A Guide To Thermal Underwear & Base Layers for Fishing

If you’re looking for a cost effective way to stay warm when outdoors this winter, then why not get yourself a set of thermal underwear; it’s cheap, comfy, and will keep you warm as toast! Find a set that’s right for you with this handy Anglers' Net guide to thermal underwear.

As I sit to write this piece, the weather forecasters are tonight predicting temperatures down to minus ten degrees Celsius, even as low as minus twenty in the Scottish Highlands… Brrrr!

Essential, then, that when you are brave enough to pop out for a bit of river or sea fishing (as all the still waters are frozen solid!) you are fully tackled up for the job. Winter fishing can be so rewarding when you do bank one, but it’s meant to be an enjoyable experience, not a lesson in endurance, so you really need to be prepared. The first and most essential part of that preparation should be the purchase of a decent set of thermal underwear.

The idea of thermal T-Shirts, long sleeved shirts, trousers or long johns (or base layers as they are often referred to) is that they sit right next to the skin, trapping the warm air, and thus retaining valuable heat. When used as part of a layering system, it’s like having your own little central heating system. What’s more, a good quality thermal base layer will move perspiration away from the skin, so when combined with thermal middle and top layers, will keep you warm, dry and comfy throughout – no matter how long you wear them for.

I’ve used thermal clothing for years, and not just on the bank either. Come the cold weather, I put my thermal bottoms on most days, as I’m always in and out of the house and they really do make such a difference. It’s not as if they are expensive either, yet so many anglers still don’t use them; ‘go figure’ as our friends like to say across the (near frozen) pond. 

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