Which do you prefer - a waterproof jacket or smock? (plus the best wader tip ever?!)
I believe that most of us here do our fishing in areas of the world where for at least some of the time some kind of waterproof top is required. Whether you actually need to wear it because of rain or the sea crashing around depends on the day or night, but I personally don’t ever go out fishing without a waterproof top either in my rucksack or actually on me……………
I was out for a go yesterday morning in some pretty lovely conditions, but late January bass on the open coast are never exactly easy to come by, and I blanked. It was utterly glorious though, just me and the dog covering a good bit of ground and seeing not one single soul around. I was wearing out a very lightweight and new to me waterproof kayak-type smock, the Palm Vector, and as I was wandering around I think I finally hit upon why I tend to default to a jacket over a smock, but that a smock can work really well for me if I am using another vital bit of clothing especially.
I have always really liked how a jacket with a zip can open right up if need be, and especially when you need to get at something in a pocket on your BCWs (breathable chest waders), or you need to have a pee when you’re wearing waders. Better for walking around as well when you start to heat up a bit. I am going to refer you to a blog post I wrote back in March 2017 - here - because it’s a really useful “trick” as such when you’re wearing BCWs and you need a pee. I still come across a lot of anglers who aren’t remotely aware of this and they should be. So handy and so easy, but I have never heard a fishing wader company mention it.
Note: I was grabbing a couple of links for this blog post and I noticed that Glasgow Angling Centre has one of the wading jackets I really like on a better than half-price offer at the moment. It’s the Savage Gear SG4 wading jacket - I have worn mine a huge amount and I prefer it to their more expensive jackets for my style of fishing. If you get one, go for one size over your usual size. I am an XL in most things but I use an XXL version of this jacket.
The Savage Gear SG4 wading jacket
But I do think that a smock-type waterproof top can be really handy, and especially the ones that secure around your waist with some kind of fastening. I really like both the Guy Cotten smocks, the very lightweight Guy Cotten Efficient C130 Smock and the heavier duty Guy Cotten Surf Smock, but I do think they are a touch overpriced when compared to a some of the sailing and kayaking smocks (which I admittedly have very little experience of but they seem to make a lot of sense for our fishing). The Guy Cotten stuff is bloody good though and plenty of anglers absolutely swear by them to keep them dry in awful weather. But they are smocks of course, and by their nature smocks don’t open right up to give you easy access.
The Guy Cotten Surf Smock, modelled by some long-haired, middle-aged tit!
Which completely changes when you are wearing BCWs with a waterproof zip. This is when for me a waterproof smock makes the most sense for my fishing. I don’t have to go through various smock related contortions to go for a pee when I am wearing BCWs. For sure you can do it, but it’s a hell of a lot easier when you’ve got a zip on your BCWs. Zips on BCWs tend to nudge the price up, but find a good pair and to me they are worth it. In due course I will review the Savage Gear SG8 waders - zip and non-zip, in shops sometime soon I believe - that I have been hammering for a good long time now, but most BCW companies make BCWs with good waterproof zips on them. You may well not find the need for a zip so don’t go paying a bit extra if you don’t want one, but if I am to wear a smock for more of my fishing then the combination of BCWs with a zip plus the waterproof smock makes life that little bit easier.
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