I most likely have more sun-protection type fishing tops/shirts than most of you here, so whilst I am very obviously not a fashion guru, I like to think that I know a little bit about what some of the stuff is like to wear for fishing and indeed life in general. I used to do a lot of photography work in some very hot and humid parts of the world (Indian Ocean, Florida, Africa etc.), so when I was in the US most years I would inevitably stock up on various long-sleeved tops and shirts with UPF50+ ratings. I also wear various, lightweight long-sleeved tops for all my own fishing, guiding and photography in the UK and Ireland, so a lot of these tops are now pretty old and tatty from a hell of a lot of use……………..

I have worn a wide range of different fishing tops over the years, but I have more of the Columbia PFG tops than anything else. I haven’t been to the US for a while though so I haven’t been able to stock up on their excellent Terminal Tackle PFG Long Sleeve T-shirts. So what do I do? I go looking and I ask around. I did try a couple of random tops that I found on Amazon, but I quickly sent them back because I didn’t like fishing in them at all when compared to my Columbia PFG stuff. I have been aware of the UK fishing clothing brand Anglers Only for a good while now - Rory fished with us in Kerry a few years back - so I made contact and asked a few questions about their sun-protection tops and what I might try.

Rory could not have been more helpful and I ended up buying one of the “Fender” UPF50+ long-sleeve tops last year, together with one of their “Fin UP” Bamboo Hoodies. I have lost a good bit of weight since my heart attack last year and I am your classic XL when it comes to clothing sizes, but I went for an XXL in the Fender and also an XXL in the Fin UP. Even with a good bit of weight lost I do find that an XXL in the Fender is exactly the right size for me - check with Anglers Only though because I believe they might be adjusting the Fender sizings in the near future - and an XXL is good (but slightly voluminous) with the Fin Up bamboo top and I reckon I could easily wear an XL. The Fender top has no hood on it whereas the Fin Up does.

Before we go any further you might want to read this information which I have grabbed from the Skincancer.org website. You may or may not know that I had a melanoma (the skin cancer you do not want) a few years ago so I take my protection from the sun even more seriously than I already did. “Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) indicates how much UV radiation (both UVB and UVA) a fabric allows to reach your skin. For example, a UPF 50 fabric blocks 98 percent of the sun’s rays and allows two percent (1/50th) to penetrate, thus reducing your exposure risk significantly. A fabric must have a UPF of 30 to qualify for The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Seal of Recommendation. A UPF of 30 to 49 offers very good protection, while UPF 50+ rates as excellent. UPF measures the amount of UV radiation that can penetrate fabric and reach your skin. Sun Protection Factor, or SPF, is based on the time it takes for UV-exposed skin to redden; if you burn after 20 minutes, if used correctly, an SPF 15 sunscreen may protect your skin 15 times longer. Another important distinction: UPF measures both UVB and UVA rays, while SPF measures only UVB”.

So what do I want from a top that I wear for my fishing and also a good bit for my regular, non-fishing life? As I said, a fashion guru I am not! I want tops which are easy to wear, and by that I mean that I can’t stand items of fishing clothing which annoy me when I wear them to move around in and fish. If something catches or if the sleeves ride up to expose a load of skin etc., it annoys me and I don’t want anything to do with it. And so on. I want a fishing top to be lightweight enough to be able to wear on its own in warmer weather, then I need enough room to be able to layer up underneath in colder weather - a compression-style thermal top for example. I have been wearing these types of tops for many years now and I know what I like.

The Anglers Only “Fender” UPF50+ Sun Shirt is outstanding, and for the £24.99 price it’s a complete steal. I easily put it up there with the Columbia Terminal Tackle long-sleeve tops that I like so much. As I said, I bought the Fender in XXL and it’s the right size for me (your classic XL bloke). It’s lightweight, very easy to wear and fish in, I bought it in the Navy colour but I need to buy a couple more so I will grab some different colours at some point. All credit to Rory and the other people at Anglers Only because their Fender top is bloody brilliant regardless of the price, but at the price we can buy it for it’s incredible value for money. When the weather gets warm - occasionally! - this Fender top is brilliant, but it’s just as useful to me all year because I layer up underneath it as I said. Very fast drying as well.

The Anglers Only “Fin UP Bamboo Hoodie” has to be the most comfortable top I have worn. Talk about smoothness! It’s a bit more expensive at £34.99, but I still think this is a complete bargain when you compare the prices of some fishing tops you can buy. This Fin Up long-sleeve top isn’t something I would want to wear in the extreme heat and humidity of those remote Seychelles atolls I used to spend a lot of time on, but for the majority of our UK and Irish weather it’s perfect. Still lightweight, more generously cut than the Fender top, it’s got a hood on which I don’t personally tend to use because if the sun’s out I wear a proper sun-protection face mask and hat, but I am guessing that a lot of people would find this feature rather useful.

I love this Fin Up top for our more usual weather especially - it’s still good in warmer weather, but I’ll go for the Fender when it gets properly warm (rare!) - and it’s perfect for layering up underneath if need be. It’s not as fast-drying as the Fender top, but to be fair we are most likely going to be wearing something waterproof as an outer layer when it’s raining or if there’s loads of spray flying around. I actually think that this Fin Up top is really useful living in my rucksack for those times when you want one extra layer than just the Fender top. So lightweight I don’t know I am carrying it around in my rucksack, but so efficient as a piece of fishing clothing that I can keep with me for when I need it.

The Anglers Only Aegis UPF50+ Sun Hoodie

And then more recently I noticed that Anglers Only had a new sun-protection top out, their Aegis UPF50+ Sun Hoodie, coming in at a bargain £29.99. I talked a bit with Rory and he kindly sent me both the XL and XXL versions so I could find out which one fits the best. I can easily wear the XL and it feels very true to size, but I went for the XXL because it gives me a touch more room to layer up underneath, plus the sleeves are a touch longer which I find useful when casting repeatedly. The Aegis top comes with a hood. I have only worn this Aegis top a few times but I really like it. Slightly more generously cut than the Fender, but not as generous as the Fin Up, the material in the Aegis top feels a smidgen thicker than on the (very thin) Fender top, plus the available colours are different in both ranges. Your perfect year-round fishing top if you ask me, to layer up underneath if need be.

I was obviously going to pay for my Aegis top when Rory kindly sent me two sizes to try, but he very generously said that I could keep the XXL one for no charge as long as I popped the unused XL in the post back to Anglers Only. You need to know that it was me who asked Rory if he minded me talking about his Anglers Only gear in this blog post and that at no point has he asked me either to write something about them OR that please would I be nice! I am being nice though because I think this Anglers Only sun-protection clothing is bloody brilliant, and at the price we can buy it I think it’s even more bloody brilliant. I know nothing about any of their other fishing clothing, apart from their remarkably good value Fin UP UPF50+ Cooling Neck Gaiter. The material of this buff-style neck and face sun-protection garment is fantastic in warm weather especially, but I would prefer an anatomical design to a sun-protection face mask so I will be sticking with the one I already have here for the time being. Please note that there are no affiliate links here today, but I wanted to do what I can to alert you kind people to the fact that we have a really good UK company designing and bringing some fantastic fishing clothing to the market (read Rory’s blog post here about this). I feel I must apologise for the fact that it’s me modelling the various tops in these photos, but I am sure you can get past that!

Oh, and today is my 25th wedding anniversary. Not bad eh? I wouldn’t be anywhere near half the man I am without my wife Islay. She is a truly awesome girl, and even though I like to believe that I am right basically all the time, I don’t quite know how she has put up with me for so long. What a girl.

Anglers Only Performance Fishing Shirts - reviews and info, various prices for different tops, great value for money

© Henry Gilbey 2023