The Keys are sun, salt and reflected glare from first light to the run home. Here is what the guides and locals actually wear on the flats, the reef and offshore, and why.
The shirt
A UPF 50+ long sleeve is the base layer for every kind of fishing here. It blocks about 98% of UV for as long as it is on, dries in minutes after a wave over the bow, and is cooler than bare arms once the sun is up. For the flats and offshore, most people move to a sun hoodie: the hood covers the back of the neck and the ears — the two places that burn first when you are staring at the water for hours — and it doubles as a windbreak on the morning run. A short sleeve is for the dock and the drive.
The rest of the kit
- Hat — a trucker or cap with a brim; a buff or the hoodie for the neck.
- Polarised sunglasses — you cannot sight-fish without them, and they save your eyes.
- Sunscreen on face, neck, ears and the backs of the hands — the only skin the shirt does not cover.
- Quick-dry shorts or pants; long pants on the flats if you are wading.
- Deck shoes or wading boots; never bare feet on a boat with hooks around.
By fishery
Flats (bonefish, tarpon, permit): hoodie, long pants, wading boots, buff. Light colours — you are standing on a white-sand mirror. Reef and wrecks (snapper, grouper): long sleeve, hat, a towel; you will get wet. Offshore (mahi, tuna, sailfish, marlin): hoodie for the run, long sleeve once the sun is high; something warm for the pre-dawn start even in summer.
Care after a salt day
Rinse the shirt in fresh water, wash cold, skip fabric softener, hang or tumble low. The print is set into the fabric, so it does not need babying.