Glasses

It began slowly and the first thing I noticed was that I was fine with a little more light. I got a bigger, stronger lamp for my desk, and that was good for a while. Then I got a dedicated fly tying lamp that mounts of the stem of the vice. Even better - for a while.

I could still tie 22s, but I was struggling and sometimes I noticed mistakes after finishing the fly that I wasn’t satisfied with and hadn’t made before. You know - a few too many caught hackle fibres sticking out in an unsightly manner, visible tying thread here and there. And this of course makes absolutely no difference to the fish, but it does to me.

I refused for a while and finally succumbed and got myself a pair af readers. And now again, everything is sharp as a razor and my 22s are satisfactory again.

I used a wore (and still do) normal readers, but one day (an example of how we’re tracked online) I saw a Facebook-ad for some new readers. Nooz, they’re called. They look a bit quaint, and colleagues and fishing mates say I look ridiculous, but for me, they are excellent as I don’t need them for reading (yet). I only use readers for fly tying, detailed inspection of small objects (like small, archaeological finds at work), pulling splinters out of my daughter’s feet and (amd here’s the point) tying small flies onto the leader.

For a while I had a pair of formal readers in a cord around my neck, and that was OK. But sometimes they would act as a tray for catching crumbs when having a snack on a fishing trip etc. Since they hang horizontally, they also easily get wet. And that was where I saw a possibility in a pair of Nooz glasses. Yes, I do look a bit quaint when having them on, but hey, it’s not a fashion contest. They are extremely light weight and come in a small, protective case that fits in any pocket. Or - on the brim of your favourite fishing hat.

I have mine stuck to the overside of the brim of my cap. I tried the underside but they got a bit too much in the way. They will get wet in heavy rain, but with the opening facing down, they fine with a bit of rain. Since the nose-piece is soft silicone, they slip in and out of the case easily and fast. The case is just stuck on there with some strong, double sided tape.

My other solution to get rid of the normal readers when fishing was a monocle, but they would definitely be even more quaint :-).

That was a lot of words about the need for readers, but at some point, we’ll all need them.

Have a great weekend!

Lars