Every other sport, including other disciplines of angling, have their own fashions but British sea fishing has always lacked an identity. Walkers have their own gear; so do runners; so do sailors. Freshwater match fishermen are logo’d up to the eye-balls and carp anglers have adopted the “Real Tree” camouflage clothing and made it their own, but us sea anglers have nothing to wear that looks smart or funky. Sorry, but my conclusions here do not include sowesters, smocks and floatation suits, and it maybe shallow of me to suggest it, but perhaps sometimes this is why we are not taken seriously - because we don’t look serious!

Sea angling is not to blame for its industrial workman-like looks. With its routes deeply entangled in commercial fishing and a hostile environment to work in, it’s not hard to see why, in it’s beginnings, sea anglers adopted wear that could withstand weather, blood, guts and not need to be washed between trips, but those days have changed!

As UK fish stocks have declined over the years, a new age of sport fishing and sports fisherman has been born. Today’s UK saltwater angler is more concerned about how he catches his fish rather than how many he can catch!

First overseas and now in the UK, anglers want to look the part as well as fish the part, but there is still a distinct lack of good looking clothing here for anglers to wear - although our tackle industry is on par with the best. Overseas anglers and guides have long worn good looking clothing when fishing – a lot of which is produced by companies that solely produce angling clothing or large tackle manufacturers that use clothing as a positive means of promotion!

Funky baseball caps, jackets, t-shirts, shorts, sunglasses and hooded tops are the norm if you’re a warm-water angler.  And rightly so! Angling is a lifestyle sport, more closely related to extreme sports than field or track sports and it’s only a natural progression that angling clothing should follow the lifestyle route. Even Matt Hayes, when he’s not camouflaged up, can be regularly seen sporting Quicksilver, Billabong, Rip Curl and Oakley but, as yet, no company in the UK has produced anything that resembles the casual angling attire that can be purchased overseas! All hail the U S of A!

Hooded tops have been around for donkeys. I, for one, have been wearing them for at least 25 years (since break-dancing came into fashion! – You never told me you used to break dance, Jim! - Ed). They’re smock-like and can easily be thrown in a bag just in-case it gets cold. The hood can be raised and drawn to keep the head and ears warm. The kangaroo pouch pocket across the front of non-zippered versions, makes a great tackle pocket for loose tackle items and tools when rigging. And they look good too! But apart from surf and other extreme sports brands, can I find angling branded hooded top here in the UK? No! So like others I have to purchase non fishing brands or look at fishing brands from our Yankee friends across the pond.

FishWorks Products are a company I had the pleasure of meeting at this year’s Miami Boat show. A little off track here, but if you’ve never been to a US angling or boat show - seeing is believing! FishWork’s Lawrance "Squig" Quigley, has combined his love of fishing with over 14 years as a designer of surf wear to create a line of clothing that meets the needs of the angler, looks great and can be worn casually as well as when fishing. Squig has tried to capture the casual lifestyle of fishing by providing a balance in clothing that works equally well when fishing and still looks great on land. In the FishWorks Products range, I like their hooded tops for obvious reasons. I have three, purchased in March, which have been put through their paces weekly. They’re tough and they haven’t faded. They haven’t shrunk or stretched. But more importantly they’re loose, comfortable and functional for my style of angling, and they look the part too!

FishWorks Products not only produce a great range of hooded tops but also t-shirts, hats, shorts, trousers, jackets and foul weather gear. For more information visit FishWorks Products

Current exchange rates are good but you will be liable for a small amount of import costs and VAT on delivery. The overall cost per item should be similar or less than any other surf or extreme sports brand clothing here in the UK! 

It’s a shame we have to rely on other brands and other countries for casual, good looking angling clothing. I wonder when somebody will start producing sporty, good looking sea angling clothing here in the UK? For now I guess I’ll have to keep shopping overseas.

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