brigguy wrote:
I just purchased an outback and plan on fishing in late october/november. I used to wear waders while surf-fishing, but I have heard that may not be good for a kayak and have heard a wetsuit may be more appropriate.
Can anyone recommend the safest/warmest clothing to wear for cold weather fishing ?
Thanks
What do you mean by Cold? Living in Alaska, my advice is you should have a drysuit or at least a two piece water tight system. I like the semi drysuits by kokatat with a neoprene neck gasket instead of latex. MUCH more comfortable.
What you need to think about is whatever system you wear, how water tight is it? Water can kill through draining your body temperature faster obviously. But it also nearly killed me due to the weight. I wore waders, belt, and a normal jacket. I weighed a ton (later research shows 40lbs extra) water weight and I could NOT self rescue myself. In the water, no problem. Life jacket kept me high in the water. But the instant you try to lift yourself and all the water above the water line....didn't happen.
I also was witness to a wipeout in the surf. No big deal, it was chest deep water. But the guy was wearing a waders and belt system and he struggled to get his yak onto the beach for about 10 minutes. He got to shore ok, but if we weren't there, he would have been toast. He was so cold and shivering and couldn't do simple tasks like unzipping his drysuit. He might have made it to shore, but who knows if he would have survived afterwards even though his vehicle was less than a mile down the beach. It was maybe 50 deg out with water temp in the 40's.
In cold water, where you have no assistance, you must have on something that will keep you dry. Not only for the warmth, but also to avoid limiting your mobility. Your ability to self rescue on AND off the water is GREATLY increased if you are dry.
Here's an article I wrote on my dislike of waders and belt set up for cold water.
http://www.kayakfishingmagazine.net/articles/139-kayak-fishing-how-to-articles/1676-qwaders-of-deathq-another-perspective.html