Yellowfin tuna caught popping at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge

Part of the fun of tuna fishing is that you later get to eat the suckers, but getting from Point A to Point B typically requires that you stick a gaff in ‘em and then bleed ‘em out – and bleed they do, a seemingly endless red stream that spurts all over the boat. While it can be inconvenient at times, a few droplets across the face, or your legs or your shirt can also function as a badge of honor. It gets really messy when you go to take that grip and grin and end up smeared with blood. Fortunately, lots of clothing companies have recognized this and have taken both lighthearted and practical ways of dealing with it.

Clothing Celebrating the Blood

If you’re looking for a way to signify to others that you’re a member of this clique, there are plenty of graphic ways to show your tuna devotion.

Bloody Decks Day of the Dead tuna t-shirt — **Bloody Decks**

Bloody Decks has built an entire brand around the celebration of slamming big fish into the bottom of the boat. Their affiliated “Local Knowledge” TV show is one of my favorites. Their Day of the Dead tuna shirt is one of the best I’ve seen.

Tunas in the box performance UPF Shirt — **Tunas in the Box**

This is a brand I found on Instagram that celebrates meat-gathering expeditions. I can fully support their addiction.

Sun shirt with a picture of a shark eating a hooked tuna — **All About the Bait**

If you’re really into pelagic gore, All About the Bait of Key West has a good example of the Tax Man going medieval on your precious dinner. It comes with a free mask.

Limit Out sun shirt with yellowfin tuna getting gaffed on the back — **Limit Out Supply Company**

Not to put too fine a point on it, but for a relatively sanitary demonstration of the gaff penetrating the yellowfin, Limit Out Supply Co. has a 30 UPF sun shirt celebrating the moment.

**Fish and Hunt Northwest**

These TV hosts from the left coast spilled a lot of red ink to get these UV shirts to stand out.

**Speared Apparel**

They don’t use rods and reels like the rest of us, but spearfishing ain’t catch & release, so these guys can definitely teach you how to chop them up.

Clothing that Resists the Blood

While celebrating bloody decks is one thing, protecting your clothing is clearly another. First and foremost, you’re probably best off wearing clothing that you can afford to get a little bit permanently bloody, because no matter what promises the manufacturers make it’s tough to get out. For that reason I tend to shy away from white shirts in this circumstance.

Choose fabrics that are machine-washable [As Mitch Hedburg said, “This shirt is dry clean only…which means it’s dirty.”] and consider garments specifically made to be stain- and blood-resistant. Several of the major outdoor/fishing clothing brands offer such technologies:

Here’s one that’s not fishing-specific, but I saw them dump a bunch of ketchup on the polo on “Shark Tank” with no ill effects, so if you need something a little dressier it may be your best option:

Baobab Shirt

Ways to Remove Tuna Blood

Even if you use blood-resistant clothing, some stains are harder to remove than others. I’m no laundry expert (just ask Hanna) but I have certain shirts and shorts that I’d rather remain relatively clean so I’m invested in the process. First, get the blood out before it sets. Most of the offshore boats have some sort of hose on them for washing things down. Use it. On our trips to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge, the mates were always conscious of this and were not afraid to give you a little rubdown. Hey, it’s worth getting felt up to catch a trophy tuna. Ladies, if you’re wearing a light-colored shirt you might want to wear a sports bra or bikini underneath or risk giving everyone a full-pokey show.

If you fear that you didn’t get all of the blood out on the boat, or a stain is particularly stubborn, prepare to wash it that night. Again, as SFPIL they have laundry service, so you’re covered, but if you want to hedge your bets then bring along some sort of pre-treating stain stick. If you’re not sure whether laundry will be done by the staff then bring along a small portion of detergent and/or the stain stick and you can wash things yourself in the sink. That’s one reason that I’ve become a big fan of clothing like Ex Officio’s Give-N-Go boxers – because they can be hand washed and then dry quickly. Look, it’s fishing, so you can’t expect to stay super-clean, but there’s no reason to smell bad or bring home unsalvageable clothing.