Same shirt as you.  Truewerk T1 pants. socks with no shoes, fishing gloves with no fingertips, AFTCO sun mask folded over so that I don't get burned where the breathing holes are, and a wide brimmed hat.  

Sunday I fished from 6 AM to 2:30 PM it was 98° with an index of 110 something. I was just dripping all day.  I take a few liquid IV or body armor electrolyte packets with no sugar, tons of water, some extra salt, bananas and apples and easy carbs. It's glorious out there when everyone else gives up. 

I went out to one of my favorite lakes on Sunday from 9am - 4pm. 9am to noon was great. I caught 4 good keepers and a few small ones. After noon, it was brutal. It was like a being in an oven. Even the shade spots I fish were hot and someways hotter. The water temp was 92 degrees in the shady coves and 88 degrees on the main lake. I thought I could take it but it was just too much. I spent the rest of the day cooling off. 

Fish early or fish late and forget the middle of the day.  The bite has been extremely tough with bass either buried in thick cover or deep at the bottom of ledges.  A little top water really early along the edges of the thick cover.  My least favorite time to fish are during the next few months. 
 

Drink often and don’t wait until you’re thirsty, if you do it’s already too late.  I keep cold water on the deck and drink every fifteen minutes even if I’m not thirsty!  The older you get the more important this becomes.  I always bring three times more water then I will need just encase there is a mechanical problem.  If I don’t use it I just refreeze the bottles. Also dose a towel with cold water and keep around my neck.  South Florida the feel like temps are over 100 everyday for months.
 

I always remember two biologist in an airboat that broke down in the Everglades.  The man had to walk out of the swamp, and the woman stayed with the boat.  By the time the man made it out, and got help the woman had died from heat stroke.  This was 35 years ago and cell phones were not around.  Extra water is always a must!

13 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

Can we make this a “hot weather clothing recommendation thread”? I use Columbia PFG tamiami 2 shirts and some type of Columbia shorts. Sometimes I have to wear pants fishing from the bank because of the mosquitoes. 
 

What do you all wear?

KastKing UPF 50 moisture wicking hooded jerseys. I've never used KastKing rods or reels, but I swear by their jerseys and their vented boonie hat. I never overheat out there, even with the heat index above 100. The moisture wicking works and keeps me dry.

 

As for the pants, I have some generic water resistant hiking pants that I bought an Amazon. They do a decent job of keeping me cool out on my kayak.

 

Where I do get hot is my feet. In the summer I wear Skechers slip ons out on my kayak. I find myself constantly dunking my feet in the water to cool them off.

 

We've had a heat index of 100 - 114 for quite a while here now in GA. Other than a few midday casts off the bank at work I haven't been fishing. But the high temp is supposed to be only 82 on Sunday so I'm going to try and go out somewhere and fish.

Down in my neck of the woods most folks are fishing at night. Local tournaments are held at night. Many who own or have access to piers and docks with lights are fishing at night on those. Can be very good fishing.

Good Fishing

18 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

Can we make this a “hot weather clothing recommendation thread”? I use Columbia PFG tamiami 2 shirts and some type of Columbia shorts. Sometimes I have to wear pants fishing from the bank because of the mosquitoes. 
 

What do you all wear?

Generally Columbia PFG “Terminal Tackle” shirts, either Columbia shorts or the off brand water shorts from Scheel’s, a Huk boonie hat, sun gloves (currently Kastkings) and flip flops.
 

I do have an oversized straw cowboy hat that I will wear when fishing long days (or just to irritate the Mrs when we’re at the river).

Hopefully the heat dome on the eastern half of the country has passed.

I am  on vacation in the British Isles with temps in the 6O’s with some rain, otherwise cool weather for the next month!

Tom

35 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Hopefully the heat dome on the eastern half of the country has passed.

I am  on vacation in the British Isles with temps in the 6O’s with some rain, otherwise cool weather for the next month!

Tom

Now that’s just plain cruel.

On 7/28/2025 at 7:11 PM, Columbia Craw said:

my heart goes out to you folks in the heat.  Take good care of your pets.👍

If my heart could take leaving the North Atlantic behind, I would wind up in Washington or on the other side of it in Ireland.

12 hours ago, GreenTrout said:

Down in my neck of the woods most folks are fishing at night. Local tournaments are held at night. Many who own or have access to piers and docks with lights are fishing at night on those. Can be very good fishing.

Good Fishing

My buddy's partner dropped out of a tournament and I got the call to fill in. Was shocked to hear it started at 730pm and weigh in was 230am. If I wasn't supposed to be up at the Crack of dawn to build a deck I'd have tried it.

Cotton is still my favorite hot weather clothing. Wetter is cooler 100% of the time 

Hopefully it cools off soon. Supposed to be 70* today and raining but at the moment humid. All we have is fans.

It's stunning here today.  60 degrees this morning on its way to 78 for a high.  Dewpoints in the 40's, which is very comfortable for late July.

 

Unfortunately, there's smoke in the air from Canada again.  It's either hot and humid with thunderstorms or its cool and crisp with smoke filled air.  What a way to operate.

DFW has been rough this week, a few days with great indices upwards of 105. Higher if you're by the bank. I've been getting in by 530am and out by 9. Results have been a mixed bag, though I have been getting bit. As hot as its been I'm out here in short shorts and a lightweight cotton shirt, planning my trips carefully, and only carrying what I really need. Got a nice one last night and another this morning though 

Much nicer temps here in Iowa and no rain finally.

 

But all the water looks like Folgers, no cream or sugar.

No relief yet here. RealFeel is 98 where I am, actual is about 90. I guess that's relief in that it's been over 100 (realfeel) more days in '25 than I ever remember. Still waiting on the cold front I thought was coming yesterday. No fishing for me for a while unless we can at least get a good breeze going to keep the bugs off. 

With that said, fall is sort of starting here as well. I've got leaves falling like crazy which seems early to me. Shadows are getting longer, and in my mind I keep reminding myself this is false fall #1 (out of 6-10?) 

To mitigate the heat I use an evaporative cooling towel on my neck, an  EC cap, and EC wrist bands. Soak them in cold water and wring them out.Kuhl convertible pants, a fishing shirt, and a boonie complete the ensemble. It makes a huge difference.

On 7/31/2025 at 8:11 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Cotton is still my favorite hot weather clothing. Wetter is cooler 100% of the time 

Not when the humidity makes it feel like a sauna.

I live in a subtropical rainforest, usually approaching 100% relative humidity. Cotton is king. Tried SPF sun hoodie on Sunday and could barely breathe 

On 7/31/2025 at 8:11 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Cotton is still my favorite hot weather clothing. Wetter is cooler 100% of the time 

Folks in the South have relied on cotton clothing to stay cool in heat for what, a couple centuries?

After doing some quick searches, the general consensus is that cotton & linen are the "coolest" fabrics to wear in hot weather. They are breathable. However, if staying dry is a concern, the technical synthetic fabrics have the edge and will wick moisture away from the skin and dry faster. These fabrics are not as breathable as their cotton and linen counterparts. There are other issues with the synthetics, (odor & bacteria growth) and some of the higher end fabrics address them to some degree. Your mileage might vary.......

It was a very nice 55* at 6 this morning when I woke up. The boat is loaded and I never thought I’d say it so soon but for the first couple hours tomorrow, I’ll be wearing a sweatshirt. I love it.

21 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I live in a subtropical rainforest, usually approaching 100% relative humidity. Cotton is king. Tried SPF sun hoodie on Sunday and could barely breathe 

Really? Interesting. I would think the cotton would just get wet and stay wet vs wicking the moisture away and evaporating when it’s especially humid. I’ll take your word for it though! 
 

P.S. I’ll take your subtropical climate and raise you my tropical climate. 😁 just messing around.

I'd guess that in 100% humidity there is very little evaporative cooling and that the synthetics aren't as breathable as the natural fibers. In combination it gives cotton the win. Sound plausible?

 

24 minutes ago, Crow Horse said:

I'd guess that in 100% humidity there is very little evaporative cooling and that the synthetics aren't as breathable as the natural fibers. In combination it gives cotton the win. Sound plausible?

 

Plausible? More like accurate.