I was on a small river yesterday: shallow but fast running current, boulder bottom.

I tried 2 different shades of polarized glasses: greenish-black and brown. While they did cut glare, I could see a darn fish in that fast water or under the foam/ripples.

Meanwhile, one or two other fisherman were easily spotting fish as they walked up and down the bank. A friend (who was also wearing polarized glasses, different style/brand) even stood next to one of these fellows and could not see the fish that he had spotted.

I *think* but am not sure, that their lenses had more of a reddish tint (amber??) than my brown lenses.

I see from Cabelas that there are many different "brown" shades available: tan, amber, copper, etc. plus styles in photchromatic, glass, plastic, polycarbonate, etc. lense material. Any recommendations out there for shallow, fast, boulder strewn waters? Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.

correction: I could NOT see a darn fish in that water with my glasses

You learn not to look for a whole fish but shapes, movement etc. It is a timing thing as well. you look between the water as it changes on the surface. It comes natural to some not others.

Action Optics make a great pair of glasses. Personally I prefer Costa Del Mar, they are more for high glare conditions. Action Optics are probally better for low light glare.

I have read that amber lense glasses work best in brighter conditions and you can see more detail and a grey or grey/green tint is better for heavy overcast and will show more motion or I guess you could call it dark movement in the water. Personally I use light amber lenses most of the time and if I feel the need to switch to a grey lense I use a very light one. Photochromatic is actually a property of the lense and not the material the lenses are made of. A photochromatic lense will actually change the color of the light entering with minimal loss of it's intensity. A polorized photochromatic glass lense would in my opinion be the best and probably the most expensive as well as the heaviest. I have a problem with breaking or loosing my glasses so I buy reasonably priced light weight poly lenses because they have decent ocular characteristics and are more scratch resistant than plastic. Hope this helps.

Just a heads up, there are several polarized glasses in the "Bargain Cave" on the Cabela's website right now.

I toted around 2 pairs of glasses for a couple of weeks years ago. 1 green, and 1 amber.
I came to the conclusion that for all around performance the amber was a better lens for spotting fish. My 2 cents.

I have a set of glass Costa Del Mars - they are a wrap around style and also a pair of plasic Maui Jim Sports. The Costas are amber and the Maui Jims are rose. IMO the costas are better for fishing, but it may be due to the wrap around style. The trade off is in the weight...the costas are heavy, the maui's are light. Both are high quality glasses (read - high priced anyway).

I see fish better with the costas - could be the color, could be the style?? Either way - both glasses are supposed to be "the best" - I emailed Maui Jim and told them my costa's are better.

I have never used a green shaded lens.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to try many different brands and color lenses. The best have been the amber under all c onditions. Dont fall into the trap of paying top dollar for a pair of shades. There are many moderatly priced models that will out perform the more expensive ones(1 of the best pair I've had was a pair I got free with my western outdoors subscription). As for being able to see the fish, that is something that will take practice. Had a friend show me a steelie that was holding in water not more than 6 ft in front of me which would disappear and reappear as I was standing there looking at the spot. It was an amazing thing to see.(I guess they dont call them grey ghosts for nothing!)

Consider Hobie's Anchor glasses w/ photocopper lenses. I have a pair and like them, but I only fish the salt and havn't tried them on fast moving riverwater.

Great for both low light and bright sunny days.

I passed my polarized amber glasses around when I was the only one who could see fish and everybody who put them on could see them too. I agree that you don't need super expensive shades. Just make sure they're polarized and any color so long as it's amber.

And they can still be pretty hard to see even with the polarized glasses, especially if the light isn't great.

Does anybody have a theory as to why amber is better? Seems to be brighter than gray shades because it lets in more light. Seeing fish also has alot to do with the sun's position during the day, glare, and shade too. Sometimes you can see just as good without polarized shades early and late.