What To Wear Fishing On Your Next Trip

Planning what to wear fishing on your next trip is often overlooked and can make or break the entire experience. I have put together a guide below to ensure it’s enjoyable. To start, let us look at the fundamentals of fishing attire.

• Hat: A trucker's cap will allow airflow if you have a full head of hair. However, if you’re bald or have a short haircut, a regular hat without mesh is better sun protection for your scalp.
• Glasses: When out on the water you have to protect your eyes from direct sunlight, and the sun's glare bouncing off the water.
• Buff/Face Mask: Finally, there is protection for your neck and face. Buffs are a necessity and you can wear them in many ways.
• Performance Long Sleeve Shirt: Protecting your body from the sun is the most important. Your arms, shoulders, neck, and back get the most sun after your face.
• Shorts: Lightweight board shorts will keep you cool and dry throughout your fishing trip.
• Rain Gear: Mother nature has a mind of her own. At the very least, I recommend always taking a rain jacket. Although if you’re caught in a bad storm, having the full suit will keep you comfortable through the worst of it.
• Wind Breaker: Depending on the time of year if you will have an early morning start, it could get chilly while the boat is running. A good windbreaker will kill that wind chill.

What To Wear On A Fishing Charter?

The deep-sea can be more challenging, and you could chase some much larger and stronger fish. I recommend a couple of specialty items to prepare you for your next fishing charter.

• Boots: Boats can get bloody when charter fishing. Most captains will wash the blood off right away to avoid stains. It's best to keep your feet dry and not waste a pair of shoes.
• Fish Handling Gloves: I would count on you catching and holding some large fish right? It’s important to keep your hands safe from any sharp spines, gills, and teeth when handling big squirming fish.

What To Wear Fly Fishing/ Inshore?

I find fly fishing and inshore fishing to be very precise. The clothing you take with you must prepare you to have fun and catch fish. I find these unique clothes equip me for every fishing trip on the flats.

• Sun Gloves (stripping gloves): Skiffs rarely have canopies like larger boats. Additional to sun protection, these lightweight gloves protect your fingers when fighting fish on a fly line.
• Sneakers: You won’t be washing a lot of blood off the boat so your shoes should survive the trip. To please your captain, remember to wear white rubber-soled non-skid shoes.
• Performance Long Sleeve Hoodie: I think the most valuable piece of clothing in this article is the long sleeve performance hoodie. This is a relatively new article of clothing in the fishing world and is taking over the sport. The amount of lightweight sun protection you get from these shirts is irreplaceable.
• Polarized Glasses: When fishing the flats, you need to cut the glare on the water to spot fish. When you have a hook flying around the boat, eventually someone will get whacked by it. I highly recommend always wearing glasses when fly fishing.
• Pants (optional): There are muggy days close to mangroves that bugs can ruin a trip. In that case, a pair of lightweight fishing pants will protect you from the bugs and the sun. They even make hybrid fishing pants that unzip into shorts if you're worried about getting too hot.

What Woman Wear When Fishing?

I think it's safe to say when women plan to go fishing they gravitate towards wearing a bikini or other swimsuit. Although this would create the best Instagram photo, it will not protect you from the sun. I recommend women follow the same guide as stated above.

However, there could be a happy medium. I’ve seen a ton of photos of ladies fishing with proper fishing attire and one difference; a bikini bottom instead of shorts. This will keep you cool, comfortable, and photo-ready to show off your big catch.

What Should Kids Wear When Fishing?

If you’re thinking about bringing your whole family along on your next trip but don’t know what kids should wear, don't stress it. This is not a reason to keep your kids from enjoying a fishing trip. I would follow the same guide above, just get fishing shirts specifically for kids among all the other pieces of clothing.