Maybe you’ve wondered what in the world a fishing shirt features that your lucky t-shirt couldn’t handle. Well, you wouldn’t carry your groceries in a briefcase or your laptop in a grocery bag (hopefully), and you shouldn’t expect a cotton tee to do the job of a technical fishing shirt. 

Here are the two most important (and recognizable) parts of a fishing shirt:

Utility

A fishing shirt features multiple pockets (usually 2 to 6) in all the right places. Personal preference will determine how many pockets you want in a fishing shirt. You’ll want enough to have convenient access to frequently used gear -- but not so many that you’re tempted to stuff them all and weigh yourself down unnecessarily.

Roll tab sleeves and a high collar are two more key utility elements of the fishing shirt, allowing you to secure your sleeves in place when rolled up, and to optionally raise the collar to protect the back of your neck from the blazing sun when needed.

Fit 

The fit is critical on a fishing shirt. Think about the motion involved in casting -- a fishing shirt with a yoked back and well-designed sleeves will allow full range of motion and the freedom of movement angling demands. Vented mesh panels are also popular standards in a fishing shirt, allowing even further range of motion as well as an obvious cooling effect. 

So, sure, you can say a shirt is a shirt -- but it’s not really. At least when it comes to fishing. For a great example of a fishing shirt works hard (and looks good doing it), check out our men's performance fishing shirts.

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