Clip On Magnifiers   By Creek Creature

Fly-fishing has an element to it that is an essential ingredient to the art form of trout fishing which is different from the other forms of trout fishing. We require dry flies, wet flies, nymphs and the terrestrials be placed on the end of our lines in order to entice trout. But this story isn’t about flies at all but instead the problem many of us face using them, and that is tying them onto the tippet. Especially tying flies that are in the 18 – 26 range. Those little guys are really tough to see and getting an 8X tippet through the eye of the hook can be so frustrating.

Picture yourself standing thigh deep in water with the current pushing against your legs and the fly rod tucked under your arm as you fumble with your fingers trying to tie a small Griffith’s Gnat to the end of your tippet. From a bystanders view point you look like a dancer doing the robot as your upper body mechanically shifts it’s position in an attempt to get the right angle for the right background in order to see the line and the hook eye. Man, I know I’ve done that a host of times.

I struggled for a long time attaching flies to my line and getting older just continues to make it worse. When I reached the point of needing reading glasses just to see a menu I knew my fishing problems were just starting. That's when I realized that I needed help.  

I needed a way to magnify my vision but I didn’t want to be changing glasses every time I changed flies. I wear polarized sunglasses while fishing because they enable me to see into the water better by reducing the glare. To take them off and then put on reading glasses to tie on a new fly wasn’t a very good option and I needed a better alternative. Finally, I thought of a solution. What I really needed was a pair of magnifying glasses that would clip to my sunglasses not my hat. I always wear sunglasses and the idea that I could flip magnifying glasses down to see things close and them flip them up out of the way was perfect for my use. That was a simple request .... I thought, but was I surprised. It took me a while to find a pair of magnifying glasses that would fit the bill. 

I had no idea what was meant by “Diopters” and “X powers”. Many of the glasses I looked at were using measurements like “1.75X Power/+3.00 Diopters, 1.5X Power/+2.25, and 2X Power/+4.00 Diopters.” Come on man, I just want some magnifying glasses. 

So I did a little research and discovered that “Diopters” is a unit of measurement of the optical power of a lens or curved mirror, which is equal to the reciprocal of the focal length measured in meters. Ouch, what does that mean? In simpler terms a diopter is a unit of measurement that tells you how much correction your vision needs to be as close to 20/20 as possible. This is more related to a person going into the eye doctor for prescription lenses and not really necessary for my needs. But power, that was what I needed. “Power” is the actual enlargement of the object you are viewing. In other words, how big it gets. So putting this altogether, the diopter refers to the refractive information of the lens and the power refers to the actual enlargement of an item. An “X” generally, notates power after a number like 2X or 3X.  

After I digested this information I learned that all I really needed to be interested in was the “power”, how big things get and how far away from my face they needed to be. I found for me, using 2X - 4X power magnifying glasses work well, letting me see the small flies easily.

As I’ve said, I need magnifying glasses that attach to my sunglasses, can flip up and are going to be lightweight. Lightweight is important because heavy glasses push down on your nose and can slip too, especially when days get warm. Trust me, the constant need to push the glasses back up ones nose and the weight resting on the bridge of your nose takes its toll by days end.  

I searched the local fly shops, sporting goods stores and catalogs looking for an answer to my problem. Many offered clip on glasses but most all of them clipped to a hat. Not what I was looking for. Eventually, I found a pair offered in a catalog, ordered them and tried them out. I was happy with what I found, but they were just a bit heavier than I expected. Unfortunately, at the time, they were the only ones available. As time went on, I continued to look for a better pair which resulted in finding a specific pair at Cabela’s.

I have never stopped searching for good lightweight magnifying glasses and I’m happy to say, I have found several quality glasses that exist. And the good news is they are available at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and a few on-line stores. I am very pleased with the ones made by Carson Optical. They are excellent quality, inexpensive, lightweight, perfect lens size, and have several magnifications to fit your needs. 

Give them a try and let me know what you think. Oh, and if you ever find a better pair, I’d like to know that too.