Winter Fishing ..

[geebee]

i agree with Steve and Pennypacker - buy the best you can afford.

i do love those spring sales at TJmaxx, EMS and REI though, a great time to pick up last years 'fashions' at a low price.

anything from north face or columbia catches my eye.

 

[Paulson]

Check out backcountry.com for discounted name brand gear (MHW, Patagonia, NF, Columbia, etc.), a lot of it is on sale year round to so check it frequently. And two more: moosejaw.com and the clymb.com

 

[Stagger_Lee]

Ystrday was the coldest day I ever fished and even with the rain, it wasn't bad. Layered well up top w/ raincoat (hat and hood a must) but I could've done a lil better for my lower half. In and out of wading, I was getting a bit cold but not too bad. Wore my winter bicycle pants, outdoor pants, waders, dress socks, cotton socks.

I think if I had one more pair of thermal type pans and better socks I would have been perfect

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I don't know....clothes are a funny thing...If you don't have proper ones on you will get cold....either from sweating or not layered enough. The worst area for me is my toes. I go with the dress socks and smart wool and my feet still get cold. I always refer it as being confortably cool. Sometimes when its really cold out I will put some handwarmers in. It does prolong my abilities to stay out in the cold water longer - there is never an indefinate time. But then anyways - cold hands and feet are mother nature's way of telling us it's time to finish up and head on in.

One of the most important items is a good pair of polorized sun glasses. Don't leave home without them. There has been a couple of times where my eyes felt tired and gritty after a day of fishing. I know it was from not having sun glasses on.

My brother-in-law says "get some electric socks - but don't get them wet".

 

[Chaz]

I always got cold feet in the winter, until I bought some polar fleece socks. I was out recently in the Poconos with snow on the ground and never felt the cold. It's best to stay out of the water when you can. I got pretty lathered up going in, it was about a mile hike to where we started. Admittedly it wasn't a cold day, but the water was in the low 40's.

 

[salmonoid]

geebee wrote:
i agree with Steve and Pennypacker - buy the best you can afford.

i do love those spring sales at TJmaxx, EMS and REI though, a great time to pick up last years 'fashions' at a low price.

anything from north face or columbia catches my eye.

I agree about buying the best once can afford. I'm just not sure when it comes to polyester baselayers what "best" really means. Googling "Capilene" doesn't really help - there's Patagonia's marketing hype and there are debates about the merits of Capilene vs. merino wool and lots of opinions of course. This post captures the essence of what I'm trying to get at and the two responses immediately after it seem to confirm my observations between my Capilene tops and my cheaper polyester tops from Sierra Trading Post. Granted, the one main difference between the two (besides the price) is that the STP tops are hit or miss; the weight of the top and the feel of the fabric changes depending on the color you order. But, as an example, my light brown STP tops are similar in weight and feel to Capilene 1 and some of my white STP tops are similar to Capilene 3.

Any of the Columbia gear in their Titanium line has generally been a good buy for me as well.

A pro for anything wool is it will naturally inhibit stink, whereas synthetics will harbor stink, unless infused with something like silver thread.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Stinkiness is not something I worry about! The fish won't smell it....a shower is always a must before I climb into bed.

I normally buy socks from Dave's Sporting Goods in Doylestown. I have also been to Cabala's, Bass Pro shop and Dicks. They are all similar in price . Since I like helping out Mom and Pop Shops, I'm more apt to go to Dave's for my purchase. In the outfitter section they carry Orvis products which I have come to appreciate. I have also been to the Flyshop in W Philly. They are a great group of people and seam to be knowledgeable. So always ask questions if you are unfamiliar with the products.