[Dana]

A reminder that sunglasses or some other kind of eye protection are vitally important, no matter how well you cast, and no matter how sunny it is. This morning in the rain and wind a poorly placed anchor resulted in a bad gust grabbing my D loop as I was coming forward. The fly bounced off my sunglasses, dug into my nose, and then sailed off. Bled like a stuck pig for a few minutes but no harm done other than my bruised ego.

Wear your glasses.

 

[BeBop]

Dana, in the early 80,s I went south to the Stilly with a couple of Chilliwack guys. We started out at Fortson and worked our way down to the Picnic Tables. One on the guys got his fly stuck under a rock and started yanking on the line. It came loose and hit him in the face. This was a size four hook, and it stuck all the way up to the fly's butt in his lower eye (the fleshy part). He refused to go to the local hospital, and we drove him all the way back to MSA in Abby. You should have seen the look on the customs guy's face as we crossed back over the line. Fortunately no real harm was done, but I have never forgot that incident, and I'm always leery of fishing without glasses.

 

[Bob Pauli]

Side Shields

Dana,
Did your glasses have side shields?
Bob

 

[juro]

... and make them polycarbonate

They require more maintenance to prevent scratching, like wiping only with soft cloth vs paper, but if you fish tubes or barbell eyes or heavy winter irons the glass can do more eye damage than the hook might have in certain cases.

My brother is an eye surgeon at MA Eye and Ear and can attest first hand to this; I shudder at the memory of the photos he's shown me.

 

[Dana]

sideshields

Bob,

no, but they should have.

 

[clyde olson]

eye protection

One of my never-to-be-forgotten surgeries in my second year of training was rermoving a barbed Shad fly which had penetrated the eye(globe). Eye was eventually lost. Another problem with penetrating injuries of the globe is there is a rare, but must be considered problem, that if the injured eye is not cared for properly, one runs the risk of sympathetic ophthalmia. This is a condition in which the sound, un-injured eye can, in 'sympathy' with the injured eye, commense an interior inflammation which can lead to blindness.
I put a pair of safety glasses OVER my regularly worn carbonate glasses when using rotary lawn equipment. I can't afford(tho now retired) to have someone say, "Can you believe that idiot retired eye doc wasn't wearing any eye protection". Even if I were wearing glasses, by the time the third person told the story, I would not have been wearing any eye protection! An ounce or prevention . . .

 

[JDJones]

U.V Protection

Since my mother had macular degeneration, I asked my eye doctor about it. Without trying to keep straight everything he told me, the long and short of it is,,,U.V. rays can damage your eyes and lead to one type of M.D.

This is bad news folks. You ain't blind, but damned near! Always wear good sunglasses when you are outdoors.