Every now and again, my lovely wife rummages through my shirt and hoodie collection and takes whatever she wants to—it’s like Christmas to her, I reckon. If you’re dating someone or especially married, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I had an Aquaflage Long Sleeve Performance Shirt that I was wearing for a few months and one day, she walks out of the house wearing it while I was hooking up the boat before an evening fishing trip. You have to pick your battles, though… right?
All jokes aside, she and I have both worn this shirt a lot and we agreed that I should write a review about it. I have tested countless fishing shirts throughout my career and have been sorely disappointed many more times than not. These things ain’t cheap and I’m especially particular about my clothing. If it rides up on me, twists or pulls while I’m fishing or piddling around in the shop, I don’t want a thing to do with it.
So let us (both my wife and me) run you through what we’ve liked so much about this shirt.
Finally, no back seam
This is a huge deal to me whenever I’m picking out my favorite long-sleeve fishing shirts. I don’t know if you’re the same way but my gosh, I absolutely hate a seam running horizontally across the back of them. More times than not, this design characteristic makes your sleeves ride up as you’re moving around the boat. Whether you’re making a cast, landing a bass or culling, your sleeves will be half-way up your forearms with every movement. It absolutely drives me nuts when this happens. I want the cuffs of my sleeves to stay on my wrists at all times; I have no interest in constantly pulling my sleeves back down to my wrist every time I make a move in the boat.
Thankfully, you’re not going to have an issue with the Aquaflage Long Sleeve Performance Shirt in regards to this. There is no seam and you can wave your arms around, cast, cull, drive the boat, do a little dance… whatever you want. The sleeves won’t ride up your arms and I can’t tell you how nice that is. My wife also echoes this sentiment and really likes how the cuffs stay on her wrists at all times.
It keeps smelling fresh
Okay, let’s go ahead and attack the weird and uncomfortable subject. A lot of shirts like this stink to high Heaven after just a few hours of fishing. Your body can smell just fine but for whatever reason, these kind of shirts can smell absolutely terrible before lunchtime on a cool day. I’m fairly certain each one of you knows what I’m talking about.
I have no idea how it all works and I won’t pretend to know. Maybe it’s these vents under the arms and down the sides but you can fish an entire day and come off the water smelling like a daisy. I don’t know if other shirts use a different type of dye or what but I really do like how fresh this shirt smells after a long day on the water. It’s not a problem at all if you want to stop by a restaurant and grab a bite with your fishing partner on the way home—you won’t smell like road kill.
Long sleeves and sizing
Final impressions on the Aquaflage Long Sleeve Performance Shirt
Made of 100% microfiber polyester with permanent 30+ UV/Sun Protection, this is a sunshirt you’ll really like if you like to wear long sleeves and protect your skin from potential sun damage. For more protection, accompany it with a good quality fishing hat.
I really liked mine when I was allowed to wear it but apparently it’s my wife’s shirt now. I reckon I’m going to have to order another one for myself. But she looks good in it, so I can’t complain. This is a great fishing shirt for the money and one I’d recommend to anyone, male or female.
