13 Best Long Sleeve Lightweight Fishing Shirts

Whether you’re more into fly fishing or sea fishing, you need to get prepared with the right apparel. Long sleeve lightweight fishing shirts are part and parcel of fishing gear that shouldn’t be overlooked. Actually, it’s the most important piece in your outfit to stay protected all along the journey. Fishing shirts are simply made of special fabrics with the right amount of UV protection to prevent harmful sun rays from reaching your skin and causing burns or irritation. Also, they should be breathable and lightweight so as not to feel hot, but at the same time, not too lightweight that they allow sun rays to pass and reach your skin.

Given their importance, we decided to invest some effort and time in searching for the best shirts men and women can pick when they need a protective and breathable layer while fishing. So, don’t bother yourself with looking here and there for fishing shirts; here are the 13 best ones and all that you need to know about them.

Savage Angler American Echelon Fishing Hoodie

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The Savage Angler American Echelon Fishing Hoodie easily became one of our favorites the first time we tried it on. Although it isn’t available in all sizes and has no color options, we were lucky to find a size that suited us to give it a try. We were luckier finding this shirt in 100% polyester materials that don’t absorb sweat and don’t produce bad odors.

The shirt is lightweight, and we could wear it easily on sunny summer days. Given that it’s white colored, it reflected the sunlight effectively, so we had no problems with sun protection. Besides its buttery soft fabric, this shirt was also comfortable because of the radial sleeves that fitted large and allowed for a wide range of motion. This shirt or hoodie can be a unisex option, but if you’re more interested in men’s fishing shirts, you can check this review of the best men’s lightweight fishing shirts.

Reel Fishy Apparel Blue Crab Performance Shirt

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Reel Fishy Apparel is one of the brands that has a special section for UV protection shirts. The best thing about these shirts is that they’re all UPF 50+ rated. We picked Reel Fishy Apparel Blue Crab Performance Shirt for the protection it has and the simplicity of the design. For fishing, we prefer a simple shirt without too many fancies and details in the design so as to feel comfortable. We know we’re gonna be moving a lot on this trip, so this shirt was a good choice for unrestricted movement.

The shirt was found to be very lightweight, soft, and breathable. This shirt isn’t very common among anglers. However, we believe it’s a good value for money and a high-quality option that shouldn’t be overlooked. We browsed all the available options for this shirt on the Reel Fishy Apparel official website, there were short sleeve options and racerback tanks as well.

Ink Trendz Outdoors Skeleton Shirt

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Ink Trendz Outdoors Skeleton Shirt is the basic fishing shirt you need for sun protection and breathability without diving too much into the details. This shirt features UPF 50+ sun protection rating, and this is the maximum protection you’ll find in performance and fishing shirts. Further, the micro-fiber polyester material it’s made of is the best for moisture-wicking, breathability, and preventing bad odors.

It’s a basic shirt because it comes in only two color options: white and grey. Also, the design is just a print on the back side, so, nothing to attract the eyes here. Yet, for performance technologies, it’s a perfect option. Adding to these, the fabric features some stretch. It’s a four-way stretch fabric that doesn’t fit too loose and doesn’t feel too tight, either. So, get your size with no issues from this shirt.

Bubba Ultimate Lifestyle Hoody

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A hoody might be another great option for fishing instead of a normal shit. Hoodies don’t have to be winter pieces, Bubba Ultimate Lifestyle Hoody is a very lightweight hoody that does the same job as UV fishing shirts and more. The hood gives it a plus feature, as covering your head means an extra protection layer you need while fishing under direct sunlight. One problem we faced while fishing was the amount of stains and bad odors that stick to our clothes. However, with Bubba’s shirt, getting rid of these bad odors was easier because it has a special stain-resistant technology. Plus, we were more encouraged to use this hoody occasionally after knowing that it comes with a one-year warranty.

“This was one of the easiest and most functional shirts we have tried ever. It solved all our problems when it comes to fishing apparel.”

WOW Travel

GAMEFISH Long Sleeve Performance Sailfish Fishing Shirt

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Best design. The first thing that caught our attention in GAMEFISH Long Sleeve Performance Sailfish Fishing Shirt was the design. The print takes a larger part of the shirt, which was something different from most other shirts that only have a logo or a solid color. We wanted to make sure that the graphics or the prints on the shirt are high quality and that they won’t fade out over time, so, following the washing instructions, we washed the shirt before and after wearing it, and luckily, the print remained as it is.

The next step was to test the comfort and quality of the fabrics. It’s a 100% microfiber shirt that feels soft on the skin. Actually, it’s suitable for sensitive complexions, which is a good point usually overlooked by many brands. The shirt comes in two colors that match the clear sky hugging the blue sea.

AFTCO Reaper Technical Hoodie

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This time we have a hoodie to try, not a normal fishing shirt. AFTCO Reaper Technical Hoodie might not be the lightest option among all the options we tried here, however, it’s still suitable for spring and in-between seasons. We did wear it during spring, and it turned out to be one of our favorites so far. It doesn’t come with a normal hood; it has a hood and a face mask to offer maximum coverage.

Since it’s mainly designed for transitional seasons, they didn’t forget to add a ventilation mechanism in the shirt. It’s well-ventilated underarms in a way that seems very professional, and at the same time, it offers the needed breathability. Even more, we liked the side pockets because they can be closed, keeping our things secured inside. You might want to watch this video from Mr. Bass for more about the features of the hoodie.

GOT Sports Long Sleeve Fishing T-Shirt

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GOT Sports Long Sleeve Fishing T-Shirt is one of those fishing shirts you’ll wear for other purposes that require staying under direct sunlight for hours. This 100% polyester shirt is resistant to UVA and UVB rays that usually cause damage and burns to the skin. The sleeves are long enough to cover the arms, but since it’s a unisex option, some men found it running smaller than their usual size. So, we recommend sizing up if you have wide shoulders or a fuller figure.

We wanted a quick-dry shirt that doesn’t keep water between the fabrics, so we don’t feel heavy all day while fishing. We also wanted a shirt that feels breathable but still offers decent protection. All of these features were found in this shirt, plus we felt it’s a suitable option for all seasons. We just need to add a hooded jacket over the shirt when it gets colder. You can check the best jackets for fishing here.

Salty Scales Redfish Long Sleeve Fishing Shirt

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We found this unique Salty Scales Redfish Long Sleeve Fishing Shirt with a nice fish skin design on one of the sleeves, so let’s give it a try. It’s a fully protective shirt with the highest UPF rating, as we made sure in most of the shirts we picked. Although UPF rating is, by now, the first thing we look at, it doesn’t make the best shirts, so we looked for other features in this shirt.
For moisture-wicking, this shirt features PURE-tech technology which doesn’t keep moisture in the garment for more than a few seconds. It might not be very obvious, but the fabrics used to make the shirt are porous for this reason. At the same time, they aren’t cheap fabrics at all, leaving you with a high-quality shirt with high-quality paintings. Don’t miss out on this review from Rad Reeling Fishing about this amazing shirt.

KastKing Fishing Hoodie Shirt

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Best protection. KastKing Fishing Hoodie Shirt offers the best protection you can get among other long sleeve lightweight shirts for fishing. Not only because it’s rated UPF 50+ but also because it covers most of your body. While we found lots of options with the same UPF rating, this was the only one with a hood, face mask, and thumbholes for maximum coverage. This didn’t make it a heavier option as we could easily wear it on a sunny morning and feel extra comfortable.

The shirt was also too breathable, with large mesh parts on the sleeves and on both sides. We could wear the shirt all day without getting hot or feeling soaked in sweat, even if it’s the hottest day. It’s also suitable to wear while hiking or even running, the shirt was a great purchase, and the colors made it greater. We personally love colored shirts with special patterns, not the traditional solid colors.

Southern Fin Apparel Long Sleeve Fishing T-Shirt

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If you love fishing and want to buy a shirt that lives, Southern Fin Apparel Long Sleeve Fishing T-Shirt is one of the highly recommended options. Before we tell you about the shirt’s features, we have to admit that it isn’t the cheapest option we found, yet it isn’t too expensive, so we didn’t consider the price as a pro or a con for this shirt. It’s all about the budget you set for a quality fishing shirt.

This shirt has a solid-colored front and a printed back side, which is something between simplicity and uniqueness. It didn’t take us long to decide on our choice because all come in the same design but in different colors. When it was time for fishing, the first thing we noticed was the softness of the material. We then knew that it’s made for sensitive skin. Further, the moisture wick was great and didn’t leave any bad odors. Yet, when it gets dirty, this was the worst part because the fabrics aren’t the easiest to clean.

Rodeel Fishing T-Shirt

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Best value for money. We were looking for a relatively cheap shirt to include an option for those who don’t want to pay a lot for fishing gear. We know that it might be just a hobby for some people, so an on-budget shirt is what they might be looking for. In fact, we found a lot of cheap shirts, but they missed a lot of the main features of a quality fishing shirt. Then, we finally found Rodeel Fishing T-Shirt. This was the cheapest option with these qualities, so we bought it immediately to run our tests.

Needless to say, the shirt has enough UPF rating for the needed protection. On the other side, it’s a shirt designed to get wet. It seems like the manufacturer knows well that some amateurs might go for this shirt, so they will probably get themselves wet while fishing. Thus, the material was made to dry quickly and keep its protection feature while being wet. Also, the sweat-wicking feature prevents any bad odors, whether sweaty or fishy.

Joe’s USA DRI-Equip Athletic Shirt

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Best colors. Joe’s USA DRI-Equip Athletic Shirt has a wide range of colors that blew our minds once we decided to pick it for a review. From the lightest white shade to the darkest black shade, all that is in between is available in this shirt. We also found a wide range of sizes, including a tall option from each size, so, in this case, fuller figures can go for the tall option if you want more torso and hip coverage or if you have wide shoulders.

We didn’t only go fishing with this shirt; we preferred to test it for sports and outdoor activities. Not surprisingly, the shirt performed the best in moisture-wicking and breathability. We also felt very comfortable wearing the shirt. However, the best thing for us was the price. This shirt is very affordable and worth every penny if you’re looking for a one-for-all shirt.

KOOFIN GEAR Performance Fishing Shirt

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KOOFIN GEAR Performance Fishing Shirt is our favorite fishing shirt so far, as we found all that we were looking for in this shirt. It’s rated UPF 50, so the first and most important feature was checked. On a sunny morning, we could feel great breathability while wearing the shirt thanks to the side vents that don’t ruin the overall design but add to the quality of the shirt.

Speaking of the design, we loved how this shirt is designed specifically for fishermen. Although we can easily wear it while walking around or hiking, the print on the front side shows it’s a fishing shirt. To make sure of the quality, we washed the shirt after the first trial and again three times. The painting didn’t fade or wear out and didn’t show any signs of cheap paintings. Hence, the shirt wins our hearts in all ways.

Our Verdict!

We know that you might have already picked your favorite shirt, yet, give this shorter list another look as those are the best fishing shirts from our point of view based on several aspects. Here you go.

• Best protection: KastKing Fishing Hoodie Shirt
• Best design: GAMEFISH Long Sleeve Performance Sailfish Fishing Shirt
• Best value for money: Rodeel Fishing T-Shirt
• Best Colors: Joe’s USA DRI-Equip Athletic Shirt

How To Choose The Best Long-Sleeve Lightweight Fishing Shirts?

Choosing the best shirts for fishing shouldn’t be hectic or confusing because it’s a matter of finding the necessary features you need. If you don’t know how to assess a shirt, we’ve got you covered. We’re sharing the features and criteria we used to find out the best shirts with long sleeves to wear while fishing.

Sun protection

First of all, we were searching for the most protective sun shirts. We didn’t only go for high UPF ratings, but we also tried the shirts under direct sunlight and made sure it’s really sun protective. The best sun shirts shouldn’t allow UVA or UVB rays to penetrate through the fabrics and reach your body. Thus, finding a very protective sun shirt that can totally block the sun is the most important thing.

Breathability

The next thing we considered was the fabric and how breathable it was. We were searching for lightweight shirts that have mesh vents or any kind of breathable fabrics. However, not any lightweight shirt is a good option. Sometimes lightweight shirts turn out to be unprotective. Hence, bear this point in mind while buying fishing shirts. Considering this point, polyester is the best material, and some polyester blends are also perfect.

Quick-dry and moisture-wicking

Sometimes, people confuse those features together, so let’s clear that out. Quick-dry fabrics are those lightweight garments that tend to dry out very quickly when they get wet. These are important when it comes to fishing or doing any water activities. On the other side, moisture-wicking shirts are those that wick away moisture and don’t leave bad odors. These types of fabrics are usually used for sportswear. The best thing is to find a balance between both and this is one of the features we were looking for in the fishing shirts we reviewed.

Which material is the best for lightweight fishing shirts?

Nylon and polyester can be used for fishing shirts although polyester is more common. It’s lightweight and breathable. Sometimes, a blend of both materials is used.

What is so special about fishing shirts?

Fishing shirts are sometimes called sun shirts or performance shirts. They should be lightweight, breathable, and dry-fit. Above all, they must have a good UPF rating for sun protection.

Is it necessary to get hooded fishing shirts?

Hooded shirts offer more protection, especially for fly fishing. If you can find a lightweight hooded fishing shirt, this will be a plus point. Instead, you might wear a sun hat for fishing.