I love hats, but I’m particular about which hats I sport. They need to mean something to me. I need to feel a connection to them. Not only that, but I am so white as to be almost transparent and I need something to keep me from frying. I’ve had two friends in the last year be diagnosed with melanoma and I’ve had some pre-cancerous “things” removed. My wife keeps threatening me that if I get more bad sunburns she won’t LET ME FISH anymore. That’s a conversation I’d rather not have. So, hats, in part, are a pretty critical part of the sun-avoidance strategy.
Here are some thoughts about what you should wear on the flats. Andros South. Gink & Gasoline. Orvis.
I tried doing a wide brimmed hat, but it doesn’t take too many windy days to abandon that whole idea.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DSCN0330-580x435.jpg)
My floppy hat (and my now 10 year old in the backpack).
I had a green Patagonia trout hat that I loved until someone stole it from my car.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/PC280023-580x435.jpg)
That green hat, my first decent bonefish and some horrible fish handling.
I tried a broad brim straw hat, which, I have to say, may be my favorite type of fishing hat. Cool and tons of shade, but not great to travel with, not great in a strong wind or while you are running in a skiff.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/bjorn-clint-gearing-up.jpg)
the broad brimmed straw hat.
I had a Skinny Water Culture hat, but it didn’t fit on my right. I wanted it to work, because I dig on what the are/do, but it was just a tad tight on me.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/GSPermit-200x300.jpg)
SWC Perm
By the time I fished Andros in 2011 I had a Andros South hat (given to me by the guys who went to Andros in 2010). I wore that for a couple years and watched it fade from bright orange to almost a light pink.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Bjorn-Bonefish-3-Andrew-300x204.jpg)
South Andros Bonefish. Photo by Andrew Bennett
I was still wearing that hat in 2012 for my honeymoon.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DSCN0367-580x435.jpg)
A fish from in front of El Pescador and that Andros South hat.
In Cuba I got a Yellow Dog hat, a trucker cap, that I put through the paces.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IMG_4229-580x580.jpg)
Well worn and sweat stained.
In 2012 I moved to my BTT hat. The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is a fantastic organization and I have roots in the nonprofit sector so I felt an affinity for what they were all about.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/BTT-Kalik-300x225.jpg)
mmmmm
I wore that hat a lot. Like… a lot, a lot.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_0405-580x435.jpg)
That is me… happy.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN5649-580x435.jpg)
Heading out in Abaco
But that hat has seen better days.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IMG_20170709_110043-2-580x773.jpg)
You’ve had a good run.
So, I looked for another hat.
I got a Patagonia trout hat.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/enhanced-bar-jack-580x443.jpg)
My Maui Bar Jack
But, I don’t fish trout that much these days.
So, I got a tarpon hat from Costa.
My last trip to Hawaii proved to me that I shouldn’t wear trucker caps. I need more sun protection, as a member of the “nearly balds.” I got a decent sunburn just where the full coverage stopped. I often wouldn’t have the buff up all the way on top and that fried my cranium.
So… I needed a new hat.
![](https://bonefishonthebrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IMG_20170707_162740-1-580x773.jpg)
The new lid
Welcome to the family Patagonia tarpon hat. I look forward to many years and many fish to come. Full sun protection and it fits well. The color makes me think of the tropics.
Why a tarpon hat? Well, easier to find than a bonefish hat and I do have a significant side crush on poons.
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Tags: caps, hats, lids, sun protection