Fishing in New Zealand offers stunning landscapes and diverse waters, but it also presents unique challenges due to the country’s intense sunlight and reflective environments. Wearing sunglasses is not just a comfort choice but a crucial tool for enhancing visibility and protecting your eyes from the harsh elements.
Sunglasses are crucial for fishing in New Zealand due to the following reasons:
Protection from UV Rays: New Zealand has one of the highest levels of UV radiation globally due to its location and relatively thin ozone layer. Prolonged exposure to UV rays can lead to eye damage, so polarized sunglasses protect against these harmful rays, ensuring safer long-term eye health.
Improved Vision in Water: Polarized sunglasses reduce glare from the water’s surface, which is especially important when fishing. This helps anglers see below the surface more clearly, making it easier to spot fish, read the water’s movements, and detect underwater obstacles or changes in depth.
Comfort and Safety: Glare from the sun can cause eye strain and headaches over time. Sunglasses not only reduce discomfort but also improve overall visibility. In environments like the open sea or reflective lakes, this visibility is essential for both spotting fish and navigating safely.
Weather Conditions: New Zealand’s weather can shift quickly, and polarized sunglasses help maintain clear vision in bright sunlight, cloudy conditions, or even when light levels are constantly changing due to the movement of clouds.
Reflection and Glare from Water Bodies: Whether fishing in New Zealand’s lakes, rivers, or along the coast, glare from the water is a constant issue. Sunglasses designed for fishing are specialized to block this reflection, allowing for better focus and concentration.
What specific type of polarized sunglasses should I look for when fishing in New Zealand?
Lens Material
- Polycarbonate lenses: Lightweight and impact-resistant, ideal for the rugged outdoors and active sports like fishing.
- Glass lenses: Provide the clearest vision and scratch resistance, though they are heavier. Suitable for those prioritizing optical clarity.
2. Lens Color
- Gray or Green lenses: Versatile, they reduce overall brightness without distorting colors, making them excellent for sunny conditions and saltwater fishing.
- Amber or Copper lenses: Enhance contrast and depth perception, making them ideal for spotting fish in freshwater or low-light conditions such as overcast days.
- Yellow lenses: Best for very low-light situations like dawn, dusk, or heavily overcast days.
3. UV Protection
- Look for sunglasses that offer 100% UV protection (UVA and UVB). This is crucial in New Zealand’s high-UV environment.
4. Hydrophobic and Anti-Reflective Coating
- Hydrophobic coatings help repel water and prevent water spots, useful when you’re constantly near water.
- Anti-reflective coatings reduce glare not only from the water’s surface but also from light coming from behind you.
5. Wraparound Frames
- Sunglasses with wraparound frames provide extra protection by blocking out light from the sides. This design is also useful for shielding your eyes from wind and debris.
6. Polarization Quality
- High-quality polarization is essential to cut the intense glare off water surfaces, allowing you to see fish below. Cheaper polarized lenses may not perform as well, so opt for established fishing or sports brands.
How do I know if sunglasses are truly effective in blocking harmful UV rays?
Look for a UV Protection Label
- 100% UV Protection: Check if the sunglasses are labeled as providing 100% protection against UVA and UVB rays. Some labels may say “UV400,” which means the lenses block all light rays with wavelengths up to 400 nanometers, covering both UVA and UVB spectrums.
- CE Mark or Australian/New Zealand Standards: Sunglasses that meet international standards for UV protection, such as CE certification (European) or the AS/NZS 1067 (Australia/New Zealand), are reliable for blocking harmful UV rays.
2. Test with a UV Light Meter
- Many opticians or specialty eyewear retailers offer UV light meters that can measure the UV protection level of your sunglasses. You can take your sunglasses to such a shop and ask to test their UV-blocking capability.
3. Check the Brand’s Reputation
- Stick to reputable brands that clearly state their sunglasses’ UV protection levels. Well-known brands like TOKA NZ, Ray-Ban, Costa, Maui Jim, and Oakley often provide details about their UV protection, making them reliable choices.
4. Polarization and UV Protection Are Not the Same
- Polarization reduces glare but does not automatically block UV rays. Always verify if your polarized sunglasses also offer 100% UV protection. Both features are important, especially for outdoor activities like fishing.
5. Lens Tint Doesn’t Indicate UV Protection
- Darker lenses do not necessarily offer better UV protection. UV blocking comes from a clear chemical coating applied to the lenses, regardless of the tint. Therefore, always check for a UV label instead of assuming darker lenses are safer.
How do polarized lenses actually work to reduce glare and help see below the water’s surface?
Polarized lenses work by filtering out horizontally reflected light, which is the primary cause of glare. When light from the sun hits a flat surface like water, it gets reflected primarily in a horizontal direction, creating intense glare. Polarized lenses have a special chemical coating that contains vertically aligned molecules. These vertical filters block the horizontally polarized light, reducing glare and allowing you to see through the water surface more clearly.
How Polarization Works:
- Unpolarized Light: Sunlight consists of unpolarized light, meaning light waves vibrate in all directions (vertical, horizontal, and diagonal).
- Glare Creation: When sunlight hits a flat surface (e.g., water, snow, or roads), it reflects off the surface. This reflected light is mostly horizontally polarized, causing glare.
- Polarized Lenses: The vertically aligned molecules in polarized lenses act like a filter, blocking horizontal light while allowing vertically polarized light to pass through.
- Result: By blocking glare, the lenses reduce the intensity of reflections and enhance contrast, which makes objects below the water surface more visible to your eyes.
Do weather conditions like fog, rain, or overcast skies affect the performance of polarized sunglasses while fishing?
Fog
- Impact: Polarized sunglasses are less effective in foggy conditions because the primary issue is reduced visibility due to water droplets suspended in the air. The lenses won’t cut through fog; instead, they may slightly improve contrast, but their anti-glare benefit is minimal in such conditions.
- Recommendation: Light-colored lenses like yellow or amber may help enhance contrast and improve visibility in foggy weather.
2. Rain
- Impact: Polarized sunglasses can still reduce glare from the water’s surface during rain. However, the rain itself can cause droplets on the lenses, which might obstruct vision. Hydrophobic coatings on the lenses can help repel water and prevent rain spots, keeping vision clearer.
- Recommendation: Sunglasses with hydrophobic and anti-smudge coatings are beneficial in rainy conditions to maintain better clarity.
3. Overcast Skies
- Impact: Polarized sunglasses remain effective on overcast days by cutting glare from the water’s surface. Even when the sun is behind clouds, glare can still be a problem due to the way light reflects off the water, so polarization helps reduce this. However, the darker lenses used in very sunny conditions may not be ideal, as they can make the surroundings too dim.
- Recommendation: For overcast conditions, use lighter lens tints like amber, copper, or even yellow to enhance contrast and improve visibility without making the environment appear too dark.
4. Low-Light Conditions (Dawn, Dusk)
- Impact: Polarized sunglasses with darker lenses are less effective in low-light conditions and can actually reduce visibility. However, specialized low-light polarized lenses (yellow or light amber) can still help reduce glare without sacrificing too much brightness.
- Recommendation: Switch to lighter lens tints in low-light conditions for optimal performance.