styk, start with a confortable life jacket and a broad brimmed hat, the basiscs. For long hours fishing in the sun, long pants may not be comfortable but are needed to protect those pearly white legs - i made the mistake of forgetting to roll back down my pant legs after wading out to launch my 'yak on a sunny day at the first of the season...the burn is just fading now! i also add a long sleeve shirt which should have a high collar if the life jacket doesn't have one already... and most don't. i mostly wear sandals for footwear - good for wading out, bad for bug bites between the toes! lol i have seen people wearing waders and boots when kayaking - i can see no sense to this, it seems like a great way to drown to me. (sorry kayak fishing show guy - you are being a bad example (he says to wear them on his show...!!))
if you can find a life jacket with straps that go between your legs you will find this much more comfortable, as regular life jackets ride/climb up your torso while paddling, other wise you have to pause and tug it all back down every once in a while. i have a floater jacket now too - not bad, good for yaking in the rain, but it's a bit of a pain for paddling and worse for casting. easy access pockets help a lot for both.
i almost always wear rain pants now when kayaking. you get wet alot - water dripping from the paddle, the occassional rogue wave rolling over you from behind, little chop sneaking over the side, huge fish being draged into the 'yak or worked on in your lap - all get your pants wet. i have been keeping my wallet in a plastic bag while 'yaking fro years, now having comfortable rain pants helps a lot. it lets you stay warm longer so you can stay out fishing longer. i had a real hard time finding a pair i liked, beware of hunting pants for this, some become anchors!!! they trap the water in the pants - definately a no-no! there is a simple test for this . Walk out into 2 feet of water, walk back. Are your pantlegs still pouring out water? still full of water? get some other pants! lol!
gloves: i've had a number of skin cancers, so gloves seen much more important now. the best i can find for fishing is any heavy cotton glove or gardening glove with the fingers cut off and the ragged edge singed to control the treads from interfering with the line. now if i can just remmember to wear them...it's all a learning proccess i guess.
rain jacket: by wearing rain pants, the rain jacket is much more effective. something with a hood and elastic wrist bands or something similar is a good idea. i have search for years for a full lenght rain jacket to fish in. i have finnaly found some at the dollar stores, look for the full length. these are cheap to buy and cheaply made, but great to use while yaking, lots of room and covers some of the exposed legs and lap.
Add sunglasses both to see the fish and to reduce i strain from the sun....i almost never wear my sunglasses at night...almost never! lol!!!!
so, does anybody wear a wet suit?