My 10 Favorite Things
(to have when fishing)

by Corinne Doctor – Co-Founder of RepYourWater

#1

The sport is impossible without a good rod.  I tend to prefer medium-action rods, but it really varies depending on the type of fishing I am doing.  On small creek pocket water I love my Redington Classic Trout 9’ 6” 4wt.  It is easy to flip cast and has enough reach to get across small currents on the other bank.  It is also incredibly affordable and a great all-around rod.  For streamers on bigger water I have been loving my 9’ 6wt Sage X.  It is faster action than most of my other rods, but because of that, it throws streamers really well but with more finesse than previous faster-action rods I have used.  All the fuss of the X was right on point.

#2

Now that I have my rods figured out, onto my favorite reels.  I have been fishing Cheeky reels for a few years now and I have a Boost 325, Boost 350 and the larger Limitless 425 in my arsenal.  Cheeky makes high quality reels without a ridiculous price tag.  Their bright colors, though you can get the Limitless in all black, are a draw for me as well.

#3

There are quite a few companies getting into women-specific waders as of late, but one of the first to the game was Simms.  I am only 5’ 3” and with that comes small feet, so having booties actually sized for a woman are critical.  My other favorite part of my waders is the hand-warming pocket for those shoulder season days on the water.

#4

I am bit of a sock geek, so when we at RepYourWater started making Trout Socks, I was stoked.  This year they are the same great designs (Brown, Brook or Bow) but we partnered with Point6 for our manufacturing and I couldn’t be happier.  The higher merino percentage assures that feet stay insulated under waders but also breathe easily.  Style and function.

#5

For all seasons I rock either one of RepYourWater’s performance long sleeve tees or the new sun hoodies.  They are a perfect single layer on hot days and a wonderful base layer on cold days.  They are 100% made in the USA and have wonderful next-to-skin softness while protecting from the sun and being wonderfully breathable.  The Freshwater Spine sun hoody has been my go-to recently since I have been fishing freshwater and the light tan looks good with pretty much everything I own.

#6

OK, last RepYourWater plug: hats.  We started as a hat company and they continue to be one of the things we do best.  There are over 250 designs to choose from, but more importantly 3 fits.  We have low-profile for smaller heads, standard for most head sizes and high-profile for the larger domes.  I personally am a standard fit and my absolute favorite hat continues to be the RepYourWater Fish Camo.  It has all of my favorite colors and the print/embroidery combo is pretty unique in the hat world.

#7

I am more picky with my line for streamer fishing.  I like the sink-tip Streamer Max from Airflo because it shoots really well and Airflo has a 5-year warranty on their lines.  You shouldn’t need it, but if something is faulty in your line they will replace it.  For my small stream fishing, really any floating line will do since rarely in those tight quarters do I have a ton of line out, nor do I need to cast a ton of line.  I tend to use Rio Gold because they are a great price point and casts easy enough even when the majority of it is still on my reel.

#8

Having a net obviously helps land the fish more efficiently.  This is good for the angler to avoid losing the fish, but also great for the fish as studies show that the less time spent fighting a fish is a huge factor in catch and release fish survival.  My favorite nets have always been the Fishpond Nomad Nets.  The rubber basket is healthier for fish than nylon and the lightweight frame is easy to take anywhere.

#9

Thinking about favorite flies and sticking with my same two scenarios: small creek pocket water and larger streamer fishing.  For the former I cannot resist tying on a Grillos’ Hippie Stomper.  I particularly like purple, but I have had great success with black and yellow.  My favorite streamer is the Articulated Sparkle Minnow.  It can be a bit of a chore to throw over and over, but the flash gets the big browns sitting under the undercut bank fired up.  All that being said, one of my friends always says the best fly to fish is the one you fish with confidence.  

#10

For my pack, I got into hip packs because of their ease of moving them from being out of the way in the back to the front when needing to re-rig.  I love my Umpqua hip pack which they don’t make anymore, but it has usable space without being oversized.  Like I mentioned, I am only 5’ 3”, so I can’t be weighed down by too big of a bag.  Also, as a bonus, there are two “cupholders” on my pack, since a delicious, foamy, malt beverage would be my 11th favorite thing to take fishing…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Corinne Doctor, Co-Founder of RepYourWater

With Snoopy rod in hand, Corinne caught her first fish in a high altitude Colorado lake before even starting elementary school.  She didn’t catch the fishing bug however until much later in life when Garrison took her on a warm-water pond mission to catch panfish on the fly.  This first try with a fly rod was followed by small creek adventures and high-water wilderness canyon exploration seeking bigger and bigger trout.  She has now been after fish on the fly for over 10 years and the excitement of the hook up still feels like the first time.  After teaching high school Spanish for 6 years while starting RepYourWater with Garrison, Corinne took on a full time role in 2016.  She is excited to continue build her passions for conservation and fishing.

To contact Corinne, e-mail corinne@repyourwater.com.

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