It's Cool, It's Hip, and Effective! Costa Sunglasses

As a fly-fishing guide, having the right equipment is key to spotting bonefish in the shallow waters around Oahu, Hawaii. The right pair of shades can enhance your experience and increases the potential of catching these elusive bonefish. Lately, I have been testing out Costa’s latest pair, the Pescador, with side shields made from 100% recycled fishing nets. I fished during the afternoon with the wind at my back and sun to my front. 

Spotting fish with the sun to your front is near impossible without proper sunglasses. For the shallows here in Hawaii, I usually prefer the Copper Silver Mirror shades. They create lots of contrast between the bottom and backs of the fish. With the right glasses, fishing gets a lot more interesting and I was excited to test out the Pescadors.

I started fishing well into the afternoon with the wind behind me and the sun in front of me- a challenging combination for spotting fish. The water about 2-feet deep. As the sun angled lowered on the horizon, visibility in the direction of the sun went from 20 yards to only about 5 yards within a few hours.  To the left or right of the sun, visibility improved with each degree center.  The “center” is the path of the sun where visibility is reduced the most due to glare. At 45 degrees, the visibility improved to approximately 60 yards.  Most of the time, my focus was either to the far left or right.  

Spotting the fish early on allowed me to present the fly to the bonefish with enough room to work the fly.  The side shields were key in blocking the ambient light, reducing the glare and allowing for better sight fishing at angles to the sun.  I don’t normally wear these types of glasses and prefer wrap around glasses, but these glasses may quickly become my new go-to fly fishing glasses.   

There are a couple of differences between the wrap around glasses and the Pescador shades.  The wrap around glasses tend to fog up more easily and get dirty faster. They sit closer to the face which limits air circulation, trapping oils and moisture on the inside of the lenses.  The Pescadors are light weight and have more room between your face and the lenses, allowing for more circulation and less oils and dirt to be trapped on the lenses.  With that said, why not use the Pescadors all the time?

My type of guiding on the flats is different from off-shore fishing or heavy activity.   The Pescadors are light weight and the side shields are easily detached from the glasses.  I’m not bending over the side of the gunnels on a trolling boat gaffing a 300lb tuna.  Fly fishing on the flats requires less movement that would potentially damage the glasses or cause the side shields to fall off.  Also, I’m not getting hit by water sprays from driving a boat around for 8 and having to constantly clean the glasses.  Note that cleaning the Pescadors requires a litte more care to keep the side shields from falling off.  On a boat in rough seas or in a low light environment, you will not have the luxury to carefully clean your glasses.  However, in my back yard while guiding for bonefish in Hawaii, the Pescadors made by Costa Sunglasses are perfect!

The lenses on my Costa Pescadors are the Copper Silver Mirror, which provide a noticeable contrast and reduce the glare.  I’ve been spotting fish since I was 8 years old, when a throw-netter showed me how to spot fish in the surf.  Since then, I’ve learned to pick up certain colors in the water based on the contrast and movement.  Back then, most fisherman used the old school wrap around glasses with light colored lenses that were ideal for stalking fish in the shallows. I’ve learned to pick up on certain colors, such as blue or aqua.  At home, my wife says the couch is brown, while I say it is blue.  The Copper Silver Mirror amplify and create a contrast between the blues and aqua when spotting bonefish.  Having the right glasses and lens color is key in stalking bonefish on the fly in Hawaii.

During this short mission, testing the Pescador Costa Sunglasses made with 100% recycled fishing nets allowed me to see the bonefish early on. They dramatically reduced the side glare and allowed me to differentiate between the blues and aqua colors.  I was able to spot well over 50 bonefish within a short amount of time and hooked 3 bonefish.I highly recommend the Pescador Costa Sunglases with Copper Silver mirrors while fishing for bonefish on the flats in Hawaii.

To book your next fly fishing trip in Hawaii, visit our website at www.flyfishinghawaii.fishor give us a call at 808-780-1253.