Brandon Cyr remembers the day he decided to be an inshore flats guide. “It was Easter Sunday and I was 7 years old when I caught my first bonefish on fly,” he recalls. Growing up in the Florida Keys with a pro guide father, Cyr had plenty of opportunities to go fishing. But the first time he spotted a bonefish swimming across the white sandy bottom, made a perfect cast, and twitched the fly to convince the fish to bite, the young angler was hooked.
Today, Cyr is one of the most accomplished fly-fishing guides in southeast Florida. The Costa del Mar pro angler has multiple tournament wins and several world records under his belt, and he shares his time and energy with the Lower Keys Guides Association and Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. His latest passion is encouraging new anglers to get on the water, especially young people.
How does he plan to hook the next generation of anglers, the same way he was hooked, through sight-fishing. “Sight-fishing brings more people into the sport because it unlocks a primal instinct most people don’t know they have,” he says.
Unlike trolling or soaking cut bait, sight-fishing requires anglers to look for a fish swimming just below the surface. “I’m not just waiting for a rod to bend over or staring at a fish finder,” he says. Once the angler sees a fish, he has to control his nerves to cast a fly within striking distance and then convince the fish to bite. “I’ve seen people lose motor control under the pressure,” he says.
Cyr is convinced this is the juice that will bring new anglers into the fold. He says with a laugh, “If I could bottle it up, I’d be a millionaire.” Sight-fishing is relatively simple. While finding and fooling the fish is challenging, rigging up for sight-fishing requires a couple of fishing rods, a handful of flies or lures and a good pair of sunglasses. “Wearing the best sunglasses is my job,” Cyr points out.
To get the job done, Cyr carefully chooses lens-and-frame combinations to match the changing water and weather conditions. “Every angler has different needs depending on face shape, eye color and fishing conditions,” he points out.
For fishing the shallow flats and clear blue water surrounding the Florida Keys, Cyr relies on Costa del Mar’s new Fly Line frame. “The full-wrap frame has the right balance of coverage and ventilation to fit my face,” he explains. Designed specifically for fly-anglers, with grippy texture in the temple and nose and large retainer holes at the temple tips, the Fly Line frames stay secure when the salt water and sweat start to fly.
The most important feature is the lens; Fly Line frames are available with Costa del Mar’s premium 580G glass with C-Wall coating for scratch protection. For Cyr, glass lenses provide the greatest durability and clarity. “I’m rough on my stuff,” Cyr admits, “and glass lenses stand up to the abuse.”
The Fly Line is available in seven tint and mirror combinations, including Costa del Mar’s new Rose tint. “The Rose tint is a good all-around lens for changing light conditions,” Cyr says. To meet the conditions he faces on the flats, Cyr chooses between three lens combinations: Sunrise Silver Mirror, Gold Mirror and Copper Green Mirror.
Early in the morning, when the sun is low and casting less glare on the water, Cyr wears his Sunrise Silver Mirror lens. “The yellow tint and mirror permits more light to reach my eye,” he explains.
As the sun gets higher in the sky, Cyr switches to the Gold Mirror or Green Mirror lens to reduce maximum glare. “Each afternoon, bright white clouds form on the horizon, producing heavy glare on the water.” Cyr needs the best combination of tint and mirror to fight the reflection of clouds on the water.
Cyr even calculates his eye color when choosing the best lenses. “I have green eyes, and the combination of Copper tint and Green mirror provides maximum clarity and glare reduction,” Cyr says.
Cyr even has a favorite lens combination for land-based activities. “I call the Gold Mirror my happy glasses,” he says with a laugh. Cyr says that the combination of tint and mirror makes colors pop. “The lenses produce incredible contrast with vibrant colors.”
The Fly Line lineup offers pro-level performance at a reasonable price. The frames include the most important features and Costa del Mar’s best lenses in an affordable package. “Fly Line allows more anglers to have a better sight-fishing experience,” Cyr says.
The key to successful sight-fishing is seeing the fish. Before anglers can get hooked on the sport, they need the best opportunity to see fish below the water. “Sight-fishing is an intimate experience as I watch the ecosystem unfold beneath the water,” Cyr says. As he searches for permit, tarpon and bonefish, he watches all other species go about their business. “I really get to know the water I’m fishing.”
To get in on the sport, anglers need the best sunglasses for sight-fishing. Cyr can’t count the number of times he’s changed an angler’s perspective by handing a client the right sunglasses for the conditions. “It’s literally an eye-opening experience,” he says.
Cyr is convinced that sharing this experience will encourage new and emerging anglers to become passionate about the sport and the environment. “Once you see what’s out there, you have an appreciation for the water,” he says. By partnering with Costa del Mar, Cyr is planning programs that will help people grow the passion that he discovered when he was young. “I have big projects planned to get kids involved in fishing and understand the conservation side of the sport, because that’s where our future lies,” he says.
