Gear Review: Smith ChromaPop Sunglasses

It's hard to admit, but I used to be someone who never really wore sunglasses when fly fishing. I know, crazy right? Well, this all changed in June of 2014 on the green river. My awesome wife organized a fishing trip for my 25th birthday. I brought along my dad, and brother-in-law Mike. I remember getting on the boat floating over the greenest water I had ever seen when my cousin Scott (owner of Spinner Fall Guide Service) said, "hey Sam, did you bring sunglasses." I told him no, and he reached in his pocket and pulled out his spare sunglasses. From that day on, I never set foot on a body of water without polarized shades. Wow had I missed a lot. Both the sun protection and the polarization helped me tremendously out on the water.. With the sunglasses I wore that day on the Green, I could see fifteen feet down at the big browns lurking below.

Fast forward one year later to IF4 in Provo Utah when something very lucky happened. The twenty dollar raffle tickets I bought scored me some new Smith ChromaPop sunglasses. I remember when Nate with Outsmarting Fish read the winning number out loud. I was listening eagerly and yelled out loud when he read the last number. "Better be louder than that with a prize like these" Nate says. I yelled out again, this time even louder while smiling uncontrollably. This was the best twenty dollars I had ever spent. I now had some top of the line shades to fill my sunglasses void.

The Smith ChormaPop lenses are awesome. They really do make colors "pop" as intended. Colors all seem to have a higher saturation. This makes spotting fish that much easier. I fish a lot of alpine lakes and spend a good amount of time scouting for fish and structure. With the ChromaPop's, it makes it really easy. The colors of fish really come through and often I can see deep into a lake and it's structure.

I have now had my Smith shades for a couple years, and had no issues with them. They continue to provide everything I need in a good pair of sunglasses. Comfort, durability, and excellent polarization. I am somewhat biased toward my Smiths, as they are the only pair I use when fishing. However, I do believe they compete with the other top brands. If you have been searching for a good pair of sunglasses, look to Smith ChromaPops. They will enhance your fishing experience, and provide the important protection to your eyes in the relentless sun.

Below, I took a photo with my camera shooting through my Smith's.

Beaver Dams & Feisty Rainbows

My dad called me the other day and asked "hey, want to go fishing Saturday? I need to take my new car on a road trip." Of course I said yes. I was jealous as he had just bought a new Outback, a car I had been trying to find for months. Long story short, I was unable to get one, maybe someday I will. Right now the plan is to get one when I finish grad school. Though I will be in thousands of dollars of debt, maybe I'll pull the trigger. Time will tell.

We chose a stream that we knew would not be blown out from recent rains. I wanted to fish bigger water, but the rivers were either too high or chocolate milk, some both. I was confident the stream we chose however would be clear, and I was right.

This little stream makes it's journey through a spectacular desert landscape lush with pine trees and vegetation. It portrays true Indian country, with it's vibrant almost unreal red rock and towering cliffs.  It is also the home of a particular animal, one that serves as a double edge sword for fly fisherman; the beaver. You hear stories of how beaver dams provide great habitat for trout. The backed up water forms a sort of mini lake per se, why would there not be fish in there? Well, for this stream, the beavers have made a true mess. They have foraged sticks and branches from all over, creating lots of dams along a portion that stretches fifty yards. This has changed the natural course of the river, and created lots of very small streams that branch out like the roots of a tree. This made the fishing in this area nearly impossible. I saw a few fish, but they would pass as bait for an eight inch brown. We had no success until we went well above the beaver's chaos.

The fish that day were picky of our offerings. We finally dialed it in, the true producer being the elk hair caddis. Further confirmation of this fly was given when we were walking back to the car. A man and his son, fly fisherman, were rigging up and asked us how we did. I began talking and he eventually said "and they were hitting caddis?" Portraying he was already well aware of what the fish would want. I smiled and nodded.

The cloudy skies with distant thunder and five minute rain we had made for a great setting. I love monsoon season, and the unexpected weather it brings. Just as you think a storm is heading away from you, the wind shifts and a big purple cloud is soon right above you. It's a humbling experience, feeling so small and at mercy of mother nature. The power and beauty she shows enhances the wild experience.

The rainbows we caught that day really impressed me. They were aggressive, and often leaped out of the water to smack our dries revealing their crimson red stripe. My biggest, which had to be around sixteen, fought hard and made a few leaps. The browns also came out to play. We did catch a few, though they were smaller than the rainbows. Catching quality fish in small stream is tough to beat.