Kaenon - Smith/Action Optics - Oakley
Sunglasses
There it is again! That's about the fifth time you've seen the same fish sipping in that spot. Or is it the same one? You've been straining against the glare. Your sunglasses are just too dark and the morning reflection is just too much to get a clear view. If only you hadn't left your polarized photochromic fishing sunglasses on the table in the lodge, instead of wearing these glasses from your beach vacation last January. If only you could convince your buddy to go back and grab them. Darn, there it is again. If you weren't looking for something subtle, it wouldn't matter. But Ol' Mossback is out there...
The Simple Story -Choosing the Best Sunglasses for Fishing
Let’s cut right to the chase. The highest quality sunglasses are the best investment you can make when deciding on where your fly fishing dollars should go. The right sunglasses can make all the difference in the world when it comes to not only 
difficult ‘sight’ fishing, but, in fact, for improving all of your fishing. In fresh or saltwater, you need the best polarizing lenses to cut through the masking glare to see the true story of what’s above AND below the water’s surface. Judging the exact location of a fish can be as important as what that fish is feeding on. Your eyes get a hard work out during a full day of fishing and the best glasses not only protect your eyes from the full spectrum of the sun’s harmful rays, but soothe your eyes while enhancing your visual acuity on the water. So, it makes little sense to invest in a quality fly rod like a Sage, Winston, or a Scott, and then go out and attempt to fish in a cheap pair of sunglasses. You need to see at your best, and you simply can’t perform without the right stuff.
Lens Polarization and Lens Materials
There is no doubt that most important element of good fishing sunglasses is lens polarization. Without getting overly technical, polarization employs iodine crystals positioned vertically on a thin plastic film to absorb reflective light (better known as glare). This film, when sandwiched between two layers of lens material, acts like a molecular Venetian blind to filter out intense light that is aligned by smooth surfaces such as water or the hood of your car. Sunglasses without polarizing film will simply darken the brightness of the sun. They will not remove glare that is reflected off the water. In low light conditions or on foggy/cloudy days, non-polarized glasses are virtually useless for fishing situations. Try to look through the water surface to see fish? Forget about it!
Lens material is of particular importance to the fisherman. Glass is #1 for optical clarity and scratch resistance. I repeat, no other lens material offers the lasting durability of glass. Glass does weigh more than plastics, yet the advanced lens 
construction of Smith’s Techlite glass lenses employs Tapered Lens Technology (TLT) which contours the thickness of the lens to create the lightest, most distortion free fishing glass lenses on the planet.
Polycarbonate plastic is a tough, shatterproof, lightweight alternative to glass, but it can suffer distortion toward the edge of the lens and tends to scratch easily. Kaenon Polarized has changed all that with the development of their patented and proprietary SR-91, a polarized lens that offers the combined benefits of both glass and polycarbonate; razor-sharp clarity, impact-protection, superior scratch-resistance and glare-reduction all in one ultra-lightweight lens.
There goes another rise in the same area. You start you cast and from behind you hear, "Wait, the big lunker just moved off." It's your buddy with your glasses on. "Okay," he tells you, "she's back in the feeding zone." You make the cast, see the take and set up. As you're fighting the leviathan, he promptly tells you how great YOUR sunglasses are!
Lens Color
Too many of us think that lens color doesn't play a role in the selection of the best performing glasses; if the glasses block out glare and look good on our faces then that’s about all we need to worry about. Wrong! Although fishing glasses come in a wide spectrum of lens tints, specific lens colors will actually enhance your eyes’ ability to see with increased contrast and definition, particularly in lower light conditions when trout and other gamefish are usually the most active. Generally, a warm spectrum color such as copper or brown absorbs the greatest amount of higher energy blue light wavelengths compared to cooler lens tints, and thereby allows your eyes to focus more clearly on objects, particularly at distance. These warm tints are also more soothing on your eyes and tend to function better across a range of brightness. Thus, the ever-popular classic Gray color is usually not your best choice for an all-around fishing glass.
Photochromicity
A photochromic lens automatically adjusts to the brightness of the sun. Silver particles imbedded in the lens material are triggered by UV light to darken when solar radiation increases and lighten when sunlight fades. The result is that your glasses have a much wider range of application into lower light conditions; overcast, fog, morning and early evening. This process adjusts quickly and never wears out. If you fish in a wide variety of light conditions with the same pair of glasses, photochromicity is highly desirable.
You can hear the guide whisper, “Permit 80 feet at 1 o'clock." You gently turn, start your cast as you search for the silver-gray fish you know is there. Your eyes adjust and you spot the 15 pounder, suspended just off the bottom, nose up in the tidal current. As your heart pounds in your chest, all you can think is "Just let me make this cast!” At this moment, there is no better place to be than on the bow of this boat, rod in hand, with the right pair of sunglasses on.
Lens Shape and Frame Fit
I’ve sold high tech sunglasses to mountaineers and fly fishermen for over thirty years, and I can tell you that, regardless of how many features a glass has, vanity u
sually holds sway; the first thing that we all do when trying on a new pair is to look in the mirror. Now don't get us wrong, we like styling with the best of them; that‘s why we’ve chosen the manufactures that we carry, but the fit comes first. The important part about picking the shape and size of a pair of sunglasses is function and comfort. At Leland, we’ve done our homework and chosen those particular sunglass models from Smith and Kaenon that not only look great, but whose frames have proven to fit people the best. Of course, faces, like feet, come in different sizes, so we’ve classified each model of sunglass frame into whether it tends to fit smaller, average, or larger faces. In our opinion, these are the top fishing sunglasses available.
You've never seen clearer water; the permit appears to be hanging in mid air. Heck, you can even see the fish's shadow. You make the cast and watch your fly fall, a perfect cast. You watch in amazement as the permit, in slow motion, tips down and your fly disappears, STRIKE NOW!
Kaenon - Smith Action Optics - Oakley