Clothing

What are you experienced oarsmen wearing in cold water/cold weather conditions. Are you wearing drysuits, wet suits, business suits. This is a serious subject for people like me that get the shivers just talking about it. Many of todays thermals absorb and retain very little water whereas my typical bluejeans stay wet and clammy all day if immersed. While I'd love to hear from folks that have spent time in cold water I'm also happy to hear from experienced speculators. Right now the Delaware is so warm that its refreshing. The fish can be seen drinking Mai'tai's at the local Clam Bars. However cold weather is around the corner and I want to be prepared.

https://www.nrs.com/ fleece pullover with a rain shell. Fleece gloves.

I did a 4 day river trip once, in North Central Montana at the beginning of deer season when it was 50 the day we started. And 25 below zero the day after we started. We were fine. Had two dead deer a pile of pheasants in the boat at the takeout. 40 degrees is colder than 20 above because at 20 you can stay dry.

Nothing made of cotton!!!

Merino wool under layers with fleece and other modern synthetics as a mid layer with a Gore-tex shell over the top of it all, is my go to whether its is cold/wet weather fishing, hunting or skiing.

I like that Idea but I never was able to divorce myself from Bluejeans. My real worry is if I fell in they would hold water for a long time. Part of the reason I stick with jeans is that it is not really very cold here and they serve well when dry. I'm wondering if goretex bibs over a layer of polartec wouldn't be a better choice.
So no-one you know is wearing wetsuits or drysuits in fall and spring when boating?

When the air and water temperature when added together measure less than 100 was the old standard for the time to go to a wetsuit. This was in the mid-seventies when paddling or boating in whitewater. I still use the same rule of thumb but now that science and manufacturers can provide us with synthetic materials that do not absorb water the need for wetsuits has been reduced. The layering systems mentioned above work well when fishing in more placid waters. For the hardcore boaters that spend time in cold waters and cooler temperatures, a dry suit is very comfortable, safer, and much more expensive, however, it allows folks that want to play with their toys in cold weather a method to extend their boating seasons.

I guess that for most fisherman a dry suit would be overkill unless they have to travel through whitewater to get to the fishing areas a dry suit would be overkill. I hope that helps!

Rick Newman

This is very helpful. I need to eliminate cotton and other absorbent clothing for cold weather boating. So far I only boat in calm waters. Rarely in cold weather.