Binoculars have long been part of our game. You can locate dipping birds to find bait schools. Pinpoint topwater action at the far edge of a mangrove shoreline. Find tailing bonefish. The possiblities are limitless, and the equipment—the basics at least—pretty inexpensive. You can have a decent set of weather-resistant 7- or 8-power binocs for under a hundred bucks. It’s been my experience that any higher magnification becomes unsteady, especially on a rocking boat.

Enter image-stabilized binocs. These came onto the scene a few years ago, to great acclaim amongst birders and astronomers. The technology, as I recently discovered, has big potential for some anglers. But like lots of goodies, it comes at a price.

When my wife’s parents moved into a beachfront condo this summer, I wanted to give them a practical gift for their new home. Curious about the possiblities for IS binocs, I swiped my VISA at a local Canon dealer.

For a little more than the price of a high-end 9-weight flyrod, minus the reel, I picked up a set of Canon 12X36 IS II binoculars. The first number, as with all binocs, refers to the magnification power: the image appears 12 times as close as it would if viewed through the naked eye. The second number has to do with the diameter of the objective (or front) lens. In general, the wider the better the performance in low-light conditions. Field of view is another important detail for anglers. Makers state this in terms of width in feet at 1,000 yards. My in-laws’ new scopes offer a 262-foot width at 1,000 yards. More width is helpful when you’re scanning for birds or other details in motion.

Left is a stabilized image at 10X magnification. Right is without, showing the blurring effects of hand movement and unsteady footing.

To the point: Canon’s image-stablizing system utilizes a microprocessor-directed prism that instantly adjusts the visual path to smooth bumps and jiggles. It works, amazingly well. The system is powered by two AA alkaline batteries. In front of the center-mounted focus adjustment knob is a black button. After you focus on the subject, you press and hold the button. Right away you notice things you missed out on: Like the black, knife-like fins atop that bulge in the ocean. Standing on the balcony of my in-laws condo, I called a buddy to tell him the exact location of a permit school running the beach. The fish were at least one mile away. Not only could I clearly identify the species, I could count individual members of the school.

Farther down the beach—as in four miles down the beach—I could count pelicans sitting on a school of sardines. Closer to home, I could identify, and later catch, snook prowling the surf zone.

Granted, my view was from 11 stories above the ocean. Due to the curvature of the earth, elevation enhances your range of visibility. At skiff-level, 6 feet above the water, you can see roughly 2.8 miles to a featureless horizon, double that to another boat. (Fishing the blue water over the years, I’ve learned that if you can just barely make out a fishing boat in the distance, it’s likely 6 miles.) Looking at a chart in my Chapman’s Guide to Seamanship, I find that my balcony view to a distant center console was probably 15 miles. I verified that by looking north to an inlet that I knew was nearly 20 miles away. Stabilized binoculars will not overcome the geographical limits to range of visibility, but at these distances they make distinguishing details at such a range practical. With the IS system off on the Canons, it would have been impossible to make out those permit.

Portability is something of an issue with stabilized binoculars. The highest-magnification Canons, for instance, while appealing for their “all-weather” rating, seemed far too beefy to be stowed in a skiff. The 12X36s I bought weigh in at 23 ounces—fine for single-hand operation. They have a water-resistant rubber coating, but aren’t designed for full exposure to the elements. I was unable to find locally the new 10X42 IS Waterproof Canons, but I read that they weigh 36 ounces, priced about twice that of the 12X36s. You also get the top-grade Canon “L” series lenses. Several manufacturers offer waterproof models, obviously aimed at the marine market. We’ll keep our “water-resistant” set indoors most of the time and avoid salt spray.