Smith Optics I can see clearly now

 

I’m a bit of a skeptic, I have to admit.  I don’t always buy into all of the hype about a given product. Since I don’t have a lot of “disposable income” (when I’m not making these blog entries, I’m in the world of education), I am unable and very reluctant to make a purchase just for having the latest bells and whistles.  But I finally gave in when a handful of guides here at Angler’s Covey kept saying that having high quality sunglasses was key – and Smith optics were top-notch.  I made the purchase, and I can see clearly now.

 

Over the past seven or eight years, I have owned three or four pairs of sunglasses.  Since I wear prescription glasses, I usually get a new pair of sunglasses along with regular glasses after each eye exam.  This year, I decided to get a pair of Smith “Guide’s Choice” sunglasses following my eye exam.

 

Yesterday, I took my new purchase to Deckers.  As I approached my favorite hole, I got as excited as when I purchased my newest rod.  When I made my way through the willows and got to the river’s edge, the impact was immediate.  There was absolutely no doubt that the Smith sunglasses had improved my vision in the water.  I had anticipated that I would notice some difference, but the degree of improvement was incredible. 

 

I had brought my other sunglasses with me in my pack so I could do a side-by-side comparison (imagine your eye doctor’s voice:  “Which is better, 1 or 2?”).  I never even pulled out my other glasses – there was no need to.  There was no comparison.

 

All quality sunglasses have polarized lenses.  Many of them have anti-glare treatments.  But Smith optics feature their Chromapop lenses – and I have to attribute that technology to the incredible clarity offered by these glasses.  The Chromapop lenses reminded me of moving from regular TV to HDTV and the way the colors are so much more vivid and distinct.  I was seeing the South Platte with so much more clarity than I had before.  I was seeing my favorite stretch of the river, a pretty familiar spot, in whole new ways.

 

My first fish with my Smith “Guide Choice” sunglasses with Chromapop lenses

 

In the past, when guides or friends pointed to the water and said “cast to that fish there, do you see him?” I would follow their finger and nod, squinting my eyes as I tried to make out a fish-like figure in the water.  Yesterday, I saw, and fished to, trout that I would have either walked past cast blindly to, hoping my rig was in the general vicinity of a fish.  To be able to watch my rig, and then make adjustments on the next casts to get closer to the fish, was amazing. 

 

One other benefit of Smith sunglasses was being able to wade with a little bit more confidence.  My younger and more sure-footed friends may not need this advantage, but to be able to see the contours of the bed of the river, to see the shape and height of the rocks in the water, even made wading seem like a new (and safer) experience.

 

As a prescription sunglass wearer, I will almost always need to invest in a pair of sunglasses on a regular basis.  Why not make a purchase that will positively impact my sight-fishing and increase my chances of catching more fish each time out?  Smith Optics is a game changer.