During the Summer months most fishermen want to ditch their hot, bulky waders and "get wet". It doesn't matter if it's a walk-and-wade trip or when you get out of the canoe, kayak, "White River Slim" or drift boat to cover some fishy looking water more effectively; Everyone wants to go as simple as possible (and stay cool) during those hottest days of the year. If you haven't done it you may not know many times wet wading can be just as uncomfortable as hot and sweaty waders if you aren't prepared with the right gear. So, starting at the top, here are some ideas about the selection of clothing and gear that will help keep you cool, comfortable, and more focused to catch more fish in the heat of Summer.
Hats
Many fishermen wear simple baseball style caps that perform pretty well, but they sure don't keep the sun off of the back of the neck. The flats style cap, with the sun flap in the rear is a much better choice, as is any style of full brim hat from the “boonie” jungle type to the Stetson. A hat that blocks the sun and is lightweight can keep you much cooler. A darker color under the brim keeps sunlight reflected off the water from, in turn, reflecting off the underside of the brim into your eyes. For the past few seasons I've been wearing a Stetson style hat with a ventilated crown. It's cooler than the cotton baseball caps I used to wear and it also looks better, if that's something you care about. If you fish in windy conditions, try to find a hat with a chinstrap. This may sound and look a little funny until the wind blows your favorite hat off your head and into the main current of the river never to be seen again! One trick I learned to deal with nasty biting insects is to spray a little insect repellent on your hat. This keeps insects away from your head ( and ears where they're most likely to drive you nuts) and repellent off your fly line when you wipe sweat off your brow and then touch your line again. Sure, it sounds funny until you see how well it works, but be careful with your nice Tilley or any kind of hat made of nylon, as the chemical that repels insects (DEET) can damage the material.
Shirts
There's a large majority of people who wear T-shirts in warm weather, period. But if you wear a fishing vest on over a shirt with no collar it can rub the back of your neck or pull your shirt back, leaving you with a nice sunburned area at the end of the day. A good hot-weather collared shirt that is lightweight is not hard to come by, either polo style or button down. One of my favorite materials for hot weather is good old Madras cotton, but many new “technical” breathable fabrics, such as Supplex, are available. Short sleeves are very comfortable, but sunscreen is messy and I prefer to roll sleeves up or down as the day goes on. Believe it or not, if there's a breeze long sleeves with a breathable fabric can be cooler than letting the sun bake your skin, not to mention avoiding the risks of long term sun exposure. Whatever you choose, it should be light colored, like khaki or a very light green. There are some newer colors that might be "fashionable" and look better in your "hero shots" but are more of a fish-scaring tone than plane sage green or khaki tends to be. Chose yours wisely.
Vests and PFD's
Face it, we just don't wear our PFD's as often as we should, and another item of clothing insulating you when the heat index is above 100-degrees is uncomfortable, but there are alternatives. There are mesh PFD's, but the coolest you're likely to find are the strap-type self inflatables. I have to invest in one of these, I don't wear my PFD as often as I should when fishing out of my solo Canoe in warm weather because conventional PFD's are so hot. This would solve that problem. Do you ditch the PFD when you drop over the side of the boat and start wading? I don't know, there are probably good reasons to keep it on when wading faster water, but I don't like to wear it if I'm in a few inches of water, but make your own mind up about that.
Most of the time a vest is a necessity to carry all the gear us wading fishermen will use (or think we will), but anything extra you wear when it is 95 degrees out is going to make you suffer. A small fanny pack or similar tackle bag will keep you much cooler. Remember that something in a tackle bag around your waist will get wet when in an upper pocket of a vest it would not. (Unless you take a dunk.) In other words, don't carry gear you don't want wet where it will get wet. A small waterproof zip-lock bag (or dry-bag) will keep your wallet and phone dry. I suffer a little, but I usually wear a vest on strictly walk-and-wade trips, but it is a lightweight, mesh vest. No matter what method you choose to carry your gear, pack a good amount of water in it to last the day. Dying of thirst tends to be distracting!
Pants or Shorts
O.K., I'll admit I'm not really a shorts person, but when it's really baking outside, even the lightest pants feel hot. So, on rivers I know well I'll show some leg. The disadvantage of shorts is that if you have any amount of bank side scrambling to do, you can get insect covered and scratched from vegetation easily, and ticks have an unrestricted highway right to your 'nethers.
Can you say "Poison ivy" or "Honey, can you help me get this tick out of my @#&"?
Even light, Supplex pants will protect you from that. So, on rivers that are not really familiar, I stick to pants. If I do walk the banks for a short time and get right back in the water, it seems that the ticks and other insects don't have a chance to take hold. Old blue jeans sound good, but when wet are heavy enough to sink the Titanic, and uncomfortable to boot. Light weight khaki's are pretty good, and poplin or other light common fabrics hold up well, but none are as light weight and comfortable as Supplex. Some pants have zip off legs that convert them to shorts. My thoughts are that some people will lose one leg, or if you are like me a zipper will stick on you at the worst time. Pick one or the other. Pants that have regular waistbands tend to stretch when wet. A little elastic help keep them up, and keep your shirt tucked in, too.
Underwear
Yes, I am really going to talk about this. Regular cotton underwear stretches when wet and holds moisture near your skin. It can be aggravating. Some shorts and pants that are meant for wet wading have a built in brief. Bass Pro's World Wide Sportsman, Columbia, and Cabela's Guidewear line are my favorites. I like these a lot, it would depend on if they were comfortable to you. If you like “boxers”, probably not. Underwear that is made for high performance athletes such as triathlon competitors that get really wet and sweaty may be an answer. Whatever you do, don't deal with irritating and uncomfortable underwear. Find something else.
Wading shoes
The wading shoes you have now may be all you need, but if you have wading shoes sized to go over heavy stockingfoot waders they are probably too big. A separate pair may be the only answer. I have worn many pairs of old hikers as wading shoes and this worked because the rivers I fish mostly have mixed gravel bottoms, not solid rock. If you need a felt sole you will have to go the regular wading shoe route. I have tried the wading sandals but found them really painful when small rocks get trapped between your foot and the sandals foot bed. This seems to happen every other step! If your rivers have no small rocks you may find them perfect. If your wet wading also involves lots of hiking, you will want more support than the typical wading shoe, and more dry land traction. L.L. Bean was the first to offer a line of shoes with a new type of rubber sole that grip well on slick rocks, but also allows a better grip on slick grass and leaves on the trail. There are many more brands out there today due to many areas banning felt soles due to the percieved greater chance of spreading "Whirling Disease" (Myxobolus cerebralis). For slick, solid rock, I don't think anything will ever beat the grip of felt, but felt soles have led to various "falling down the bank" incidents once on wet grass or mud for me. So any of the newer rubber soles might be the best compromise, and give me an excuse to leave my old hikers on dry land. I think socks are expendable. This is where the ones you are going to toss in the rag pile come in handy. If you use new ones, by the end of the day, they will be shot anyway.
As with all fishing, there are other things to consider and all are common sense. Keep drinking water at regular intervals. Usually you don't get thirsty until you are a little dehydrated. Take some dry clothing to change into for the ride home. Even in the heat clean, dry clothes really make you feel refreshed. Some people simply cannot take the heat. If you are one, you may find that only going out early or late in the evening is bearable. Most of the best fishing is early or late in summer anyway. You don't have to flog the water at noon on a day that's 100 degrees. If you want to, well, I guess that's fine. Usually during that time of day, even I take a break.
