Dressed for the Marsh
One of the great things about the fowling game is that no-one else will pay the slightest attention to what you wear. It is one of the few branches of shooting sport where there is unbridled scope for individuality. The result is that we can choose our clothing solely from the point of view of sheer practicality.
Starting at the lower extremities, many wildfowlers wear thigh boots or fishing waders almost as a matter of course and there are times, in some estuaries, times when long boots really are necessary.
If thigh waders are worn, a pair with thick walls and stout cleated soles should be chosen. It is vital that they are sufficiently thick to remain in place without the aid of straps or buckles. The oozing mud of an estuary, with a high tide making fast, is no place to discover that it takes 30 seconds to extricate oneself from a pair of boots.
When it comes to choosing a jacket, we really are now spoiled for choice. Once waxed cotton was the order of the day but, more recently, a number of synthetic fibres have appeared which promise to revolutionise the outdoor clothing scene. Although they tend to be rather expensive, the best of them are worth considering as an alternative to more traditional materials.
In choosing a coat it is worth considering a camouflage pattern. When viewed against the straw colour of the faded vegetation of a midwinter marsh, many of the standard brown or olive shades are too dark to effectively aid the concealment of a wildfowler at flight time. The "Shadow Grass" pattern from Mossy Oak is, by far, the most effective that I have found for fowling in British conditions.
Of equal importance to outer clothing is the choice of garments to wear next to the skin. It is a mistake to wrap up in several bulky sweaters - a strategy which does nothing to improve gun mounting and marksmanship. Rather, the prudent fowler will invest in a suit of thermal underwear and ignore the caustic comments of neighbours when they see a pair of longjohns hanging from the washing line.
Finally, it is important not to ignore the essential provision of a suitable hat. This item serves three main purposes - it keeps the head dry in wet weather; it prevents heat loss from the top of the cranium in cold weather and, most crucially, it shades the white orb of the face from approaching fowl. Frankly, a camouflage patterned forage cap has much to commend it and, should it be blown off and float away on the tide, the loss is less expensive than a posh tweed cap.
In the main, wildfowlers choose clothing for comfort and to aid concealment. Questions of sartorial elegance are of less importance on the marsh than on a high-brow pheasant or partridge shoot. By choosing his outfit with care, the newcomer to the fowling game should not only remain warm and dry but also enhance his chances of ending the flight with a bird or two in the bag.
