Dressing for Success in Winter Fly Fishing
by Tom Rosenbauer

If you haven't been winter fly-fishing in recent years, you'll be surprised to find that most serious anglers now wear breathable waders instead of neoprenes. Breathables are far more comfortable, you can wear layers under them, and condensation from walking to the river is even more of an issue in winter than it is in summer. Most of us prefer bootfoots, as they keep your feet warmer than stockingfoots.

My winter fishing outfit includes a pair of Silver Label Bootfoot Waders, an Under Armour® ColdGear Quarter - Zip underneath a wool or fleece sweater, and a Tailwaters No-Sweat Wading Jacket as a wind, snow, and rain barrier. Underneath my waders, I wear a pair of Superior Comfort Boot and Wader Socks (truly the world's most sensual socks), a pair of Under Armour Coldgear Leggings, topped with a pair of Under-Wader Fleece Pants. These pants are great-as comfortable as your favorite chinos, they combine a fast-drying outer fabric with a light fleece lining. You can take off your waders and walk into a gas station or country store without looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy or a refugee from a bicycle race!

Add a wool hat and a pair of our new Steelheader's Gloves for really frigid days. I find that the rest of my body stays so warm with the above outfit that I seldom feel the need for gloves.

With this outfit, I've been perfectly comfortable steelhead fishing from New York's Salmon River to Oregon's Rogue, fishing on the Bighorn in Montana during a March snowstorm, and fishing midges on Nelson's Spring Creek on a windy 20-above morning.

View all the clothes you'll need for layering.