Until I moved to Nebraska, my walleye fishing was pretty limited. I had heard all the rumors about how nasty walleye fishing was, and I just shrugged it off with a smile. I was from Washington and felt walleye fisherman didn't know the meaning of nasty until they spent a blustery January day chest deep in a river casting for steelhead.

I reflected on this conviction as another wave broke over the bow of the 18-foot Lund. The wind turned the crashing wave into a fine mist that hit me squarely in the face and ran down my neck. There is nothing quite like a shirtfull of ice water to wake you up. My fingers looked like prunes (and were about the same color), and I was starting to shiver. Another wave crashed over the bow, completely soaking me this time. To complete my initiation into walleye fishing, it started to rain...hard.

It was May and the day had started out nice enough, sunny and warm with a slight breeze. I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. I laughed to myself as we launched the boat and thought, yeah right, walleye fishing is really rough! These guys don't know what bad weather is. A few hours later and 5 miles from the boat launch, I was forced to eat my words. I was frozen stiff, but we were catching fish so there was no chance of going home. At the first sign of rough weather, the guys I was with donned complete sets of Cabela's GORE-TEX Guidewear and were fishing in complete comfort. Smiles were shared between them and they all conveyed the unspoken message "OK hotshot, what do you think of walleye fishing now?"

I have to occasionally reassess my opinions, and often my most valuable lessons are learned the hard way. I still hold the opinion that steelheading is rougher, but walleye fishing rates a close second on the miserable scale. So, it was with a little chagrin and a large helping of crow that I immediately bought a complete set of Cabela's GORE-TEX Guidewear upon returning home. The Guidewear has been a staple in the Cabela's waterproof clothing line since 1989 and upon further examination, I could easily see why. I had purchased the insulated parka and bibs and they were literally bombproof and were designed with the foul weather fisherman in mind.

The follow weekend, the miserable weather remained and the walleye were still biting. With confidence, I donned the Guidewear, and we headed out onto Lake McConaughy. Just like the previous weekend, waves crashed over the bow, rain hammered down and the wind whipped the water into an angry, white-capped froth. I cinched the hood around my face and dropped the Lindy rigged leech over the side of the boat. No sooner had it hit bottom and a fish was on. After a short fight, I reached over the side to land him, as the net was currently being used for another fish and I was thankful for the designer's foresight in the sleeves.

The sleeves are designed not to soak up water when they get submerged. They have an internal Lycra cuff that keeps water from soaking through to your undergarments in the eventuality of a small submersion or from a day of rain water dribbling off your outer sleeve when you raise your arm to cast or hopefully pose with a fish for a picture.

In addition to the well thought out cuff design, the parka has several other nice features like, two bellowed cargo pockets, Velcro closed chest pockets, easy access side hand warmer pockets, a Velcro® zipper covering and collar strap. The cut is roomy enough to allow free movement for casting and will not bind up on your under layers.

The bibs are cut high enough to keep the small of your back dry when you bend over to net a fish. They also have wide, adjustable shoulder straps for all day comfort. The ruggedness of rainwear bibs has always their downfall and also my biggest complaint. I have had rainwear in the past that would shed water fine, as long as you were standing up, but if you sat down or knelt, water would leach through the knees and seat. Not with the Guidewear; I spent a considerable amount of time sitting on a wet seat and kneeling on the floor getting gear out of the tackle box, and at the end of the day my polar fleece pants were as dry as when I put them on.

The bibs also have knee length zippers, with Velcro® storm flaps that make them easy to take off or put on while wearing boots, for those times when the day started out nice but then clouds rolled in and a quick covering of Guidewear is immediately required.

While the designers thought of everything imaginable, what I really like about the Guidewear was how tough it is. When you wear it, you know you can handle anything that Mother Nature can dish out. The outer covering of Dupont 330-denier Cordura® is bombproof. It will take years of abuse from sharp boat corners, fishhooks and wiping grubby hands on it. For extra protection in high wear areas (knee's, seat and elbow's) Cabela's has added a second layer of material for maximum protection.

They have literally placed Velcro® closures everywhere possible to keep the rain out and loose ends from flying around. All the zippers have Velcro coverings, the pockets are held closed with Velcro as well as the collar. The hood is designed for high speed boat rides and it will not flop around nor will the cords hit you in the face as they are cleanly tucked inside the neck collar.

Like all GORE-TEX products, Guidewear breathes well. Steelhead fishing is always cold, wet and miserable but walleye fishing can be warm, wet and miserable. For these reasons breathable membrane technology is a must to keep sweat from building up. On my recent trip the sun did break through several times and it warmed up but the wind still kept the waves high and the spay off the bow was more than enough to completely soak you in a matter of minutes. With non-breathable rain wear I would have been soaked from sweat alone, but the Guidewear kept me dry on the inside even when the temperatures rose. I have fished with rubber rain gear in the past and if it is even moderately warm, your layered undergarments become completely soaked with sweat, which leave you with that damp, chilled feeling.

There are several different models of Guidewear available. The top can be had in either a parka length or jacket style for those times when a shorter, more compact top is desirable. The bibs, jacket and parka can all be had with Thinsulate™ insulation or as an unisulated shells.

I hate to admit when I am wrong, but I stand corrected; walleye fishing can be rough and requires quality outerwear. The Guidewear parka and bib took the nasty weather and made it pleasurable. You can bet that no matter what I am fishing for, Guidewear will be included in my kit.

Click here to view our entire selection of Guidewear®.