The heat in Louisiana is starting to really crank up this week and by 9a.m. the other day on the water it was already getting so hot that fishing was not comfortable. Usually by Noon, even the breeze of the wind feels like someone pointing a gigantic hot hairdryer at me.

With 100+ degree days on the horizon this time of year, fishing can start to become difficult except for several hours in the early morning and very late evening.

Now like a lot of you dedicated fishermen I have bought the umbrellas that attach to the boat seat and I take a towel and dip it in the icewater of my cooler and wrap it around my neck to try to beat the heat. I know some of you even dip your hat in the water and put it on your head.

I have a buddy that works on a construction crew in Louisiana that builds and repairs roads. They work all day long even on the hottest days and around big machines that are putting out more heat as well as the black road top as it reflects heat up at them. He told me he has seen many men just fall out of heat exhaustion and have a heat stroke before his company started using cooling vests and caps.

The cooling vests have some type pf crystals in them and what you do is soak them in icewater for 20 minutes and then the vest will stay at 59 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. Same with the caps and they also make leggings that go around your ankles and wraps for your neck.

Supposed to reduce your core body temperature making you feel cool throughout the day. He tosses 2 bags of ice in his ice chest and then adds water and places 2 vests and 2 caps inside. As he's wearing one, the other is still in the chest ready to go. As his first vest loses it's coolness after 2 1/2 hours or so his spare is ready to go and the first one goes back in the ice chest to begin recharging.

I know my ice chest can keep ice in it for 24 hours even in the hottest weather and I priced the vests at around $79 each. I'm just curious if anyone has used this type of clothing for fishing and if so do you have a particular brand that you like? The vests are made by a ton of different companies and all of them claim to have the best technology.

I plan to purchase 2 vests and 2 caps and along with my umbrellas I'm hoping it's enough to allow me to fish throughout the hottest days. I'd love to know if anyone else actually uses stuff like this though. I'd figure Crappie fishermen would have jumped on this a long time ago.