Best fishing shirts and layering apparel are a must-have for any angler gearing up for a day on the water. The team at Fish Alaska shares their top picks.
Best Fishing Shirt & Layering Apparel
Carhartt Women’s Oversized-Fit Midweight Hooded Sweatshirt
Ana Taylor loves this sweatshirt. She extolled its virtues: “Comfortable, good fit, great for lounging about, fantastic color, this is my favorite out-and-about sweatshirt. The hood is generously sized, which is great for hair.” Choose between 2 colors and 7 sizes.
Ibex Men’s Shak 1/4 Zip
Merino wool layering pieces are critical components of our clothing system. There are several companies who produce these pieces; Ibex is one of the best. Our roving videographer/photographer, Brian Woobank, wore this layer in 2025 during several trips and reports that it is warm, comfortable, fits great, and that he will never go on an Alaskan expedition without it. It comes in 3 colors and 5 sizes.
Grundéns Women’s Bering Fleece Full-Zip Hoodie
This full-zip jacket for ladies provides serious warmth on the water. The wind-stopping material on the chest area is a perfect design feature for wearing with your fishing bibs. Thick and cozy, this is a fishing wardrobe staple that will see a lot of use.
Stone Glacier Chinook Merino Boxer Brief 3-Pack
On some of our backcountry adventures, the hard work of dragging a raft, or hiking with a pack, or packing out game, means we’re going to sweat, and that can lead to a number of unpleasantries like odor, or worse, chafing in sensitive places. The best solution is prevention, and merino wool is very soft to prevent chafing, and very odor resistant. Stone Glacier’s Chinook boxer briefs are a great product for anglers and hunters.
Point6 Men’s Boxer Brief
The Point6 Boxer Brief is made of 84% merino wool, 12% polyester, and 4% spandex. Over the years, we’ve found merino wool products are superior for against-the-skin garments like underwear and base layers. Merino wool products generally don’t create chafing, and merino is naturally odor resistant.
Free Fly Apparel Seawool Flannel Shirt
This flannel shirt offers the classic styling and cozy warmth you expect from a flannel, however the Seawool fabric is a modern, sustainable option for textile sourcing. Seawool fabric is made of upcycled oyster shells and recycled plastic bottles, in keeping with Free Fly’s commitment to protecting our planet’s wild spaces.
Free Fly Apparel Women’s Bamboo Shade Hoodie II
Free Fly specializes in functional, stylish, and comfortable apparel featuring sustainable fabrics. This hoodie meets all 3 criteria with ease. The soft, 4-way-stretch bamboo fabric protects you with a 50+UPF rating, regulates temperature for changing conditions, and is available in 8 colors and 6 sizes.
Salmon Sisters x Wildhaven Wools Merino Hoodie, Adult
Wildhaven Wools from Haines, Alaska, has collaborated with Salmon Sisters in Homer, Alaska, to create this beautiful, functional, comfortable, and uniquely Alaskan hoodie. Using only Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified wool sourced from New Zealand, this mid-weight hoodie is 100% merino, soft enough to wear next to your skin, and features colors that reflect the Salmon Sisters fishing vibe.
Duluth Trading Company Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Fleece Leggings
The AKHG line of products is designed to be tough, comfortable, and functional. These fleece leggings are brushed fleece on the inside, and densely knitted on the outside. Never see-through, moisture wicking, and designed for easy movement, these leggings now have 5 pockets for added functionality.
Columbia Sportswear Drift Guide Woven SS
This is a short-sleeved button-down with dual chest pockets and the usual Columbia Sportswear glasses retainer. The woven fabric looks great for a casual dinner out, but it’s also a great warm-weather fishing shirt. Features include UPF-50 rating, Omni-Shield stain protection, and a sunglass cleaning patch. This is a bluesign product that meets strict environmental- and safety standards. This certification ensures that the product is manufactured with minimal impact on people and the planet, and that it uses resources responsibly throughout the entire production process.
Huk Kona Cross Dye Stripe Shirt
This lightweight, quick-drying, breathable shirt is good-looking and functional. We like the built-in microfiber sunglasses wipe; that’s a smart feature. The shirt comes in a solid pattern and 11 different print options. Sizes range from S through XXXL.
Point6 Men’s Base Layer Long Sleeve Mid-Weight Crew Neck Top and Bottoms
Both the top and the bottoms are made with 100% merino wool construction. The fabric weight of both is 240 grams, hence the mid-weight designation. That makes them suitable for colder weather conditions or more sedentary activities than the ultra-thin merino base layers some companies make, and they are a good fit for a lot of what we do in the Alaska outdoors. Flat-lock seams prevent chafing, and ultrafine (18.5 micron) merino wool ensures comfort against your skin. These are form-fit garments, but not compression fit.
Ibex Men’s GOAT Short Sleeve Crew
Our testers are partial to merino wool garments. They have many endemic properties making them well-suited to backcountry adventure. Two of the more important qualities are that the fiber is warm even when wet, and merino is resistant to odor-causing bacteria. So, we think every backcountry traveler should have an arsenal of merino wool clothing. We tested this short-sleeve shirt this year and liked it. It’s held up to a lot of wear over the last year and feels good next to skin. It’s comprised of 89% merino wool and 11% nylon, combining the technical properties of both fibers to produce a long-lasting, performance-rich garment. It’s available in 5 sizes and 4 colors.
Duluth Trading Company Women’s Free Swingin’ Flannel Shirt
This mid-weight, 100% cotton, relaxed-fit flannel is both adorable and comfortable, but it’s built to accommodate a wide range of motion with armpit gussets and special seaming details in the back. As a bonus, this flannel has a small screen shammy in the front for cleaning your lenses and screens.
Patagonia Women’s Nano Puff Fitz Roy Trout Hoody
The Nano Puff Fitz Roy Trout series from Patagonia delivers a functional, stylish, and packable jacket. The fabric choices and manufacturing practices showcase the Patagonia commitment to the environment, and the people who live in it. The jacket’s exterior is windproof, water-resistant, and comes in 3 colors. Seven sizing options make it easy to get a good fit, and the customer service is top-notch.
Columbia Sportswear Women’s PFG Wild Cast Sun Hoodie
The Wild Cast Sun Hoodie is part of Columbia’s PFG line, designed and built specifically for anglers. This comfortable hoodie features Omni-Shade, Omni-Freeze, and Omni-Wick technology to protect you from sun, heat, and moisture. The stretchy fabric and athletic cut of the hoodie allows easy, unrestricted casting. The scuba-style hood features a drawstring to keep the hood in place no matter the wind conditions.
Paka Women’s Mountain Crew
The Mountain Crew is made with a blend of alpaca, nylon, and wool for a soft, durable, and warm combination that is perfect for shoulder seasons and winter weather. The material is naturally wrinkle- and pilling resistant, odor proof, stretchy, and durable. It’s available in 3 colors and 6 sizes.
Grundéns Bering Fleece Pro Full-Zip Hoodie
This super-warm hoodie is a great piece to wear below waders on a cold day and can serve equally well as a top layer when you get out of the waders for the day. It is brushed on the inside and outside, producing a comfortable garment. The chest and hood incorporate DWR-treated stretch-woven overlays for added protection from the rain and salt spray. It’s made of 100% recycled polyester fleece. This breathable fleece comes in 2 color options and 6 sizes.