A few years ago I met a famous UK angling writer in an airport. Straight away we got chatting about fishing and somewhere along the way we ended up talking about sunglasses and caps. His view being that he hated caps and sunnies as he thought they looked silly. My thoughts were… you really don’t know as much about fishing as you like to make out!

In the majority of the pictures you see of me, I’m usually wearing a cap and a pair of sunnies and that’s for a good reason. Granted, I like to wear a cap and sunglasses and I do so even when I’m not fishing but on the water, vanity has nothing to do with the reasons why I wear them…

Baseball caps give protection from overhead glare and the peak underneath will absorb some of the glare off the water too. The peak also offers the eyes some protection from flying objects. Sunglasses offer the eyes the highest level of protection available from ultraviolet light and, as you’ll quickly be taught on any fishing guide or coaches course, sunglasses offer essential protection from flying objects too! The other thing that sunglasses do, if they are polarized, is to allow the user to see structure and fish beneath the water, down to a maximum of around 20 feet, in very clear water. This kind of visibility is essential when sight fishing (lure fishing for bass or mullet fishing for example).

On bright days and dull days there is always glare on the water’s surface. Polarisation works by blocking harsh reflective surface glare, allowing only useful light to pass through the lens to the eye, thus allowing the angler to see what’s under the water. A word of warning… you can get 100%-polarized lenses and you can get cheaper versions, and there is a big difference in how much glare each block out. I needn’t explain which one is better!

For years I wore Oakley sunglasses and I’ll be honest I have had nothing bad to say about them, but over the past couple of years, friends who are fishing guides in the Florida Keys have kept raving about Costa Del Mar sunglasses and how much better they are for seeing fish. I was quite happy with my Oakley’s until November last year when I broke the pair I was using while fishing!

I had been out sight fishing at silly o’clock in the morning and I had put my Oakley’s down on my boat’s seat. Crunch! You guessed it … I sat on them and snapped off an arm. My guide pal who was with me quickly came to the rescue with a spare pair of Costa’s he was carrying in his bag. Upon putting them on (I had never worn Costa Del Mar glasses before) I was dumbstruck with how superior their polarization was, how much clearer they were and how they had an increased contrast when compared to the Oakley’s I had just broken.

Costa Del Mar Corbina Glasses

Ten minutes later we found a 25lb Barracuda lying in 3ft of water, so I thought I’d put them to the test. With the Oakley’s held up to my face I could see the Barracuda fine but it was still slightly camouflaged against the weedy bottom it was hovering over. With the Costa’s on, I could see the Barracuda clearer than I’d ever spotted a fish before. I could make out the difference between the weed and the fish without any doubt – I could even see its patterning to an extent where I could have probably counted its body markings. The only way I can describe this is… it was like somebody had drawn an outline around this Barracuda to make it stand out! At that point I was sold – goodbye Oakley, hello Costa Del Mar! I’ve always carried several pairs of sunglasses for different light conditions and now I’m the proud owner of thee pairs of Costa Del Mar glasses. And after 10 months of wearing them, here’s what I think…

Whereas many manufacturers make sunglasses and produce a few pairs for water users/anglers, Costa Del Mar’s history lies with producing sunglasses for anglers. Their company motto “See out there! Be out there! Protect out there!” sums up what and for whom their glasses were developed for… “Out there” being on the water!

Costa Del Mar Harpoon Glasses

The first thing I noticed about Costa’s lenses is that they offer an increased ‘beneath the water’ visibility - this is because Costa’s lenses are 100% polarised and offer 100% UV protection. Costa lenses have been developed to raise red, blue and greens to amazing levels, whilst eliminating much of the yellow light that is the enemy of all anglers. The result is purer vision, deeper colours and surprisingly sharp contrast. These glasses were developed to “See out there” spotting fish – that’s the reason the Barracuda mentioned above stood out so boldly!

I don’t really want to go into lens colour because that’s a whole feature in itself, but briefly… lighter lenses let in more light and darker lenses let in less light. Light coloured lenses are good for morning, twilight and overcast conditions, whereas darker lenses are the opposite and are great for severely bright conditions. Mid coloured lenses are good for all-round conditions. Costa can supply the following lens colour options for most of their sunglasses – Sunrise, Amber, Copper, Vermillion, Silver Mirror, Grey, Green Mirror and Blue Mirror.

Costa Del Mar Triple Tail Glasses

I now have a pair of Costa “Triple Tail” with Amber lenses, for low light fishing; a pair of “Corbina” with grey lenses, for day-to-day wear; and finally a pair of “Harpoon” with Blue mirror lenses, for fishing in harsh sunlight.

The next thing I have to praise Costa for is their comfort. They certainly are sunglasses developed to “Be out there”, wearing them all day long. All Costa sunglasses are handmade, using the super modern rubber, plastic and metal compounds. This makes them more lightweight, tough, durable and more comfortable than any of their competitor’s sunglasses. I find a lot of glasses uncomfortable to wear all day, especially cheaper glasses. All three pairs of my Costa’s, I have to say, are the most comfortable sunglasses I have ever worn. The hinged arms on my Triple Tail and Harpoon models, means they can be slightly tweaked to sit perfectly if needed, whereas the Corbina’s literally hug the shape of the face and head.

Standard hardcase, optional softcase

And finally onto “Protect out there”. If you have a pair of sunglasses that are 100% polarized/UV protective and 100% comfortable… plain and simply you’re going to keep them on all day and they will then be 100% protective from sunlight and flying objects!

Costa Del Mar also have a good motto – “Costa’s For Life!” and this sums up their customer service policy. Costa operates a lifetime warranty program as standard. And should you break your Costa Del Mar sunglasses through your own negligence, let’s just say that Costa will still take care of you!

My view… any angler who tries a pair of Costa Sunglasses will never look back! I cannot wait to add another pair to my collection, but this time I’m going to go for the larger ‘Swordfish’ for my dawn raids!

Costa Del Mar sunglasses are available in over 50 frame styles, 16 frame colours, 8 lens colours and 3 lens qualities. For more info check the Check the Costa Del Mar website or contact Costa’s UK distributor.

www.costadelmar.com  

Seapower (UK) Ltd
Tel : 01628  623100
info@seapower.uk.com

Comment...