Protecting Those Baby Blues, Browns, Grays, Greens.
A couple of weeks ago, I was fishing in the Bassmaster's Central
Invitational tournament at Sam Rayburn reservoir near Jasper, TX.
Despite the 5 days of continuous rain and thunderstorms, I had a great
time, caught some fish and met some really neat folks from around the
country. In three days of fishing the tournament, I drew partners from
Louisiana, Michigan and Iowa.
The bass were acting sorta goofy, as they often do in the springtime.
In some areas of the lake, they were trying to go shallow to spawn (lay
their eggs). In others areas, they were staging, getting ready to spawn
in week or two. As I fished around in the creeks, I found the water to
be slightly stained due to the rainfall we were experiencing.
At times, I felt like I was seeing those white spots along the banks of
the creeks, indicative of bass spawning beds. I really got excited,
because if there is one thing I love do to, its sight fish for bass in
the spring. I just love it. To me, nothing beats going one on one
with
a bass that I can see, protecting a spawning bed. I have literally
spent over an hour, changing baits and gear, trying to coax a bedding
bass into biting, only to turn it back and watch it go right back to
it's bed.
Like most bass fishermen, I rely on a good set of polarized glasses to
eliminate the glare coming off of the water, allowing me to see things
you can't see with the naked eye, such as bedding bass. They will also
protect your eyes from dangerous Ultraviolet rays that can burn and
damage your eyes. Whether you make part of your living fishing or simply enjoy the sport
of fishing, you need to invest in a quality set of glasses. My choice
for polarized glasses is the Bat Eye series from Solar Bat
(www.solarbat.com). They are
designed and manufactured by eye doctors.
Who else should know better than eye doctors what I need to protect my
eyes and see through the glare on the water?
The Bat Eyes that I use have interchangeable lenses. They come with
smoke colored lenses for bright sunny days and amber lenses for cloudy
days or low light conditions. My personal favorite is the new green
lenses available. Regardless of the color you want or prefer, you can
easily change out lenses to meet the ever-changing conditions on the
water, eliminating the need to carry several pairs of glasses.
I've always worn some form of eye protection while operating or riding
in a boat at high speeds, even at night. There's nothing like a turkey
gnat slamming into your eye at 65 miles per hour to ruin a great day of
fishing. As a person that has to get up every morning and put on glasses or put in contact lenses in order to see, I can appreciate the
value of eyesight, or the lack there of.
While fishing the first day of the Sam Rayburn tournament with my
partner Homer Humphries, I witnessed first hand the importance of
wearing a good pair of glasses while fishing. Homer and I were throwing
spinnerbaits over some hydrilla beds. After 30 minutes or so, Homer hooked into a nice 3 pounder and called
for the net. Homer fought the fish to the boat, close enough for me to
get the net under the fish and lift it into the boat. In the
excitement, Homer didn't realize that he still had some pressure on the
rod from the weight of the fish. As he reached into the net to remove
the white spinnerbait from the fish's mouth, the spinnerbait came flying out of the net striking him dead center in the left lens of his
glasses! The blow and the surprise of it all nearly sent him to his
knees right there on the deck of the boat. We both looked at each other
in complete surprise and dismay realizing how close Homer had just come
to possibly loosing his left eye. What an eye opener, pardon the pun.
I realize that good, polarized fishing glasses can be a bit pricey, but
what is your eyesight worth to you? At around $100, don't you think
Homer was glad he put that $100 in his sunglasses? This is another reason I like the Solar Bat, Bat Eye, it's like getting
two pair of glasses for the price of one since they come with an extra
set of lenses.
No matter what glasses you purchase make sure they are high quality with
shock resistant lenses. After you purchase them, please use them
regardless of the light conditions you encounter. You might not think
you need them to block the water's glare, but you are still susceptible
to dangerous UV rays on cloudy days, not to mention the constant hazard
to your eyes from foreign objects. While night fishing, I use a pair of
clear lens safety glasses or goggles available from numerous retail
outlets. I would encourage you to do the same.
Until next time, enjoy the great outdoors.