Buff Pro-Series Angler Gloves,
$40,www.buffusa.com/collections/14.

The Good: Great grip, wet or dry. Excellent protection. Line feel is preserved.

The Bad: No more fish smell on the hands. You can no longer brag about the big catch of the day by waving your fingers under your buddy’s nose.

The Ugly: Fishing buddy’s face when he smells the gloves instead.

At $40 for a pair of fishing gloves, these better be damn good. Buff’s Pro-Series Angler Gloves are thin, tight-fitting, durable gloves designed specifically for long days of casting and stripping line. The gloves provide UPF 50+ sun protection and employ materials to improve grip and protect your fingers from line burn. Unique design features include ClarinoTM (breathable and more durable than leather) reinforced palms, stripping guards on the index and middle finger and accordion-type finger grips providing more surface area for putting the brakes on the fish. The gloves are offered in four sizes and two patterns, sage and fish camo.
I was able to take these gloves out spin fishing for bass on Shasta Lake and on the Sacramento River, near Redding, in the late day’s heat, casting to rainbows and rowing the drift boat. Though I wore the gloves the entire time fishing, the reinforced pull tabs on the fingers and the cuff made it very easy to take them on and off.  The gloves draw your hand slightly closed, enhancing your grip and minimizing grip fatigue. I didn’t notice any loss of feel while dropping and lifting Senkos at Shasta; a dealbreaker in the gloves/no gloves decision.
These gloves are perfect for rowing a drift boat. My hands were not as tired or sunburned as they usually are at the end of the day and it was much easier to lift and drop the anchor. The extended cuff provided additional sun protection and covered my watch, protecting it from (more) scratches. The only chink in the armor is that if you get the gloves wet, they will stay wet. It took about 3 hours in the sun to dry the gloves after a dunking.
The Buff Pro-Series Angler Gloves offer great protection from the sun, wind, blisters and line burns. Though at first I was hesitant to put anything between my hand and the line, I am now a believer in the Angler Gloves.

Tags:  angler gloves buff fishing fly fishing gear travel