When you are fishing in extremely cold weather, ice fishing bibs become a must! Ordinary bibs won’t be enough to manage such an unforgiving cold. You should buy your fishing bibs before winter and choosing the best ice fishing bib could help you to stay dry, warm, and safe when ice angling.
Some features are important to choose ice fishing bibs like sizes, price, warmth rating, and so on. Moreover, there are various styles available in the market that may make you confused. The factors that you should keep in mind when buying your ice fishing bib include padding, material type, number of pockets, and insulation. In this article, I would give you some tips for choosing the best ice fishing bibs.
Why are ice fishing bibs important?
Fishing bibs are important because they could keep you dry and protect you from wind and cold. You may get hypothermia if you have no ice fishing bibs. They could keep the body at normal temperature and don’t allow any moisture inside. They even release the sweat that helps maintain body temperature.
Protecting yourself should be your priority. When you are fishing on the ice, nothing could be annoying like your freezing legs. Thus, it is a must to wear ice fishing bibs but that should be fit and suitable for the place where you are fishing.
Choose the best fishing bib:
All of the ice fishing bibs are not the same and the features are also different. Some emphasize insulation and durability and some have features that could be useful for fishermen. Let’s see the factors that may influence you to choose the right one for you!
1. Insulation:
You probably have read some reviews on fishing bibs and find that the first topic of them is insulation. We aren’t different!
Insulation is necessary because you may deprive yourself of your body temperature very quickly while ice fishing and the cold could lead you to frostbite or hypothermia. Well-insulated fishing bibs would allow you to keep your body heat and survive in harsh weather.
2. Knee pads:
One of the most important elements of a good quality ice fishing bib is the knee pads. Your knees may get a beating while tying knots or checking tip-ups or even skimming the holes to measure fish.
Protecting your knees from hard ice and keeping them well-insulated is important. Ski bibs fail in this case as the insulation would reduce the effectiveness of such bibs. Knee pads of the ice fishing bibs should be comfortable and thick that could prevent pain and act as a thermal barrier for stopping the ice to get over direct contact and also steal the body temperature.
3. Waterproof:
The common thing while fishing is to get wet. By spending much time fishing, you may be sprayed by the stressed fish, your heater may turn the surface into a small pool or the snow and ice on your fishing bib have drenched your clothes. Modern technology has made quality ice fishing bibs that are fully waterproof. Thus, check if your ice bib is waterproof or not before buying.
4. Warm:
You may find the weather getting worse when you are out ice fishing. It’s your duty to keep yourself safe from that bitterly cold weather. Your ice fishing bib should be well-insulated and the different layers and parts to protect you from the worst weather.
5. Durable:
You may want your protective gear to last longer. So the fabric should be strong, heavy-weight, and also strong zippers should be there. hours of scratch touching the ice, a brush with your heater, and punctures by knives and hooks is your work in a day that makes your gear more likely to tear or get damaged. You should check the durability of the fishing bib when buying one.
6. Pockets:
Pockets are the need of every fisherman. It is better to keep your knife, pliers, and soft baits in your pocket and you would find them easily when necessary. That’s why pockets are the anglers’ best friend. You have to check if there are pockets available in your ice fishing bib.
7. Flotation:
Flotation is important when you break over the ice and get in the water. This feature is life-saving and could help you rescue yourself in danger. Find jackets that could float in water.
8. Fit and gender:
Men’s bibs would not fit women’s as they are two different fishing bibs. There are fewer options for women and so, you have to check your model if there are all of these features available or not. Sometimes, men’s bib would fit women’s. you should check properly the gender and fit of the bib before buying.
You should keep these factors in mind because they are the most essential facts for every angler. Hopefully, this article would be useful for you and you could get the right ice fishing bib for your adventure!
