With a considerable investment of thousands of dollars I’m able to see graphic marks on my boat’s radar screen indicating flocks of birds, other boats, buoys and land masses many miles away in fog or at night. My boat’s high resolution sonar unit provides nearly photo realistic images of the wreck I’m fishing below me. My chartplotter is updated online frequently with input from other boaters who upload new data that adds even more detail to nautical charts in my charting electronics unit. Perhaps more than any category of recreation, anglers benefit greatly from a vast array of high tech marine products. They give us insight into what’s happening above and below the surface of the water with accuracy and efficiency like no other time in history, and their capabilities are increasing every day. But even with literally tens of thousands of dollars of carefully calibrated marine electronics in my helm, my eyes and the quality of what I see are my most valuable asset while fishing and boating.
I generally do trust what my electronics are showing, but it’s when approaching a shallow area that I proceed with caution and am constantly seeking visual confirmation of what the electronics are showing. For example, gamefish can often be found at the edge of a channel, where the bottom drops off a shallow ledge into deeper water. These are ambush points for striped bass, bluefish, weakfish and fluke and are excellent places to find big fish. Boaters need to approach the edge of a channel with caution however, because it’s easy to run aground on the shallow side. The chartplotter and fishfinder can show the bottom depth and channel’s edge, but nothing is more intuitive than actually seeing the lighter shaded shallow and darker deep edge of the channel. Often that shading is impossible to pick out. Glare off the water’s surface works against you. A pair of polarized sunglasses eliminates or reduces glare so you can see through the surface water and identify shallow and deep water edges. Additionally one of the most exciting kinds of fishing is sight fishing along edges. Very often you can actually see gamefish and bait below the surface as you look into the water with polarized sunglasses. One of the most exciting fishing outings in recent memory was targeting specific fluke, the largest ones, while drifting through 10 feet of clear water. Fluke blend into the bottom but if conditions are right and you have a good quality pair of polarized sunglasses such as the ones made by Unsinkable Polarized Sunglasses, it makes the exciting game of sight fishing possible.
Seeing shallow water areas while running your boat is also critical to your safety. The sea bottom is in constant change due to the perpetual tidal flow shifting sand along the bottom. Electronic chartplotters, which show depth information are only as accurate as the day the mapping data source was published, which is why you should update your mapping charts/software often. Using polarized sunglasses, even in hazy conditions can help you mitigate shallow water risks and boat more safely. You always want to be looking for visual assurances that you’re steering clear of shallow water. The polarization in some sunglasses, especially high measure polarization like that of Unsinkable Polarized sunglasses, makes bottom features more visible and can prevent running aground on sand bars, or worse, hitting rocks. Either results in an abrupt stop, lunging passengers forward to possible injury. Additionally the hull of your boat and motor can sustain serious damage. At the very least it’s expensive and time consuming to get pulled off a sand bar. A good pair of polarized sunglasses will help you avoid all that and are simply invaluable and easily your most valuable piece of equipment on the boat for situational awareness. I simply wouldn’t leave the dock without sunglasses. They’re just that important.
So what makes sunglasses polarized?
Light is reflected in various directions back towards our eyes. Sunlight that is bouncing off the horizontal surface of the water and is reflected back in the same horizontal direction, which creates glare. Polarized lenses contain a filter that allows only vertically oriented light to pass through. This blocks the horizontal light and eliminates glare. Dark, polarized lenses provide the highest polarization, such as the Unsinkable Polarized, Blue Mirror Polarized Lens, which are an excellent choice for offshore and inshore fishing and boating.
It’s the quality of the filter that makes one sunglass choice, like Unsinkable Polarized better than others. Their premium polarized glasses feature lenses made from a proprietary material called Polyamide™, which has the optics of glass combined with the lightweight feel of polycarbonate, resulting in crystal-clear vision.
New for 2019, Unsinkable’s lineup now offers blue and green mirror polarized lenses, providing another level of sun glare protection. These lenses reflect glare from every possible angle and offer super crisp, saturated, color acuity. A proprietary blue light barrier filters harmful blue light allowing colors to blast, and a hydrophobic coating protects against salt, sweat and smudges. Other features include anti-scratch coating, 100 percent UV protection, they are BPA free, and boast injected and decentered optics. All Unsinkable glasses are lightweight and impact resistant, and provide 10 percent visual light transmittance (VLT).
Blue mirror lenses are available in six wrap sunglass styles, ideal for blocking out glare while searching out signs of baitfish or gamefish. Blue mirrors are best suited for bright sunlight conditions, and are an excellent choice for offshore and coastal fishing and boating.
Green mirror lenses are available in four wrap sunglass styles, which reflect glare from every possible angle. They are best suited for variable light conditions and an excellent choice for anyone who spends a lot of time fishing or boating inshore waters or freshwater.
Unsinkable Polarized Sunglasses will never sink, but in case they do float away, you are covered by Unsinkable’s groundbreaking Lifetime plus Loss™ warranty. The MSRP on the new Unsinkable premium polarized mirror sunglasses is $159. To checkout their complete lineup of products, go to unsinkablepolarized.com/.
