Sun Screen & hats

[WRB]

Jbmaine asked the question; does it look funny to wear a wide brim hat and put on sun screen?

A friend of mine was the late Bill Murphy, author of "In pursuit of Giant Bass". Bill died of skin cancer from sun exposure.

I'm not too far behind Bill and must wear those funny looking hats with the wide brim and neck shades, clothing with SPT 30 rating and good water proof sun screen, zinc oxide based.

SPF rated clothing is expensive; Solumbra, SunDays and Lands End are a few good brands. Sunscreens; SolBar Zinc SPF38 used on the face around my eyes, SolBar SPF 50 for general use. BullFrog is another brand that is popular out west.

I have gotten over the funny look when wearing my hats and long sleeve shirts in hot weather. Sun damage to your skin is accumulative and not reversible.

WRB

[Fishing Rhino]

All you need do is look at the hands and necks of pro golfers to see what the sun can do.

Turns them into prunes.

The more protection, the better.

[Olebiker]

This past Sunday was the first time I wore long pants and a long sleeved shirt while fishing in the middle of the summer.  Both were made by Columbia and offered an SPF of 30 if I am not mistaken.  I was amazed at how relatively cool I felt compared to wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt.

I and most of my friends all wear a fairly broad brimmed hat on the water in the summer.  I especially like my Tilley hat.  Even with the hat I wear sunscreen.

[deermaster]

i work on the water, 6 days a week while im off from college.  im exposed to sun all day long.  my uncle also worked on the water for 20 years or so, no he paints houses, so he has been in the sun all his life.......and at 55 years old e time with skin cancer.  every couple months he had to go get something removed, and has had some close calls with melonoma cancers.  so i where a hat, and slather down with spf 50 everyday.  id rather live a while and look silly than die young from looking "cool".

[CWB]

I'm not afraid of wearing goofy hats and sunscreen at the same time.

Pic below is me fighting a 150 Lb. Tarpon in Cost Rica.

[SoFl-native]

Jbmaine asked the question; does it look funny to wear a wide brim hat and put on sun screen?

A friend of mine was the late Bill Murphy, author of "In pursuit of Giant Bass". Bill died of skin cancer from sun exposure.

I'm not too far behind Bill and must wear those funny looking hats with the wide brim and neck shades, clothing with SPT 30 rating and good water proof sun screen, zinc oxide based.

SPF rated clothing is expensive; Solumbra, SunDays and Lands End are a few good brands. Sunscreens; SolBar Zinc SPF38 used on the face around my eyes, SolBar SPF 50 for general use. BullFrog is another brand that is popular out west.

I have gotten over the funny look when wearing my hats and long sleeve shirts in hot weather. Sun damage to your skin is accumulative and not reversible.

WRB

Funny looks?

Try wearing a full faced buff when fishing fresh water. Guys look at us like we are crazy.

Long sleeved shirts, buff, sunglasses, hat pulled low.

Buff blocks out 99% of UV radiation.  

[Steven Ladner]

I'm not afraid of wearing goofy hats and sunscreen at the same time.

Pic below is me fighting a 150 Lb. Tarpon in Cost Rica.

Nice fish!!!

[DINK WHISPERER]

Man i will wear a sombrero and 80p if it means NO skin cancer!!!!!!!!!

[Wayne P.]

Well having red hair (still have some left but mostly gray/white) and blue eyes, I have the most sun sensitive skin type. I don't tan well and burn very well. I apply SPF 30-70 sunscreen when I am going to be outdoors for other than a short time. I also use the Columbia SPF rated shirts, one of their wide brimmed hats (sometimes), and their slacks (sometimes). All my life I have been involved in outdoor sports ( hunting, fishing, golf, skiing, etc) and now I have to see a dermatologist every 3 months to get pre-cancer spots frozen or cut off (occasonally some are cancer). My numerous freckles are just about equaled by white scars from those removals. Waterproof, oiless, Coppertone is the brand of sunscreen I use. 40-60 years ago it was not a concern by many, but should have been.

[moby bass]

I love my Tilley hat.  I think I look pretty good in it too, compared to some other hats.

[FD.]

SPF 50 on my hands and legs, wide brim columbia hat, either long sleeve white tee or long sleeve columbia shirt, wiley x jake glasses.  I don't care what I look like when its a 100 degrees like yesterday.

[flechero]

I'm still in a ball cap most days but do load the sunscreen on my ears/face/neck.  

Most people find it hard to believe that a good fishing shirt in long sleeve is cooler than a t-shirt in the blistering heat.  People ask me all the time, aren't you burning up?  I say nope, probably cooler than you.  The technical fabrics available these days are worth every penny!  Not to mention they last.  I have a couple orvis shirts that I bought before I got married...  that was 8 yrs ago and they are still worn every week.  Although, they are starting to shrink in the middle!   ;D

[mrlitetackle]

i admittedly go out many times wearing no shirt, and subsequently get alot of sun........(the FL heat gets plain NASTY at times)

but, i know i cant do this all the time.......

in my truck i always have coppertone sport spray 50 SPF, and coppertone "faces" 50 SPF...... a large hat, and my costa's (i always wear those though).....

never hesitate once to throw down on the sun protection..... its a must... who cares what others think.

Posted by: Dink whisperer      Posted on: Today at 5:01pm

Man i will wear a sombrero and 80p if it means NO skin cancer!!!!!!!!!

and DinkWhisperer......

that was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D

[fishinfiend]

I'd rather  look goofy with a hat than cool in the coffin. As much as I enjoy peeling large clumps of dead skin off, I hate having a sunburn. >

The heat is really setting in around here. It was 95* today and forcast to be above that the next several days.

Time to re-up on the Gold Bond!  ;D

[A-Jay]

After 30 years working on the water and now spending a good bit of time playing on the water, going bare back in the sun is NOT an option. Quality Sunglasses, Sunscreen and a Boonie hat are standard equipment. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the summer time pre-dawn and early morning air temperatures here in the North Woods are often in the low 40's. This last week there were 2 mornings that were 38/39 degrees at 5 am. So it could be easy to forget the Coppertone after you just pulled on Under Armor and a Hoodie !

A-Jay

[burleytog]

Fish at night, don't worry about the sun.

[SMSRTC]

It's my understanding that you don't just have to worry about the rays coming down, but the ones reflecting off the water.  So just wearing a hat isn't going to do it.  I believe this is true because I have gotten way worse sun burns while on the water or snow skiiing than I have in a similar amount of time if not around a reflective surface.

Now I wear a wide brimmed hat and 50 SPF (re-applied every couple of hours).

[badog]

IMHO A long sleeve shirt  and pants made of coolmax or some kind of spf protection are way cooler, If I am on the river or Delta all day, I am am much cooler with these clothes on. A wide brimmed hat is a must!! Lots of sunscreen on the ears, neck,  face, tops of hands and tops of feet if wearing sandals. Being red headed I am an expert on sunburn. I have not been sunburned significantly in the last 20 years. A friend of mine just got some skin cancer cut out of her nose and ended up with 50 stitches. She has red hair and did not use sun screen but is using it now and preaching at others to use it.

[cart7t]

Nice fish! 8-)

[Boogey Man]

Neutrogena makes suncreen that is 85 SPF. It's not greasy like a lot of suncreens, you can't even tell it's there. The thing I like about it is that it doesn't run down into your eyes when you sweat. I talked to guy one time who said he had a little skin cancer on his ear he was getting ready to have removed. I could see a little spot on his ear, then he showed me the back side of his ear, it looked like it was about to rot off. Now sunscreen goes everywhere.

[Crestliner2008]

I use both, including long sleeves and generally light clothing. Here's what we look like when we venture forth:

[Fishing Cowgirl]

I use skincueticals sunblock, recomended by my dermatologist. It is UVA/UVB rated with a higher blocking additive than what you can get over the counter. I get skin cancers cut off every 6 months, but I catch the differences in freckles very quickly, so the area removed is very small. (sooner gone, smaller scar)

I constantly re-apply, wear good fishing shirts, and finally found a cap with wide brimmed bill and neck flap.

[SammyLee]

Yep, wide brim hat, sunscreen and long pants.  I need to wear better sunglasses.  

When I was about 13 with my Dad and a guide in Panacea Florida, we were coming out the bay into open gulf when the guide said, "Boy, do you see a red bouy out there?"  I said, "You mean the one about 200 feet away, tall as a house, off to our right?"  He goes, "Yeah, I'm kinda sun blind from all the years on the water."  Wow, I'd hate to loose my vision, too many pretty things to look at!

[WRB]

Neutrogena makes suncreen that is 85 SPF. It's not greasy like a lot of suncreens, you can't even tell it's there. The thing I like about it is that it doesn't run down into your eyes when you sweat. I talked to guy one time who said he had a little skin cancer on his ear he was getting ready to have removed. I could see a little spot on his ear, then he showed me the back side of his ear, it looked like it was about to rot off. Now sunscreen goes everywhere.

Tried the SPF 85, same product as the SPF 55, and it wasn't water proof or resistant and it really stung my eyes and had to wash it off. Good product for general use, other than my face.

Glad to read that so many fishermen are using sunscreens and wearing good hats. It may be too late when cancer or pre cancers start to show up, the younger you start, the better off you will be.

WRB

[SoFlaBassAddict]

I ALWAYS wear at least some heavy duty sunscreen when I head outdoors. If I know I'll be outside for an extended period of time I'll most definitely wear a hat. I prefer using my old army boonie style hat, some good comfortable light shorts, and usually a long sleeved shirt of some kind. I hate seeing the tan lines that some people get with a regular baseball cap on. I shave my head once every two days so I need all the protection that I can get. Whenever lobster season comes around is when I go really overboard with sunscreen on my back (I hate diving with a shirt on). I'm still hoping that I'll find a sunscreen that is REALLY waterproof this year. I've been trying really hard for 20 something years now with no real luck.

One thing I do recommend if you get a burn is to find some good aloe gel. I've got a bottle here that I bought like 10 years ago that the name and all has worn off of. It kind of looks like green booty lube :'(. But I've never found anything better on cooling down a sunburn.