It was less than 10 years ago that long sleeve UV blocking “performance” fishing shirts were a rare sight here. As they caught on, those ninja mask looking “neck gaiters” began to gain popularity around 5 years ago. Buff® was the company that introduced the face and neck protection sleeves to the fishing world. Now it’s fairly common to see sun exposed fishers covered up with cap, neck gaiter and long sleeve shirt.
Fly fishermen have always led the way with UV blocking clothes and they were the first ones to wear fishing gloves for sun protection as well as finger protection since they are constantly guiding and stripping line. Kayak paddlers have been wearing paddling gloves for years also. I’ve been taping my left thumb and forefinger at times to avoid line cuts from wet braid when I whip with my bait caster, but couldn’t justify wearing gloves to fish. Mostly I though they’d reduce feel and look a little *funny*.
Fishing gloves with the finger tips exposed sounded like a “kill two birds” kind of solution to pad my palms from paddling blisters and protect my fingers from line and fish cuts. Buff® has an “Elite” glove made to provide UV, blister and cut protection, reduce bacterial growth (stink) and provide grip. They aren’t paddling gloves per se, but seemed padded enough on the palm to serve that purpose.
The Elite gloves were light weight, breathable because the backs are made out of the same material as the neck gaiters, and I could still use my finger tips to tie knots, manipulate my reel, unhook fish and wipe my sunglasses. I broke them in on that 6 hr kayak fishing trip I tested the Columbia PFG Terminal Tackle shorts. My hands felt much less fatigued from paddling and weren’t cut up from handling fish fins / spines and hooks.
I inadvertently dropped an omilu that I thought was bonked out cold but came to life as I was trying to put it in my fish bag. Luckily it landed on my foot that was straddling the kayak, and I was able to slide my gloved hand down the pokey scutes and secure it by the tail. Without the gloves I would have been poked and slimed and for sure the fish would have gotten away. I felt like an NFL wide receiver catching a slippery football one handed!
I’ve worn the gloves a couple of times now and haven’t experienced any downsides. If I really need my fingers free I can quickly take the gloves off and put them on again. And when they get stinky I can machine wash them. Definitely gonna wear gloves whenever I kayak fish, and want to try another pair with more of the finger tip exposed.
The Buff® Elite Gloves sell for $45 on the buffusa.com website. I’ve worn them twice and machine washed them twice and they are holding up fine. If they work out as well as I expect I’ll add a product endorsement.
Interesting review. A lot of the saltwater fly guys like gloves, but I never cared for them. I like to feel the line in my bare hands. Can’t beat going bare…lol
Hi Jason,
For most of what I do on the kayak, the gloves had enough feel but when I had to tie a new leader quickly I took off the gloves cuz in my mind I needed more feel.
Do you get line cuts from your fly line?
The gloves gave me confidence to grab rough, pokey stuff though!
-scott
After many hours of blind casting and repeated line stripping, the middle and ring fingers of my rod hand do develop cuts, especially when fishing older more worn lines. We have stripping guards for that (they’re basically glove tips). For most people I think it has more to do with improving grip on the line while casting, and on objects in general, as well as the sun protection. I try to avoid touching pokey things though I occasionally have to deal with a “sketchy” fish (like that lai I got earlier this year) in which case I just try to be very careful. The one thing I would see benefit from is when fighting fish. Since oio run a lot, a large part of our fights are spent reeling. I prefer to guide my backing into the reel using my pinky, and after fighting several fish in a row I a painful cut starts to develop. But this kind of pain I don’t mind, because it reminds me I’ve had a successful day!
Thanks for illuminating us on how fly fishers use their fingers on their non-casting hand to strip and guide line.
I wonder what’s the next equipment to be passed down from fly fishers to more traditional wade fishers?
I can tell you after switching from tabis to wading boots, I’ll never go back. More comfortable, stable and safe. I feel like I can step on (almost) anything without fear of puncture. I use Simms Saltwater Vaportreads and will be purchasing another pair once these wear out.
Those are pretty stealth looking wading boots that look like athletic shoes. At $170 more than the tabis I wear, how long do you expect them to last?
But yeah, tabis with no arch support aren’t the best shoe wear to be walking around in for a long time.
I’ve had the same pair since January 2017, and they’re still in decent shape. The price may scare some guys, but they really are a massive upgrade over tabis. The spots you fish also matter. For certain flats the tabis are definitely adequate, but where I like to fish there can be sharp reef and sometimes wana so I like to stay safe. It’s just one less thing to worry about.
Great wading boots make a lot of sense for you. You travel on your feet. That’s like kayak fishers investing in a good paddle, which they should.