What Makes a Good Fishing Shirt?

Two very different shirts get called fishing shirts: lightweight technical sun shirts sold with a UPF rating, and cotton tees with a fishing design on them. They do different jobs. Here's what each one is good for, and what it isn't, so you can pick the right one for the day you have planned.

Sun protection: what UPF means

UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) indicates how much UV radiation — both UVB and UVA — a fabric lets through to your skin. The Skin Cancer Foundation explains that a UPF 50 fabric blocks 98 percent of the sun's rays and lets 2 percent (one fiftieth) through. It rates UPF 50+ as excellent protection and UPF 30 to 49 as very good.

According to the foundation, densely woven fabrics protect better than sheer, thin or loosely woven ones, and dark or bright colors absorb UV rather than letting it through. Fabric that's stretched or wet loses some of its protective ability.

Where a cotton tee falls short

A regular T-shirt is not sun protection you can count on. The Skin Cancer Foundation puts a white T-shirt at a UPF of about 7, and only about 3 once it's wet. If you'll spend hours in direct sun on open water, a shirt with a tested UPF rating is the better tool, alongside the rest of your sun protection.

Our tees aren't sold with a UPF rating, and we don't claim one, or any wicking or quick-dry performance. They're cotton T-shirts, and we describe them that way.

Where a heavyweight cotton tee earns its place

A good cotton tee is the shirt for the rest of the trip: the early drive, the cold ramp before the sun is up, the tackle shop, the diner afterward, and every weekend in between. What separates a good one from a throwaway is the blank it's printed on. Our Comfort Colors tees are the Comfort Colors 1717, which its maker describes like this:

• 6.1 oz/yd² fabric of 100% ring-spun US cotton, sold as a heavyweight tee
• Garment-dyed, and pre-shrunk during the garment-dye and wash process for almost no shrinkage at home
• A relaxed-fit tubular body
• A double-needle topstitched collar, double-needle armhole, sleeve and bottom hems, and twill-taped neck and shoulders

Garment dyeing also gives the 1717 its look: Comfort Colors says its pigment-dye colors have a vintage appearance that stays for the life of the shirt, while its reactive-dye colors look like a traditionally dyed tee. Each product page lists its details and exact measurements.

What to look for, whichever you choose

• The job. All-day sun on the water calls for a tested UPF rating. Mornings, evenings and everything off the water are where a cotton tee belongs.
• The label. Fabric weight and fiber tell you more than any adjective. A sun shirt should state its UPF; if it doesn't, don't assume one.
• The fit. You need room through the shoulders to cast. Compare a shirt's measurements with one you already like, using our size guide.
• The care. A shirt lasts longer when it's washed the way it's made to be. Ours are covered in How to Care for a Fishing T-Shirt.
• A design you'll wear. The best shirt is the one you reach for. Browse our bass fishing shirts to see ours.