After a long, cold winter anglers are ready to hit the water and catch some fish. There's some great fishing available but we cannot discuss early season kayak fishing before we discuss what one should be wearing. It's critically important to be prepared. Don't let warm, sunny days lull you into a false sense of security. The coldest water of the year is at hand and if you're unprepared it can be life threatening. More so then any other season you need to recognize this. The water is so cold that if you should end up in it you'll only have seconds before your muscles won't respond. You must strongly err on the side of caution. To not recognize this could be disastrous. I have a saying "if in doubt, don't". It's a long season so don't be in a hurry. Pick your days wisely. This isn't the time of year to be launching through the surf and fishing the ocean. Avoid areas with strong currents. If you're new to the sport be especially cautious. The back bays and estuaries are the place to be. Even though you take every precaution you must be dressed for immersion. Simply put you have to be prepared to end up in the water. Your survival might depend upon it. If you're sufficiently concerned, that's my intention, because this must be taken seriously. Cold water is extremely life threatening and to ignore this is asking for disaster.
You might think why not wait until things warm up and are safer. There are many who do just that, however there's some great fishing to be had for the properly prepared kayak fisherperson. I'm not going to tell you how to dress. We'll cover the topic and provide you with information to make a decision that's best for you. As of my writing this there isn't the perfect clothing to wear in a kayak. The safest thing to wear would be a one-piece, breathable, waterproof dry suit. This is the closest thing to the ideal setup for cold water kayaking. You'll be sealed from the neck down. Until recently a dry suit cost as much as a kayak but this season there is at least one manufacturer who's offering a suit for well under $500 and this includes attached latex booties! If you're going to do a lot of cold weather fishing it deserves serious consideration.
Each individual has to weigh the merits of each article of clothing they put on and acknowledge that this is a risk sport. I can only tell you how many others and I tackle this important subject. We do so by wearing underlying insulating layers and an outer layer that keeps us dry. Some people wear wet suits as a first layer and then wear outer layers that I'll describe a bit later. Should you decide to go the wet suit route I recommend that you get one that allows for good movement. I would think that suits made for surfing will do nicely. Keep in mind though that the operative word in wetsuits is wet. To function properly they're designed to trap a layer of water between you and the suit that your body heats. I don't like getting wet so I don't use a wet suit. I like dry systems until the water is warm enough to forgo protective wear.
I suggest that you wear items that are versatile so you have options and can adjust to what Nature brings forth. This can change quickly any time of year but especially fast early in the season. Here's what I've been wearing and it's worked well for many others and me. So let's work from the skin outward. There are a lot of things that you can wear. You want a layer next to the skin that's comfortable but also has the ability to wick away moister. Paddling is exercise and you will sweat. Moisture if it's allowed to accumulate next to the skin could cause you to become chilled when you stop and fish. You can wear polypro underwear, etc. but by far the best base layer I have found is a product called Mysteriosoä. It's a high tech clothing system that's simply amazing. Everyone I know who uses it feels the same way too. It's hard to describe as it does so many things extremely well. For this application I wear it like long underwear. It's simply one of the most versatile articles of clothing you can own. Just take my word for it; you'll be thrilled with it. If its really cold out you can use fleece as your next layer. Check out flea markets as you can get both bottoms and tops at great prices. I find when my base layer of Mysteriosoä isn't enough some fleece or a Mysteriosoä short sleeve over it is just the ticket. Since I have Mysteriosoä it is my preferred garment as it has less bulk and affords great range of movement.
I feel very strongly that the outer layer needs to be waterproof and breathable. You don't want to get wet. As stated above the best thing you can wear is a one-piece dry suit. I use what is essentially a 2-piece dry system which I feel for my purposes provides a very high level of protection and a great degree of versatility. As I mentioned earlier there isn't specific clothing made for what we do. Wetsuits are designed for use in the water and require a layer of water between the suit and the skin that is warmed by the body. Our primary objective here is to stay out of the water and keep dry. Should we happen to end up in the water we want to get out ASAP and continue to remain dry. Kayak fishing is a relatively small sport and a great deal of its participation is in warm or temperate environments where this discussion isn't necessary. As it grows in popularity there's going to be more participation in colder climes. Eventually the sport will have its own specific clothing. Until that day comes we must borrow from similar sports. The closest sport to us is Whitewater kayaking. It has clothing designed for extreme environments and dealing with cold water including total immersion by its practitioners in the water. In white water kayaking there are tops that are made specifically for that sport. Participants are often upside and the system they use keeps them dry. These tops are called dry tops as they're designed to prevent water from entering. They consist of wrist and neck closures that keep water out. These closures consist of latex, neoprene or both and often Velcro is used as the outer, secondary closure for the wrists. The waist is a 2-part system consisting of an inner sleeve and then an outer closure system. Some use elastic outer and I suggest backing these up with a wading/surf belt. The best ones have an elastic and Velcro pull system that cinches the outer layer over the skirt. Dry tops are getting better each year and new for 2004 one company is making a dry top for kayak touring. It's fluorescent orange with reflective accents. The waste system is the same as their top of the line whitewater top; it has waterproof wrist closures, a neck closure system and a hood. I've yet to use one but it appears to be winner.
Dry tops are designed for Sit Inside Kayaks (SIKs) to be used in conjunction with a skirt. Most fisherpeople are using SOTs (Sit On Top kayaks) for fishing. A skirt is a non-functional accessory with a SOT, however we can use this to our advantage in a system. There are a few different pant options we can employ with these dry tops. There are specific waterproof /breathable pants made for whitewater kayaking. They have terrific ankle and waist closures. For the feet you use neoprene socks and kayak boots. Instead of kayak pants I've been using breathable waist high waders. They have built in neoprene booties and a belted waist. The waist closure isn't as good as the kayak pants however they still work well and I prefer having the attached neoprene booties of the waders. I do a lot of wading when I go kayak fishing and nothing wades better then waders. Both the pants and the waist high waders are used the same way. The inner sleeve of the dry top gets tucked into the pants and then the outer closure system goes over the waist. The third option is to use chest high breathable waders. They're not as good as pants or waist highs mentioned above because they only offer only a single seal mechanism for the waist. The first two bottoms provide the security of a double system. Most anglers already own a set of chest highs. Stocking foot waders are preferred for this as the boots are then a separate item providing a snugger fit. (Depending upon the environment I plan on fishing I can then choose from a few different pairs of kayak and flats boots.) Here's how I set up the system. Keep in mind that you won't be able to tuck the inner sleeve into the chest highs. When using a dry top with chest highs I use a wading belt over the inner sleeve above where the closure system of the outer sleeve is secured. This provides a good. I've used chest highs for years with only a splash top in moderate weather and for the time that I've spent in the water it has kept me dry. The splash top I use doesn't provide as good a seal as a dry top but one's I've used have a similar waist seal as the better dry tops. The wrists and neck seals aren't nearly as good with most splash tops and hence the name.
There are some additional items that you either should or must have along. Always wear a PFD. There are some incredibly comfortable units on the market so there isn't any excuse not to wear one at all times. We loose the majority of our heat through our heads. The best headwear on the market is the Aquaskinz. This is a very serious unit. Mysterioso makes headgear too and like all their products is superb. At the very least you should have a hat made from a material that'll keep your head warm when wet: fleece or wool. Also have a pair of gloves or two along. Neoprene that keeps you dry is best. There are many manufacturers of good gloves. If it's warm enough that you don't need them, keep a set handy just in case. Weather is fickle.
So now you should have a better idea on how to outfit yourself for the early season. The same gear applies for the end of the year too. Get set up, use common sense, fish with others and have fun.