When handling heavy, slimy fish, such as catfish and conger eels, I’ve learnt through experience that wearing a decent pair of gloves saves not just your hands from wear and tear, but also helps safeguard the fish as you have better grip and control over its movements when holding it for photos.
There are, purpose made fishing gloves available, but frankly I’ve been disappointed with previous pairs, and find them pretty expensive for what they actually are, plus they often fail to last very long.
I was recently walking round a Range store in North Wales and ended up walking through the gardening section. I noticed a pair of gloves that seemed not only up to the job in mind, but at a sensible price, and with the material quality to last.
They are from a company called Briers, and are their Professional gardening gloves. The back of the glove is a mix of Polyester, sponge and microfiber in black, with the grey coloured palm appearing more like a suede material and from 100% microfibre. The gloves have a Velcro strap that closes around the wrist for total security, and they prove very comfortable to wear. They are not the typical heavy material, stiff gardening gloves, these give you full finger and thumb movement without dulling the natural feel and sensitivity your fingers give.
I was slightly concerned that the gloves can only be washed by wiping with a damp cloth and mild soap solution, but after handling quite a few fish, this has not proved a problem and the gloves prove easy to keep clean, plus the palm material seems to repel the fish slime, and any residue left can be easily removed if you let it dry first.
The price on the day was £8, and they’ve proved a great buy. At that price, if you get a couple of years out of them it’s a cheap purchase, but I feel these gloves, judging by how well they’ve lasted so far, will give sterling service for much longer.