How to Care for a Fishing T-Shirt

A fishing tee gets worn hard: early mornings, bait-stained hands, a long day in the truck. A few habits on laundry day keep the print sharp and the color the way you liked it. Below are the care instructions our T-shirt product pages give, with the reasons behind them.

The short version

Machine wash cold, inside out, with like colors. Tumble dry low or hang dry. Don't iron directly on the print. No bleach, no dry cleaning.

Wash cold, with like colors

Our Comfort Colors tees are garment-dyed. For its pigment-dyed colors, Comfort Colors explains that loose pigment can stay on the surface of the shirt after washing, and it strongly recommends washing them only with like colors, since the pigment can stain lighter clothes. It adds that cold water reduces the chance of staining. That's why our instructions say cold water and like colors.

Turn it inside out, and keep the iron off the print

Washing the shirt inside out keeps the printed side from rubbing against everything else in the load, and our instructions say not to iron directly on the print. If it needs pressing, iron it inside out or around the design.

Drying and shrinkage

Comfort Colors pre-shrinks the 1717 during its garment-dye and wash process, and says that leaves almost no shrinkage at home. Tumble drying on low or hanging the shirt to dry, as our instructions say, is the gentler option either way.

What garment-dyed color looks like over time

Garment dyeing is what gives these shirts their worn-in look, and it means no two are exactly alike: Comfort Colors notes that shade variation is part of the garment-dye process. It describes its pigment-dye colors as having a vintage look that stays for the life of the garment, and its reactive-dye colors as looking like a traditionally dyed tee. A slightly different shade from the photo, or from a friend's shirt in the same color, is normal for garment-dyed cotton.

If something's wrong when it arrives

Normal wear isn't a defect, but a misprint or damage is. If it arrives misprinted, damaged or defective, tell us within 30 days of delivery with a photo and we'll send a replacement or refund you. Read the full returns policy for the details.

Looking for your next one? The American Lunker Vintage Bass Tee and the rest of our bass fishing shirts are all cared for this way. For how a cotton tee compares with a sun shirt, see What Makes a Good Fishing Shirt?