Kayak Fishing Fashion

Looks like an early El Nino spring here in the PacNW; we'll be fishing the high country lakes for trout and the Columbia for smallmouth in a week or so.
After kayaking around Oregon and Washington; I pretty much have my stylish kayaking wardrobe down. If you need some ideas on what to wear in cool and wet weather; you might want to check it out.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Thanks for sharing. Great information.

Wow, thanks for the information. I never would have thought of using waders. We are in Nor Cal and it would be nice to kayak year round. I was trying to figure out how to justify spending over a grand on dry suits for myself and my wife. For the price of one dry suit we can get waders, nice water proof jackets, and layering clothing. I really appreciate the information.

Thanks
Dave

Waders caution statement -

VERY important to use a wader belt if wearing waders. There is a lot of information about the hazard of falling in the water while wearing waders without the wader belt... they can fill with water and make it difficult to re-enter the kayak.

The following video tries to explain that it is not dangerous when they are worn properly. What is not explained early on is that he is wearing a wader belt. He also is very quick to get back in the boat. He does explain that his technique requires quick re-entry into the boat. They do leak, even with a wader belt, so the longer in the water the worse they are.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYwG52p4yjs[/youtube]

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

ronbo613 and Matt thanks for this post. You have saved me several hundred $'s. I have all the wading/water proof gear since I fly fish.

I will have to get gear for my wife. She has 3 good Gore Tex Jackets, maybe we can get her some Gore Tex Pants.

Last but not least, cotton under garments should be left at home or in your vehicle. Fast drying synthetics are the answer like when we fly fish.

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2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder

Matt makes a good point, I mentioned using a belt with waders as well.
The GoreTex bibs and pants can be had at Cabelas for around $100-130, they are durable, warm and no chance of them filling with water. Lots of pockets, too.





Won't be using shorts and a T shirt for at least another couple weeks.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

I have been buying Cabela's outdoor gear for decades, and some gear is still useable after decades.

We use the Cabela Gore Tex Bibs for Striper Fishing out of fishing boats with motors and sometimes from drift boats if we will not be getting out to wade and cast.

Two years ago in a drift boat in early November on the Trinity, the river got between 8-10 inches of rain in that day. I had on my Guide Weight Simms waders and a Guide weight Gore Tex Jacket. I never got wet. Neither did our guide and my fishing friend, who was a part time guied. Thanks to good Gore Tex, we stayed warm and dry all day.

Great to know that I can use most if not all of my winter fishing gear in a kayak.

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2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder

I use the Cabela's goretex waders and they're great. I put a wader belt on when I remember. If you fall in with a wader belt on, you need to roll onto your back and lift your knees. The air that is trapped in the waders is your flotation.

I use dry pants and a surf shoe by NRS. Only complaint is when I swing my legs over the side water in the pant leg runs down to my butt if I am not careful. Kind of defeats the purpose of the dry pants

I purchased a pair of seal skinz waterproof socks and will see how they work at minimizing water flow towards my butt. It is warming up so I could just go the shorts route, but then sunburn becomes a problem.

I don't have personal experience with the SealSkinz socks but have heard they are great as long as the water level does not go above the top of the socks. Once water goes over the top they are no longer waterproof and water then gets trapped in the sock for the rest of your outing.
That said, they may be fine for simply hanging your feet over the side as long as you don't go too deep.

I'll post how they work after this weekend. These were advertised as being waterproof even over the top of sock.

I have two pair which I use to fly fish in really cold water. I had worn them with the Simms Guide weight waders and never got cold going to and from the rivers and wading in them.

They worked so well, that I wore them to the coast with a pair of Crocs to fly fish. When the first wave went over the top, I was surprised at how wet they got and how cold the January water was.

Now, I wear them in non winter months to the coast with the Crocs with a tread as they keep most of the sand, grit and whatever off the skin from my ankles to my feet.

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2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder

Well it was too hot for dry pants last weekend so I wore the seal skinz with nrs mocs. Didn't have to worry about water going over the top as we went in at waist level. So I was soaked anyways.

The sod bank was 0 to 3' where we went in. Could have fore gone the seal skinz but they atleast protected me from another sunburn.

I've worn them in cold weather/water and they were the long ones. They did an excellent job as long as you have some of the liner socks under them. Otherwise even on a fairly decent day your toes will feel like you're in a refrigerator without the liners once you get the dry socks wet. Your feet stay dry but the action of the water on the "dry socks" causes a refrigerator action. Wear them liner socks for maximum comfort. Oh, I've got both SealSkinz and I've also found a source at the local Army Navy store. Little baggier as far as fashion but do an excellent job.

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Yakkingaway
Portsmouth, VA