Below is a picture with the 3 basic tools that every spinning angler should have. With just 1 tool you can\u2019t cover everything. <\/p>\n\n Almost any freshly bought, new clothing will keep out rain and water well during the first month. You can\u2019t really judge clothing only by its waterproofness, because you can just as well buy a rubber raincoat and never get wet in the rain. Good clothing also has to breathe well and, preferably, serve for several seasons. Each person\u2019s season length\/number of fishing days is different \u2013 in our case it\u2019s almost 200 days a year, but for a \u201cnormal angler\u201d it might be about 40 days a year. Roughly speaking \u2013 if for us the clothing lasts 2 years, then for someone who uses it 5x less it might be enough for their 5\u201310 years. <\/p>\n\n Over the years I\u2019ve had a lot of different brand suits and jackets. I\u2019ve had a summer Norfin suit, a winter Shimano, autumn\/spring Shimano, insulated Daiwa, a thin spring Grundens, a warm winter FHM, thick Westin, and now for the last few years both the summer and warm Finntrail. Basically from all the popular brands, the only ones I haven\u2019t had are Simms and Vision. Of the brands mentioned, Grundens and Norfin wore out for me the fastest; FHM, Daiwa, Shimano and Finntrail last 2\u20133 years without problems and I haven\u2019t been wet in them. <\/p>\n\n When I buy a suit, I always pay attention mainly to breathability, and less to waterproofness. It\u2019s worth mentioning that membranes work in such a way that they either breathe while they\u2019re not wet, or they block moisture and at that moment they don\u2019t really breathe. So with this kind of clothing I\u2019d even say that in 80\u201390% of cases we are in normal weather conditions when it\u2019s not pouring rain, and it\u2019s more comfortable to fish in clothing that breathes and doesn\u2019t make you sweat when you\u2019re actively casting. Breathability over 6,000\u20137,000 is fairly ok, if it\u2019s around\/over 10,000 then that\u2019s already good, and it will feel pleasant when you\u2019re actively fishing or moving around. <\/p>\n\n Membranes \u2013 there are clothing manufacturers and there are membrane manufacturers. Clothing manufacturers sometimes make their own membranes, and sometimes use fabric\/membranes made by another manufacturer \u2013 Dermizax, Gore\u2011Tex, eVent and others. If a garment uses one of these popular membranes, it gives a certain confidence and a kind of quality mark that the performance of the clothing will be close to the stated breathability and waterproof figures. <\/p>\n\n What do we use? <\/p>\n\n The suit you wear as the outer layer is only part of what you need for comfortable fishing. For example, in winter I can\u2019t imagine going fishing without suitable thermal underwear; here I use either Finntrail Subzero<\/a> or Norfin Nord. For footwear \u2013 merino wool socks<\/a> are a must. And I use two types of gloves for colder weather \u2013 if I\u2019m using a baitcasting reel, I use BFT Atlantic Gloves<\/a>; the insulated neoprene only lets water through just enough that the hand itself manages to warm it up. I can\u2019t imagine better gloves when fishing with a baitcaster. For winter fishing and cold weather (even in sub\u2011zero temperatures) with a regular spinning reel \u2013 I use Savage Gear gloves<\/a> \u2013 they practically don\u2019t let water through and are warm enough even when winter fishing at \u201315\u00b0C. <\/p>\n\n In the boat and also at home a lot of different fishing gear often piles up. The best way to organize it in my opinion is lots and lots and lots of standard\u2011size boxes. I\u2019ve sorted lures into boxes by fish species or specific technique \u2013 crankbaits, soft shads up to 14 cm, soft baits up to 20 cm, up to 24 cm, 25+ soft baits, paddle\u2011tail soft baits, perch baits, metal baits, jerks, etc., etc. And then, depending on which fish we plan to fish for, I put exactly those boxes that will be needed into the bag and leave the rest at home. In Gatis\u2019 case, he has a bigger boat with more lockers \u2013 he has also sorted everything into boxes and keeps everything on the boat, but before fishing he takes out the necessary box so that it\u2019s easy to access exactly the lures that are needed at that moment. Organizing and sorting hard lures, larger soft lures, as well as lead or tungsten jig heads separately \u2013 only and exclusively in boxes. <\/p>\n\n Next \u2013 where to put those boxes to take them with you fishing depends of course on whether you\u2019re fishing from a boat, from the bank, etc.:<\/p>\n\n Other interesting and good solutions:<\/p>\n\n In the boat you must have life\u2011saving equipment \u2013 life jackets, a ring and a rope. This is not only written in the regulations but also helps save your life. Nowadays both the ring and the life jackets don\u2019t have to be uncomfortable, and when wearing a vest all day you sometimes even forget that you have it on. In our boats we use equipment we buy from www.laivulietas.lv:<\/a> <\/p>\n\n We usually have at least 2 landing nets in the boat, sometimes even 3. Of course there is a \u201cgolden middle\u201d in terms of net size, where a 110 cm pike fits in, but you can also reasonably land perch. I recommend any net to be foldable, otherwise it takes up a lot of space when you have a longer run or when it\u2019s not being used and it gets in the way of fishing. We use the Sportex Predator Landing Net<\/a> in two sizes: <\/p>\n\n For perch specifically, a fully rubber (silicone) net is better because small hooks don\u2019t get caught and lures don\u2019t tangle in it. That makes it much easier and faster to release the fish. <\/p>\n\n Additionally, other small things when handling fish:<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rigafishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\nWind, rain and waterproof clothing for fishing<\/h2>\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\nFishing bags and boxes, organizers and other small things to avoid a mess<\/h2>\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\nLife\u2011saving equipment in the boat \u2013 life jackets and horseshoe\u2011type ring<\/h2>\n\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rigafishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-1.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\nLanding nets and other things for pike, zander and perch fishing<\/h2>\n\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rigafishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-7.jpeg\")
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