polaroid Day Glasses, the first sunglasses with a polarizing filter.
    In 1935 Land negotiated with American Optical Company to produce polarized sunglasses.
    Such glasses could screen out glare rather than simply darken the landscape. Land and Wheelwright contracted to begin production of Polaroid Day Glasses, a longtime source of revenue for Polaroid.





    Calling all polarised glasses "Polaroids" is sorta like calling all vacuum cleaners "Hoovers".

    I don't use the polaroids to find the fish.....but they are essential for wading if you don't want to unexpectedly end up with waders full of water, and even more essential for fishing with a nymph, a technique that requires close visual contact with the leader, a fine piece of mono which connects the floating fly line to the Nymph fly, which is hopefully bouncing along the bottom of the stream. The slightest variation in the movement of that leader is potentially the nymph being intercepted by a trout, and a signal for a strike.

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    Son in law is mad keen angler - has a FB page that is very popular called Basslyfe, He is bases in QLD so sunnies might be a topic that has been discussed. Worth asking there, though.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Costa Fantail Polarized
    Smith Transfer Polarized

    My mate uses Maui Jim World Cup Polarized Fishing Sunglasses
    I use just some cheap ones from from a shop in Yarrawonga, they are not as good as the Maui Jims
    Last edited by ol' boy; 03-07-19 at 03:48 PM.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanboy View Post
    Costa Fantail Polarized
    Smith Transfer Polarized

    My mate uses Maui Jim World Cup Polarized Fishing Sunglasses
    I use just some cheap ones from from a shop in Yarrawonga, they are not as good as the Maui Jims
    OB,

    I dunno if this bloke is fair dinkum or not......but at the price I had to give it a whirl.......ordered a pair of the Ice Blue.



    The whole time I was placing the order I could hear my dear departed Mum saying "If it appears too good to be true............"

    If you hear an agonised scream from NE Vic in a few weeks time, you'll know she was right

    Had never heard of the Costas, so appreciate the heads-up

    Will keep trawling the local market though, and still open to any feedback on this thread.

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    Yeah, they normally $300

    I know which pair you'd rather lose
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    I've run these for the passed 8 years.



    They used to be under $50 and when i lost a pair, i just got online and re-ordered from a previous order, which made life easy.
    They good in Blue water and work in fresh water, but compared to my friends Maui Jims, mine lose a lot of ambient light where as his maintain it.
    Last edited by ol' boy; 03-07-19 at 07:04 PM.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Quote Originally Posted by ol' boy View Post
    I've run these for the passed 8 years.



    They used to be under $50 and when i lost a pair, i just got online and re-ordered from a previous order, which made life easy.
    They good in Blue water and work in fresh water, but compared to my friends Maui Jims, mine lose a lot of ambient light where as his maintain it.
    Thanks.....I'll add them to my fast-growing list.

    Unless I'm mistaken, you seem to have aged quickly in the last few hours

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thala Dan View Post
    Thanks.....I'll add them to my fast-growing list.

    Unless I'm mistaken, you seem to have aged quickly in the last few hours
    Yeah, i had a Birthday!

    I was thinking "ol cock"....
    Then realised "ol'boy" still fits the OB acronym
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Interestingly enough, I use Bolle safety glasses and they do everything I need. They are only around $30 a pair at many of the specialized safety stores. Yes, they are sunnies, too.

    Have a look for a comparison of various safety glasses. - not all are sunnies, but, compared to the price of a pair of sunnies, you will be pleasantly surprised, and that they are almost indestructible too.
    Last edited by lsemmens; 04-07-19 at 02:06 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    Interestingly enough, I use Bolle safety glasses and they do everything I need. They are only around $30 a pair at many of the specialized safety stores. Yes, they are sunnies, too.

    Have a look for a comparison of various safety glasses. - not all are sunnies, but, compared to the price of a pair of sunnies, you will be pleasantly surprised, and that they are almost indestructible too.
    Seems there are a lot of hidden polarised gems out there......I've still got some polarised safety glasses from my days in the oilfields, but, although they are good all-round and tough as nails glasses, they're not much chop for trout fishing.

    The requirement here is quite specialised.......glasses designed for fishing spend most of their life peering into water........consequently they are constantly trying to penetrate the highly reflective surface of an element that has its own unique optical characteristics.

    In the case of polaroids intended for sight fishing, there is a need to distinguish vague, oftentimes naturally camouflaged, shapes against an extremely variable background.....anything from pure sand to multicoloured rocks and pebbles.

    Trying to locate a trout, or monitor an almost transparent mono leader against the background of a freestone mountain stream-bed, whilst at the same time coping with the intense reflected light coming off the water surface is a big ask, and not the sort of task for which your run-of-the-mill polaroid is designed.

    Whilst normal polaroids make a fair fist of it, the glasses more specifically designed for the task are noticeably better (see OB's comments about his mates' Maui Jim glasses).

    Had a look at "Basslyfe" FB, and their website, thanks........very impressive.....not much about sunnies though.

    Lived in Qld in the early days of the Bass phenomenon.....its been a raging success and a standout model of a stocked impoundment program, and its paying great dividends these days yielding some thumper Bass. Your SOL would be having a ball, I imagine.

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    Went fishing this morning

    Friend now has Mako's and loves them
    His son has used "Spotters" and hated them

    Mako's seem to be $150 to $300 depending on where you buy them
    Last edited by ol' boy; 04-07-19 at 04:17 PM.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Quote Originally Posted by ol' boy View Post
    Went fishing this morning

    Friend now has Mako's and loves them
    His son has used "Spotters" and hated them

    Mako's seem to be $150 to $300 depending on where you buy them
    Thanks OB.

    Tallies with what I've been reading on some other forums and reviews......Spotters definitely seem to be a "love 'em or hate 'em" proposition.

    Think you'll find that the two different price points you mention represent either Polycarbonate ($150) or Glass ($300) lens options.

    I'll wait for these Costas (allegedly) to arrive from Shenzen........he has sent them already by SpeedPak, so shouldn't take too long.

    See how they pan out, and hopefully they'll give me a Polycarbonate baseline against which to compare Glass.

    There appears to be no question that glass is better........it's just a matter of whether it's that many $$$$'s better.

    I assume that fish will be served in the ol' boys household for tea tonight

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    We just landbased some Garfish to freeze as Kingfish baits
    But yes, i had Snapper fillets with lemon, butter, pepper and herbs

    And i was speaking to my mate about all that gear i bought off you that has remained untouched in the workshop, bahahahaha
    Well, he did take some lures when it arrived
    Last edited by ol' boy; 04-07-19 at 08:27 PM.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Yeah....well you wouldn't need to put out many of those skirted smokers to pick up a few gars, that's for sure

    Snapper sounds great.....makes it all worth while, don't it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thala Dan View Post
    Seems there are a lot of hidden polarised gems out there......I've still got some polarised safety glasses from my days in the oilfields, but, although they are good all-round and tough as nails glasses, they're not much chop for trout fishing.

    The requirement here is quite specialised.................
    Had a look at "Basslyfe" FB, and their website, thanks........very impressive.....not much about sunnies though.

    Lived in Qld in the early days of the Bass phenomenon.....its been a raging success and a standout model of a stocked impoundment program, and its paying great dividends these days yielding some thumper Bass. Your SOL would be having a ball, I imagine.
    Fairy Snuff. All the best in your search.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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