According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, “one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.” That’s a sobering statistic.

So with this type of  information, what are some of the ways anglers can protect themselves while in the outdoors?

First, keep the sunscreen handy. Look for brands that provide both UVA and UVB protection. Your dermatologist, doctor, or local pharmacist should have some recommendations for you. And if the directions advise it, reapply often during the day.  Second, look for headwear and clothing that provide a UPF (ultra-violet protection factor) rating. Here is a UPF guideline:

• UPF 15 - 24 | Good Protection
• UPF 25 - 39 | Very Good Protection
• UPF 40 - 50+ | Excellent Protection

For more information about UPF, read this article. All Aqua Design products feature a UPF rating of 30 or higher.
Third, some fingerless sun protective gloves can provide excellent protection on exposed wrists and hands. They can also help you grip a rod handle better too.

And lastly, don’t forget about the uv protective sunglasses. Reflections from water can be hard on the eyes. Plus, you will see fish below the surface much better with uv lenses.

We are now underway with new sourcing relationships that will alleviate our shipment delays moving forward. In addition, we continue to research order trends and adjust accordingly concerning size, color, and style popularity.

The current inventory status should be resolved soon unless unforeseen circumstances beyond our control hinder the process. On behalf of the team here at Aqua Design, thank you for your patience if you have attempted to order an item that is currently out-of-stock. Be assured that we are diligently working to improve our “fill rate” on future orders.

As always, we wish you the best in all your fishing adventures.

Whether it’s camo clothing or camo vehicles, the sheer volume of camouflage options for hunting is at an all-time high with good reason - concealment is a proven method to increase the success rate of a hunter. However, it’s been a different story for anglers.

Up until now, most fishermen, quite frankly, have looked like walking billboards when out on the water. Bright pastels and neon shades are often the colors of choice. Their clothing, typically comprised of bold, solid colors or white, screams to fish “I’m right here… what you see from underwater is not natural… and I’m coming to prey upon you.” And when your predators come from the sky, as well as underwater, there’s good reason to be concerned with what is happening above the surface. Anglers need camo too.

That’s why the team at Aqua Design have worked for over 13 years, perfecting patterns and functionality of technical fishing apparel. Using actual underwater photos (from the fish’s perspective), the marbled colors blend into the background of whatever the environment calls for - sunny / shallow water (Sky Blue), overcast / rainy (Overcast), forest and woodlands (Willow Green), desert and rocky (Sand), and deep water / ocean (Bahama Blue).

Every fishing shirt, vest, pant, hat, and cap is designed by fishermen for fishermen. Functionality, comfort and sun protection are foremost considerations designed into each and every product.

Finally, anglers have an option when it comes to being stealthy on the water.

It’s Saturday afternoon, 3 o’clock. The hatch should be on. We drive wide-eyed up the Owyhee River in Eastern Oregon. We pass trucks from such far-flung states as Texas, New Mexico and also locals from the neighboring states of Washington and Idaho. We realize how fortunate we are to have a world-class fishery on our doorstep.

The best fishing holes are already taken, so we turn around and hunt for an unoccupied spot by a riffle where the fish will be active.

“What about that gravel turnout?” I say. My fisherman husband (a.k.a. The Fish Hunter or TFH) keeps going.

“No riffles.”

“There’s no one parked here,” I point out.

“Current’s too slow.”

Ok, so I decide to hush up. He knows what he’s looking for. We park up in a gravel area off the road, with a short walk along the river to reach the riffling spot he noticed earlier.

“I’d better put my tennis shoes on.” This is obviously not flip-flop territory.

We walk away from the van. I’m loaded down with a folding chair, a shoulder bag full of books, writing pad, sunscreen, bug spray, bottled water and a heavy camera. The Fish Hunter sees a lizard.

“You might want to wear the waist-high waders – there are bigger lizards out there, and then you can stand in the water to take close-ups of the fish.”

I turn back, unload my paraphernalia and change. We head back out, TFH striding in front over rocky terrain with spiky desert plants and yellow flowers that must survive on dirt.

“Where’s your rod?” I ask.

He shakes his head and walks back to the van, as I stumble on over the uneven volcanic boulders. The river is hidden behind the bushes, but I hear it rushing by. It’s close to 4 o’clock and the fishes’ odds for uninterrupted freedom are going up. TFH overtakes me and heads towards the brush where the path narrows between a steep bank and the fast-flowing river. He gallantly takes the folding chair, leaving me with the bag slung over one shoulder and the camera hanging from the other. I beat through the undergrowth, as the branches scratch my bare arms. I wish I had worn long sleeves and could swap the camera for a machete.

“Are you sure this is a path?” I call out.

I notice some droppings and realize something has been this way before.

“Are you still there?”

TFH is up ahead somewhere, but I need to focus on not stumbling into the river. But for a spent bullet casing, I’d say this was virgin territory. Now, we’re trapped between the river and a steep bank of shifting dirt and rocks. TFH manages to clamber up to the road, using the chair as a pick-axe. I am weighing the dangers of continuing on and being impaled by the spiky brush, twisting my ankle on the boulders piled at the bottom of the slope, or taking my chances up the mountain of shifting dirt. The shoulder bag keeps swinging around to destabilize me and I’m not feeling inclined to take any photos right now. Grabbing on to the 100 degree rocks, I claw my way up the slope and stop half-way, not convinced I can go either forward or backward. TFH comes to my rescue and relieves me of my two burdens. He sits me down in the chair by the roadside, where I fall limply, gasping for breath. I swig the bottle of lukewarm water with glee, watching his receding figure as he hikes back to get the van. The bugs are having a hey-day. To pass the time, I read a chapter of Erma Bombeck and realize that I have enough material to write my own. The van appears in the distance and glides to a halt by my chair.

“Jump in.”

“That’s all very well,” I say as I load the folding chair, the shoulder bag, the camera, the bottle of water, and, carefully book marking my page, the book.

“We’ll find a better spot.”

It’s now 4:30 p.m.

“You have to earn your riffle,” I say as we pass the same fishermen from earlier, the third time now.

“There goes that brown van again,” I imagine them saying, though of course they are so intent on fishing, they haven’t noticed us.

“I’m sure they haven’t caught a thing,” I say to encourage TFH, whose precious hours of daylight are slipping away. But by 5 o’clock, he’s happily casting, fly line swaying gracefully back and forth, catching the light, his fly finally connecting with water.

Meanwhile, I sit under a tree, watching the river saunter on. I’m a target for a thousand bugs, but I’m glad I have something to write about. What else is a fishwife to do but tell tales?

Fishermen are, by the way, their own species. They don’t need to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom the entire day and could probably wear their waders for several days before noticing when they finally do make it to the restroom. There is also absolutely no point in holding a conversation with them the minute they open their fly box. As an alternative riverside companion, I highly recommend “The Best of Bombeck”. The shoulder bag contents really paid off in the end.

Fish have somewhat unique visual capabilities. First, because their eyes are on the sides of their bodies, they do not work together in quite the way human vision works. But you can be assured, they can see you. Several scientific studies of “fish vision” have amply demonstrated that fish can spot anglers both wading and standing on rocks or shores. Studies have also demonstrated that these clever fish can also distinguish color. But you already knew that. That’s why you choose specific lures or specific fly pattern color variations on given days.

Somewhere in your fly or tackle box there is almost bound to be the same lure or fly in several colors. You chose these patterns because you know the reflection of sunlight on the fly or lure will get the attention of the fish. You are counting on the interplay of sunlight with your lure.

Doesn’t it follow that when you stand on a rock in solid color pants, the fish can see you when they look toward the surface? If they are close enough to the surface to see your lure, they are close enough to see you. And what they see, especially close to the surface, is the interplay of sunlight in the water. Camouflage fishing pants do the best job of matching what the fish see to the background and allowing you to get closer to them without scaring them off.

All you need to do is think about where you will be fishing and deduce what the fish see when they look toward the surface of the water, and choose the camouflage fishing pants that will do the best job of making you stealthy. Want to improve your fishing? Improve your invisibility! Stealth is the name of the game!

If you want to learn more about how fish see, please read some of the articles on our website or follow this link to a great article. Click here for the article.

To check out the available colors and patterns in fishing pants, click here to find the perfect pants for your next fishing trip.

Many anglers are in the habit of just picking up a baseball cap or a golf cap or whatever is handy for their fishing excursions. The simple truth is that those caps will not protect your eyes or your skin the way the Guide Cap will. The water camouflage design caps are made of a 100% microfiber brushed nylon fabric that provides a +50 ultraviolet protection factor. The solid color caps are made of a 78% cotton/22% nylon fabric that provides a +30 ultraviolet protection factor. Our caps also have a larger (3.5 inch) bill for better protection and vision and we have made the underbill dark to absorb the glare from the sun’s reflection off the water.

The cap is available in all five of our water design colors (willow green, sky blue, sand, overcast, and Bahama blue) and in three solid colors (khaki, sage, and olive). The adjustable web closure makes them a perfect fit for everyone. Your fishing cap is available here!

Just log on and post your story.

Before you go, have you seen the current special offers on fishing camouflage? Check it out at http://www.aquadesign.com.

Stealth fishing can’t possibly get any better than this: actual underwater photography from the “fish’s-eye-view” printed on shirts, pants, vests and hats to actually make you invisible to the fish. With five colors to choose from, you can match any fishing environment.

The Quest fishing shirt will probably be the most comfortable fishing shirt you’ve ever worn. It was styled by serious anglers for serious anglers. Consider these features:

• Roll-up sleeves with button tab
• Mesh ventilation inserts under the arms
• 3 chest bellows pockets
• action back (extra fabric behind the shoulders) with mesh ventilation inserts
• an extra-long shirt tail
• Button down collor
• oversized buttons

The fabric is the ultimate in comfort and skin protection, as well. It is virtually wrinkle free, easy to care for, made of 100% microfiber brushed nylon material that wicks moisture from your skin. It also has an ultraviolet protection factor of +50 UPF.

If you don’t want the fish to see you, and you want to be comfortable when you are enjoying your favorite sport, you simply must try this shirt.

Experience perfection in comfort and functionality in the AquaDesign Quest Camouflage Fishing Shirt now and save 25% (during the month of September). What a deal! Don’t miss this chance !

It is fascinating to learn that there has actually been a good bit of scientific investigation of what fish see, how they see, and how their vision is affected by various amounts of light penetrating to various depths. In fact I recently discovered two very clear and helpful articles on fish vision.

“What Do Fish See?” by Rabbit Jensen is available on the website of the Delaware Valley Women’s Fly Fishing Association. Here is the link to the article: click here.

This very helpful article explains how fish see and how their vision is affected by the fish’s environment.

The second article, “Can Fish See Color?” was published by SaltWater Sportsman and can be found on their website - click here. This article specifically addresses the question of whether fish see color, what color they see, and even how depth in the water affects their ability to see each major color.

I encourage you to read the articles both for the understanding of why fishing camouflage makes infinite sense for anglers and for a little help in choosing the perfect lure for the environment.

Happy casting!

A few years ago we produced fishing camouflage in women’s sizes and cuts. In short, you didn’t buy much of it and we were forced to make the decision to discontinue women’s sizes. We have been operating under the belief that women are just as happy with unisex fishing apparel sizing. We want to know if this is true. We’re asking for your feedback to help us make informed decisions.

Here are our questions for you:

1. Are you content with unisex sizes for our camouflage fishing clothing?

2. Would it be easier for you to know which size to purchase if we provided a comparison chart for women’s sizes? (For example, size small is the same as size 4 - 6)

3. Are there features of our camouflage fishing apparel that you find unappealing or that you would like us to add?

We appreciate you taking the time to let us know what you think.