Sun Protection

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, after a buddy's scare with skin cancer it got me to thinking...should i better protect myself, my wife and son when out fishing? I mean we're used to using plain old SPF 50 sunscreen and sunglasses but should I be investing in the sun shirts, masks and gloves or are those geared more towards guys who are spending an abundant amount of time (like 4 - 8 hours per day and multiple days per week) in the sun fishing whether on a boat or a bank? I'm the typical weekend warrior type who fishes maybe 2 or 3 evenings and 1 weekend day per week and never for more than 4 hours at a time...usually less when I have both my wife and son with me. What do you use?

[NYWayfarer]

I fish much like you, 2 or 3 evenings and 1 weekend day per week. Evenings never more than 2 hours. Weekend trip is usually 4 or 5 hours.

 

I wear a cap, buff and sunglasses. Long sleeve shirts and light weight pants for as long as I can stand. July, August brings out the shorts and t-shirt. SPF 50 on any exposed areas with reapplication after an hour and a half in the sun. Sunscreen needs reapplication!!

[Choporoz]

Religious use of the sunscreen puts you ahead of the average yahoo.  Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses....you're in pretty good shape.   But as to whether you should better protect yourself and your family?  Maybe.   I'd be most concerned about the kid.  One thing about melanoma that's, I think, established as fact, is that multiple bad sunburns as a youth increase your chances of skin cancer later in life....by a lot. 

I'm fair skinned and had a father with 'sun allergy'; so I'm pretty attuned to the risks.  Yet, still...I went out last spring in shorts in the kayak and forgot sunscreen- I was out about five hours and my legs were so bad that I had trouble walking for about a week. 

    Normally, I wear fishing pants, summer hoodie (Columbia PFG), hat, sunglasses and sunscreen; but not gloves.  Just haven't found gloves that suit me yet.

 

As to sunscreen, I'm a big fan of Banana Boat Quik Dry Sport Dry Spray.  I spray it on all skin that may get exposed during the day and it is awesome.  Doesn't run into my eyes, not filmy or sticky or slimy -- lasts all day, even if it gets wet.   And its reasonably priced - a bottle at less than $10 lasts me all year.

 

[NYWayfarer]

2 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

As to sunscreen, I'm a big fan of Banana Boat Quik Dry Sport Dry Spray.  I spray it on all skin that may get exposed during the day and it is awesome.  Doesn't run into my eyes, not filmy or sticky or slimy -- lasts all day, even if it gets wet.   And its reasonably priced - a bottle at less than $10 lasts me all year.

 

Good stuff

[WRB]

The sun is a double edged sword, you need some exposure to stay healthy and limited exposure to prevent skin cancer.

SPF 50 means you can extend exposure 50% longer before damaging your skin, it doesn't prevent sun exposure damage. Most people with light skin can tolerate 15 to 20 minutes of direct over head sun exposure without any skin damage, that isn't a very long time!

SPF clothing, wide brim hats, face covering, hand covering, long sleeve shirts, long pants and foot covering like shoes all help. SPF sun screen on your hands and face helps to protect light reflections off the water. It's really a combination of skin protection over years of time on the water. Me, I used up all my time long before skin cancer showed up and before knowing anything about SPF skin protection. 

Is sun protection necessary.......yes, my freind Bill Murphy and author of In Pursuit of Giant Bass died of skin cancer and my skin is very damaged from years of neglect.

We simply didn't know, you do!

Tom

[blckshirt98]

Do not f around with UV rays.  I always wear long quick dry pants, a full brimmed hat, sunglasses, buff covering neck/ears/lower face, and sunscreen over any exposed skin.  I'll even use sunscreen in parts shaded by the hat as UV will reflect off of surfaces (like water) so even if you're fishing the day in shade, you'll get UV exposure.  This past winter I bought a couple of long sleeve quick dry shirts that I'm going to wear during the summer to cover up my arms.  The part where I think most people mess up, is neglecting to re-apply sunblock every 3 hours or so, as the sunblock will wear off.

[Armtx77]

I am fair skinned, a red head and have blue eyes...SPF50 has been a part of my life for 40 years.

 

I hate sunscreen on my skin.

 

I wear light weight backpacking/fishing pants. A long sleeved fishing shirt, a buff, my Costas and a Oregon Research Sombrero boonie hat. 

 

I used to wear Keen sandles, but have changed to a fishing shoe. I still put sunscreen on my face and hands and still own stock in several bottles of 50SPF.

 

Skin cancer is real. The more clothing you can can cover skin with, the better.

[JustJames]

I don't like sunscreen and normally don't wear them so I go with long sleeve tshirt and long pants baseball hat. My problem is when I boat fish or kayak fish I have full protection, glove and mask/buff but I don't like to wear those when bank fishing.

[Bluebasser86]

I used to think guys looked like idiots wearing the long pants, sunshirts, buffs covering their whole faces, gloves, hats, and sunglasses. Well, after working with guys missing chunks from their faces, ears, noses, arms, and heads, I'm one of those idiots now. You just can't cover every little piece of exposed skin with sunblock no matter how hard you try and as much as I fish, that's a lot of repeated exposure. I have a couple spots on my hands already that I'm concerned about because I've never work sunblock on my hands and only started wearing the gloves in the last 5 years. 

 

I even get the jokes from my family "You fishing or robbing a bank?" I don't care, skin cancer isn't a joke. 

[Graham]

I’m with some of the other posts, the gear while a little goofy looking, can save you a load of trouble, and potentially your life down the road. After seeing my dad go through his continuous treatment for skin cancer it is not a joke. I’m not gonna lie the sun gear is growing on me a little too, looking like a fish ninja ain’t so bad!

 

One thing I do need is a nice pair of summer gloves. Any recommendations?

[Dirtyeggroll]

16 hours ago, Choporoz said:

One thing about melanoma that's, I think, established as fact, is that multiple bad sunburns as a youth increase your chances of skin cancer later in life....by a lot. 

 

Correct, but it only takes one blistering sunburn to increase risk of Melanoma and 5 blistering sunburns over your life increases the risk of developing Melanoma by about 80%. Melanoma is not the only one to worry about, basal cell and squamous cell risk are increased each time you get a little pink.

 

In fact, when applying for health and/or life insurance, many companies will ask about a SINGLE blistering sunburn at any point in your life as a factor in determining your riskiness as an insurance holder and your premium $$$.

 

These kind of data are quite frustrating because getting a little tan seems to improve my mood.

 

In contrast, I’ve found that since I’ve invested in and started wearing quality and breathable sun-protective clothing, I actually feel cooler and find that I am not nearly as exhausted after a day of fishing.

 

If you have the option to wear quality sun-protective clothing vs. sunscreen, clothing is the better option. While sunscreen is effective if applied correctly, the fact is that sunscreen is high maintenance (you really have to apply it in regular intervals and make sure you cover all surfaces); frankly annoying (greasy and gets all over), and some people even believe fish have an aversion to it. Clothing on the other hand; you are probably going to put some clothing on so if it’s sun-protective you not really need do much else. It also doesn’t need reapplying.

 

I know it’s hard, but instead of that next rod or reel or lot of baits, it’s a better idea for your health and overall quality of life to invest in some sun-protective clothing if you plan on spending any extended periods in the sun.

 

*end soapbox*

[soflabasser]

Better to dress up with long pants,long sleeve shirt, hat, buff,etc than look like a boiled angry red lobster since you decided to not protect your skin in the outdoors.

[SBFISHING]

im in Mississippi and I try to wear pants and long sleeves for as long as I can stand it (which is not very long). other than that its shorts flip flops and one of the vented huk shirts that I can roll up or down as I see fit. other than that iv found the best stuff for me is a sun screen called sunbum they sell it at target here. (think its made for surfing and such idk?) but its amazing no oily feeling and no sticky or slippery hands absolutely love the stuff and im not the biggest fan of sunscreen!

 

[Log Catcher]

Like a lot of others I use the SPF 50 sun screen. I bought some sun protection shirts from BPS. mine are short sleeve. I don't think I could stand long sleeves out fishing. Also wear blue jeans  and New balance shoes.

Just now, Log Catcher said:

Like a lot of others I use the SPF 50 sun screen. I bought some sun protection shirts from BPS. mine are short sleeve. I don't think I could stand long sleeves out fishing. Also wear blue jeans  and New balance shoes, sunglasses and a ball cap. I have thought about a different type of hat but I haven't checked to see what is available.

 

[jbmaine]

We are the generation of "you need to burn before you tan" so we wear hats, sun screen, etc. But sometimes if it's just too hot, we want to take a break in the shade. So we have this.

[Brett's_daddy]

These look good and more importantly...affordable! I don't care if they have fancy fishing logos splashed all over them, sure those look cool but these look like they'd do the job just as good!!!

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sport-Mens-Cool-DRI-Performance-Long-Sleeve-Tshirt-50-UPF/21014902?athcpid=21014902&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=PWVUB&athieid=v0&athstid=CS002&athguid=466001f5-d51bcc7c-b2e84b5f3b6a40ae&athena=true

[basswrangler83]

Simms UPF 50 long sleeve, buff, gloves and wide brim hat. Sun screen on my nose. Make sure your shirt fits snug around your neck or has a collar or there will be exposed skin on the back of your neck. 

[Drew03cmc]

I guess I should have started caring before 33. Skin cancer runs in the family, but I own 3 Buffs and wear at least a t-shirt...it's a start.

[YaknBassn]

I wear long sleeve UPF shirts, buff, gloves and a hat.  I just lather sunscreen on exposed skin like my legs and feet.  I find I stay cooler with sleeves on anyways.

[MassYak85]

When I go out it's usually at least 8 hours. I do not burn easily but have had a few uncomfortable ones. I usually wear sunscreen but this year decided to get fully equipped with sungear head to toe. With the amount I plan on fishing going forward I'll leave tans for the fewer times a year I go swimming  (not that I try to tan but when you are in the water sunscreen washes off and wearing long pants and shirts aren't really an option). 

[basswrangler83]

I've also found that wearing the sun gear (long sleeve shirt, buff....) keeps me cooler because the sun isn't on my skin. 

[Basseditor]

Hooded sun protection (balaclava style over hat or visor), sun gloves, sun sleeves with short sleeve shirt, light weight long pants, etc. it sounds hot but it’s not bad because the modern sun fabrics whisk moisture that acts like a cooler. At the end of the day, when you take it all off and don’t feel heated at all, you’ll understand.

[Hawkeye21]

When I'm fishing I hate having sunscreen on all over me.  I fish out of a kayak and am very exposed to the sun so I prefer to wear pants and a long sleeve shirt, even on really hot days.  I may still put some sunscreen on the back of my hands and my ears but that's about it.  I try to keep the rest of myself covered.  I lost a good friend to melanoma a couple years ago, I don't want to see it happen again.

[Choporoz]

Can't stand buffs, so I use (and like) Columbia PFG hoodies from Amazon.

 

I've done some googling, but wondering if anyone else has found other summer hoodies that they like

[Hawkeye21]

7 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Can't stand buffs, so I use (and like) Columbia PFG hoodies from Amazon.

 

I've done some googling, but wondering if anyone else has found other summer hoodies that they like

I just ordered one for $29.  Hard to beat that price, and free two day shipping.