Whether you're a saltwater or freshwater angler, there are a few things to consider when choosing the best lens color for fishing. Water depth, tree cover, lighting conditions, and even the weather can impact how well your lenses work. Our quick guide will help you choose the right tint to maximize your experience and transform your fishing sunglasses into a performance-enhancing tool.
In This Post:
Best Lens Color for Fishing Video
Best Fishing Lens Colors
Offshore Fishing: Neutral
Inshore & Freshwater Fishing: Contrast-Enhancing
Low Light Fishing: Yellow
Lens Features
Polarization
Mirror Coatings
Shop the Best Lens Color for Fishing at SportRx
Best Lens Color for Fishing Video
Best Fishing Lens Colors
Offshore Fishing: Neutral
Neutral lens tints like gray are best for offshore fishing, where the sun is most intense. Deep sea fishing or any fishing that is miles from the coast requires the utmost sun protection. Dark gray polarized lenses give the best brightness protection on open waters, which act like a mirror even on cloudy days. Since these tend to be longer trips that require more travel time, you’ll need the extra protection to prevent eye strain or fatigue. Neutral tones keep your surroundings true-to-color, but a blue or green mirror coating can add slight contrast and increase definition.
SportRx Saeger in Matte Black with Grey Polarized Lenses
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Inshore & Freshwater Fishing: Contrast-Enhancing
Warm tints like copper, rose, and brown are best for inshore and freshwater fishing where water is shallow and lighting varies. This includes coastlines, flats, bays, rivers, lakes, and streams. These tints adapt to a wide range of lighting conditions for excellent coverage while also boosting color. Inshore and freshwater anglers can use contrast-enhancing tints to their advantage to better spot and track fish underwater. Polarization is also key for cutting glare and increasing visibility.
Costa Diego in Matte Black with Copper Silver Mirror 580G Lenses
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Low Light Fishing: Yellow
Yellow lenses are great for low light fishing at dawn or dusk, or even a particularly overcast day. Yellow—along with other warm tints like amber and copper—can reduce blue light and brighten your environment. One of our favorite lenses for this is Costa’s Sunrise Silver Mirror lens. It’s perfect for maximizing contrast and light transmission in low light environments.
Costa Fantail Pro in Matte Black with Sunrise Silver Mirror 580G Lenses
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Lens Features
Polarization
Polarized lenses are a must for any angler, no matter what type of waters you’re in. Polarized lenses are treated with a film that blocks out reflective (horizontal) light while allowing vertical light to pass through. Anglers need glare protection, and the only way to get it is with quality polarized lenses. Not only do they protect your eyes from fatigue, they eliminate glare so you can read the water more easily.
Mirror Coatings
A mirror coating is a reflective layer applied to the front side of the lens as an extra layer of sun protection. They’re mostly cosmetic, but certain colors can add a touch of contrast. Blue mirrors add a tinge of yellow, while green mirrors add a pink or purple tint.
For strong coverage, we like Costa’s 580G lenses that use a gray base and blue mirror. For added contrast, try Oakley's PRIZM™ Deep Water.
Costa Rinconcito in Matte Black with Blue Mirror 580G Lenses
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Green mirrors applied to high-contrast lenses enhance your vision for inshore or sight fishing. It enhances green in murky water to make it easier to spot fish. For instance, Costa does this by using a copper lens with a green mirror to boost contrast and illuminate your field of vision.
Costa Tuna Alley Pro in Blackout with Green Mirror 580G Lenses
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Shop the Best Lens Colors for Fishing at SportRx
Find everything you’re looking for in the best pair of fishing sunglasses at SportRx! We’re proud to offer the most customizable eyewear experience, no matter what your vision needs are. Let your next pair be the tool that propels you into your best game.
Shop confidently knowing that your order is backed by our See Better Guarantee. This gives you 45 days to try your fishing sunglasses on the water. If you’re not fully pleased with them, simply let us know and we’ll be happy to set up a refund or exchange for a better pair—no strings attached! We even offer free domestic shipping both ways. Contact us to get started.
Sounds like you're in need of a customized pair of fly fishing sunglasses. We can help you find that pair! Give us a call at 888.831.5817 or Contact Us to speak with one of our customer service opticians with your prescription handy. With that information, you will get the best recommendations so you can go fly fishing without a care in the world.
Have a great day