Bifocals or other glasses solution ? Help!

okay, well I'm 45. My vision is still pretty darn good (don't wear glasses to see). When I try and tie on small flies, I can see the fly fine, however,
now when I look up, everything else in the distance is really blurry and it takes a long time for that to go away. That is not good when you are trying to see a #22 midge emerger in a foam line.

I'm not really that knowledgable about bifocals, etc... and all the available products out there.

Should I carry a pair of reading glasses with me? (that seems like more crap to carry). Do they make "bifocal" non-prescription Sunglasses?

What do people do? Carry an extra pair of glasses? Or are most older guys wearing prescription bifocals. I don't need glasses to see in my everyday life, it's just the strain of looking at something close up. When I tie flies I use the hobby magnifying glasses, and I use reading glasses to read.

Vision is probably the first thing to go, I hope I don't need the little blue pills anytime soon. ;)

thanks for your help.

M

A friend finally went for a visit to the optomerist. After checking his eyes the Doc moved the apparatus away and said to him "You're 43 aren't you?" My friend say "Yes, how did you know that?" The Doc replied "Everyone who needs this prescription is 43." I'm guessing you beat him by 2 years. It sounds like you are bassawkard from most folks, who can still see the size 22 dry fly on the water but cannot tie it on. Check your insurance plan and make an appointment, there are some great choices available now.

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Originally Posted by Uncle Jesse

. It sounds like you are bassawkard from most folks, who can still see the size 22 dry fly on the water but cannot tie it on.

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I can tie it on, I just can't see clearly afterwards! (at a distance). But yeh, probably bassawkward.

Mark-

I think you're probably going to need to supplement the up-close work with something, it's just a matter of what option to choose. There are non-prescription sunglasses with magnifier/reader lenses on the bottom. Likewise, there are little stick-on reader lenses that I've seen in Cabela's and other catalogs that are designed to be added to the bottom of your ordinary sunglasses. I haven't tried either, but from what I've read, gather that they work pretty well with one notable issue. I've read some complaints from people who use them, describing distortion when they start wading and instinctively look down through their sunglasses, only to find the stream bottom made blurry by the magnifiers. I tried those magnifiers awhile back that clip onto the top of your sunglasses and flip down and, while I like the concept, found that the curvature of most of the fishing sunglasses we wear as well as the relative thickness of the plastic frames (as compared to wire frames) mean the clip-on apparatus never really stays steady. Short of keeping a drugstore pair of reading glasses around your neck, I think the best solution may be the type that clips under the visor of your cap and then folds down when you need it. Not exactly the best in terms of "Me? No, I'm not old" discretion, but at some point I guess we have to swallow our pride on that kind of stuff!

At around 47 I had the same issue. For sometime now I have been using HatEyes to ease the eye strain at the tying bench and stream side. They come in a variety of magnification and neatly fold into the brim of a hat.

Link to HatEyes>> http://www.mageyes.com/hateyes.htm

I've tried quite a few different options. I think this is very individualized preference like rod action or vest / pack choice where you need to see what works best for you. The easiest place to start is to pick up some inexpensive reading glasses (about $10) at a local store. These are non-prescription and run from around 1.5 - 2.5 magnification, so you can choose the magnification that works best for you.

Everybody has different experiences and preferences in this area. My advice is to start with a professional eye exam. They are not expensive. At the end of it, ask the doctor what your options are for the next year. Specifically ask him about reading glasses, the cheapest option, or magnifiers.

You might need more, though, especially if you have astigmatism. Then you have a range of options including bifocals and progressives. I prefer progressives. I liked contact lenses until I got to dry and windy Colorado, where they were painful. Contacts also offer the option of having one eye set up for distance and one for close up. (This works, believe it or not, for most folks.) If you end up with prescription glasses, you can get polarized sunglasses that fit over them. I did that for awhile, then went to a chain that always sells two pairs of glasses for $99 and got one regular pair and one pair of prescription sunglasses.

Get yourself a pair of clip on magnifiers that clip on your ball cap when fishing. That will help you thread the fly. For water times, maybe some reading glasses will be fine. In the meantime, go have an eye exam. You should have one done once a year any way.

Like others have said, get your eyes checked first. If it is determined that you still have 20/20, then look into nonprescription sunglasses with bifocal magnifiers, and don't go cheap on these as the distortion of some of the cheaper pairs is hard to deal with. I finally got Lasik surgery about 6 years ago, but that was to correct distant vision which was corrected to 20/15 with the surgery. I now wear a pair of nonprescription Smiths or Coyotes with a 2.5 magnifier for tying those small flies on. The nonprescription Guidelines aren't too bad optically, but they scratch easily (or I'm just tough on glasses).

Like others have said though, sunglasses can be like flyrods, they're not one size fits all.

I have the clip-on magnifiers for my cap, and they are fine for very overcast days. When it is sunny, I wear a pair of AO/Smith sunglasses with amber lenses. They have +1.5 magnifiers built into them. As I recall, they were expensive, but I would not be without them on the river. It took a couple of hours to get used to them, but they are worth it. Good luck and as always, Best Regards....

I like these Flip N Focus magnifiers. Always right where you need them. I found the hat clips always required me to move my head or hat. Reading glasses in front of my sunglasses wasn't very elegant. But buy them at your local shop, Amazon link for illustration only.

Ill tell you what I did when I first needed magnifier assistance, and I have been been happy with my vision situation for the last 15 years(im 60 now). I went to my eye doctor, and got a prescription for both far and reading glasses. I didnt really need much as far as distance goes, but a little helped me with the 200 yards plus stuff. I then had my optician craft me a pair of polarized sunglasses with a tiny bifocal/magnifier in the very bottom of the lens. The magnifier is completely out of my line of sight normally, but when I need to tie on a fly (or write down a golf score), I position the fly in the lower field of vision and look thru the bifocal. It works great. Now, these were expensive glasses. But I have worn them constantly when outside or driving and I dont regret spending the money at all, as it has made my life easier.

i like to use the ones o clarkie gave the link to. the visor clip-ons are hard to get the fly and glasses in the right location to tie andif you move your head or eyes to get something out of the vest you start all over again.

We have done a pretty good job of explaining why he should be a professional, we are different in our needs and desires.

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Originally Posted by markgraumlich

Should I carry a pair of reading glasses with me? (that seems like more crap to carry). Do they make "bifocal" non-prescription Sunglasses?

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For only a few bucks you can find a pair of really cheap readers at a drug store or dollar store and try them out. (I found a pair for $3 recently.) They come in a lot of different magnification strengths so you may want to try a couple of different ones. Different ones are better at different focal lengths, and the best strength for reading distances may not be what you prefer for closer work like tying flies or tying flies to tippets. Carrying readers around isn't as convenient as a clip-on for your hat, but you can use the cheap ones to find the best strength for your particular need before buying something more convenient like a clip-on or bifocal sunglasses. (And you can always hang them around your neck like a librarian when you don't need them.)

Once you find a strength you like, yes, you can get non-prescription sunglasses with bifocal magnifiers. I got mine at Bass Pro for about 20 bucks. They are good for reading at the beach, too.

I'm not an expert by any means, however, it sounds to me as if your eyes are having to work very hard to focus on the up-close work of tying on the fly. Then it takes a while for them to "re-focus" at a distance. My advice would be to get a pair of reading glasses at the dollar store and see if wearing them while tying on the fly puts less strain on your eyes and, therefore, easier to get your distance vision back. This "experiment" will only set you back $1.00. That will help you decide on your next step whether that be a prescription of some sort or sunglasses with magnifiers, or whatever.

I will add that, like many folks, once I hit my 40's, it became obvious that bifocals were in order (I had been wearing glasses since grade school and contact lenses since college). I now wear "multi-focal" contacts (somewhat like bifocal glasses but work a bit differently. They are GREAT for everyday use. However, I still struggle with seeing clearly at very close distances like tying on a fly. Since I started putting on a pair of dollar store reading glasses OVER my multi-focal contact I can tie on a fly in half the time and it really has increased my enjoyment of fly fishing.

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but I'm not sure why so many people think I should go to a doctor? If my vision works well overall, is he going to do anything that is really different than me just buying either reading glasses, or the glasses with the magnifiers on the bottom?

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Originally Posted by markgraumlich

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but I'm not sure why so many people think I should go to a doctor? If my vision works well overall, is he going to do anything that is really different than me just buying either reading glasses, or the glasses with the magnifiers on the bottom?

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Most likely, you are correct, he will just tell you to go get some inexpensive reading glasses. However, there is the risk that something more serious is causing your vision problems.

If you haven't had an eye exam in years and you've started having vision problems, an eye exam would be a wise move.

Mark, I'm not a doctor of any kind. I reco'd an eye exam because I had not heard of people with the specifics you noted before -- slow to be able to focus after doing close-up work. Most of the folks I know who get by with just readers do it just in order to focus on close up work. They don't cost much. Why not get the peace of mind? Plus you get a base reading for any future exams.

In my first professional eye exam, I learned that I had had far vision all my life, so never had a problem reading an eye test chart. But I was developing astigmatism that needed correction. I could have gotten by with just reading glasses for a few years, but went for prescription glasses and am glad I did. Among other things, they made it much easier to drive after dark.

For the record, John I am not insisting that Mark get an eye exam. I am merely recommending it. I've met Mark and know him to be a bright man. I am offering him my advice only because he asked for it by starting this thread. It is totally up to him, and no skin off my back, if he chooses to follow it or not.

I'm old enough to be Mark's father. I've given him the same advice I would give to one of my sons. That definitely does not mean that my advice is right or worth following; only that it is the best advice I can offer.

The downside of seeing a professional on this and havingh him/her tell you you have no problem is merely the cost of the "wasted" exam. The downside of not seeing a professional could be much greater.

Not arguing, just clarifying.

Brad

I think having an eye exam is probably a good thing every once in a while for eye pressure etc.Glasses don't fix vision problems.As John said,only exercise can correct the problem

Your 45, it's time to visit an Optometrist.

On a practical note maybe you can use your size 22 emerger as a dropper behind a larger or more visible fly