Pete and I started this website in order to provide you with tools and information on all things fishing – but most importantly to give our unfiltered opinions. That is exactly what I intend to do, and this week I’m letting loose about the state of women’s fishing clothing. Only recently have the manufacturers started seriously catering to us, and still there’s a lot of ground to make up.

While it seems that guys can just grab a “medium” or “large” or “3XL” and slide into them, female bodies are more complicated than that. We have totally different combinations of butts, boobs, torsos, legs and shoulders. That makes us interesting, but it also makes it hard to find universal fits.

I take a lot of pictures on our fishing trips. I want to be comfortable, but I also don’t want to gag when I look back at those shots. I’ll admit it – I want to look good and I want my clothing to be flattering.

And after years and years of trying on fishing shorts and pants from the select few manufacturers that have women’s clothing, clearly there’s a problem. When I try on much of their stuff, it seems to be sized for bikini models. They must assume that all the rest of us who fish are built just like them.

No offense to any of you who are built that way, but most of us are not. It is hard for us to find women’s fishing clothing (mostly pants and shorts) that make me feel comfortable and look good at the same time.

I am short, built like a boy (no hips) and have big boobs -- clearly not the 34/24/36 size model you see all over Instagram. Despite being 51 years old, I work out intensely, so I’m fit and flexible and able to move a lot while I fish. Depending on whether I’m casting, landing a fish, or running to the back of the boat, I may have to jump up, sit down, bend or squat. I need my pants and shorts to allow those motions, but I also don’t want to give everyone a peep show of my underwear when I move.

Because I travel to remote places and spend time exposed to the elements, they all need to dry fast and be machine washable and dryable. Sun protection, water resistance and stain resistance are huge advantages.

The following are some brands that work for me:

I love, love, love all of the tanks, short- and long-sleeved shirts I have from AFTCO (American Fishing and Tackle Company). The shorts have attractive and distinctive designs, but they tend to be very short. To get them to be long enough (remember, I’m 51 – no one needs to see that!), I had to size up. That gave me the length I needed, but now they are a little too big.

AFTCO womens tanks and t-shirts for fishing

I like the colors and fishy patterns of the AFTCO shorts, but they don’t seem to coordinate with many of the shirts that AFTCO sells. That means you may see be either seeing me with two different brands or clashing colors.

At the 2019 Bassmaster Classic, a friend introduced me to Casey Shedd, the President of AFTCO. I told him that I loved the clothing, but that 50 year old legs and 3-inch inseam shorts are not always a great combination. He assured me he would work on this and he stayed true to his word. They later came out with 5-inch inseam shorts. It’s a balance – they cover more than the shorter ones, but they’re slightly less flattering.

Despite the fact that I have mixed feelings about AFTCO’s shorts (great quality, great designs, not ideal for MY body), I absolutely LOVE their “skort” (skirt with shorts underneath). I never thought to wear a skirt out fishing, but AFTCO has done a girl proud. They are comfortable, stretchy, and I think they’re quite flattering. I think I have every color.

Some of you may have known about them for years, but through Amazon I recently discovered Dakine, a clothing company specializing in sportswear for “alternative sports” based in Hood River, Oregon. The company was founded in Hawaii and the name comes from the Hawaiian Pidgin words “da kine.” Dakine comes in fun patterns and colors and for my body they are a good balance of comfort and length. Even though they’re not targeted toward anglers, they still serve the purpose. That’s an important lesson to remember – they don’t have to be labeled “for fishing” in order to be suitable for the task.

My go-to brand for years has been Columbia, a manufacturer that targets a variety of outdoor enthusiasts, including anglers. I really like that their lengths come in long, regular and short (like me). Their shorts hit the right part of my thigh and they don’t ride up. You may want to go one size over your normal size in order to get the right fit. The only downside to the Columbia shorts and pants is that you have to really like only navy, black, grey and tan/khaki. They typically don’t offer any fun colors or patterns in their fishing pants. Another issue I have with the Columbia pants is that they don’t make anything superlight that excels in the 114 temperatures of Africa, or the heat of the Amazon. I own one pair that is reasonably lightweight, but they only came in navy, which is less-than-practical for super-hot weather.

Hanna Robbins Columbia fishing pants PFG in El Salto Mexico

Oddly enough, the Columbia brand typically doesn’t fit Pete’s body well. He tends to fare better with pants from North Face and Cabela’s. One huge advantage of Columbia is they have a lot of outlet stores where you can get great deals – this means that Pete ends up holding my purse for long periods of time while I’m in the dressing room trying things on.

The bottom line is that I struggle and I shop and I end up with piles of clothes. I think I like what I purchase, but the slight level of dissatisfaction means I continue to look. I’m convinced that there are “perfect pants” and “perfect shorts” out there for me. Don’t get down on yourself if you are going through the same thing. The struggle is real! I’m sure even those bikini models have trouble finding pants and shorts that fit them for fishing (although I’m betting most of them use a spinning rod with the reel on top!). I hope that sharing my story helps you out in some shape or form (pun intended).

If this blog thing doesn’t work for me, perhaps I will become a tailor.

Side note: After I completed this blog one of my daily Amazon searches turned up Liberty Imports five pack (Grey, Pink, Purple, Blue and Black) Women’s Quick Dry Shorts with Zipper Pockets. They have a 5” inseam!

Could these be the ones? I couldn’t resist. With Prime Shipping they arrived a day later and they’re already in my bag for my upcoming trip to Anglers Inn El Salto. Stay tuned for a follow-up to this blog.