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| Decked out and ready for a day of fishing in the sun. |
I'm very cautious when out fishing in the sun. I take a lot of precautions since I am really prone to skin cancer. In the last ten years, I have had two basal cell carcinomas removed along with one squamous cell carcinoma. One of these was quite problematic and I had to have extensive reconstruction done. So, I try to avoid these issues as much as I can, although I also realize much of this damage was started decades ago.
So, when fishing or anytime out in the sun, here's some ideas to protect you from harm:
1. Sunscreen and Lip Balm- I use Banana Boat Ultra SPF65, about the most protection you can find. I put it on any exposed skin. For my lips I use Banana Boat 45 lip balm.
2. Sun shirts, Sun hats, Neck Gaiters and Gloves- I tend to always wear a UPF50 long sleeve sun shirt. I also have some with hoods that I wear. Columbia makes a wide assortment of these. While these shirts are long sleeves, they are still quite cool and comfortable. For hats, I always wear a Glacier Glove Sun Hat that provides a lot of shade for my face and the back of my neck. For gloves, I wear Kast King sun gloves to protect my hands. They have open fingers and you can cast quite well with them. I have an assortment of neck gaiters that I also wear. A lot of times I pull the gaiter up over my face to cover my lips and cheeks.
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| Sun Gloves from Kast King and Banana Boat Ultra 65 Sunscreen ready to go. |
3. Sunglasses- Lately I have been wearing the Rival Shield sunglasses made by Shady Rays. These give my face and eyes maximum coverage. Mine are polarized blue mirror, and they have UV protection. They are also very moderately priced at about 50 bucks on sale. Many fishermen have asked me about these and where I got them.
As fishermen who fish from shore, boat or kayak in the daytime, we are very prone to sunburns and other problems. Never hurts to be proactive, and you do get used to doing much of what I do above every time out.
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| Decked out and ready for a day of fishing in the sun in my kayak. |
