I’ve said it a thousand times: anglers are easy to buy for when it comes to Christmas gift giving. No matter the budget, there are countless items every avid fisherman or fisherwoman would enjoy adding to the tackle box. One thing I can guarantee is a few carefully selected fishing items will bring a bigger smile on Christmas Day than any of the “traditional” gift ideas!!
Gift Cards
So you want to buy someone something special for their outdoor lifestyle, but you have no clue where to begin? This is not really a problem, thanks to the fact every major outdoor retailer offers gift card options. Jay’s Sporting Goods in Clare and Gaylord are my favorite outdoor retailers. At the service desk right in the front of the store, you can purchase gift cards for any amount, making the gift-buying experience quick, easy and painless.
For those who think gift cards are a cop-out, I ask, what’s worse, giving a gift card that can be redeemed for any item in the store or purchasing a gift that has a big likelihood of being returned? I rest my case.
Walleye Lures
Every fishing enthusiast craves more fishing lures to add to their tackle box. If the angler on your gift list likes to troll for walleye, it’s hard to beat a selection of popular crankbaits, including the Bill Lewis PWC and PWC Lite, the Rapala Deep Husky Jerk 12 and the Bandit 5/8 Deep Walleye.
If the fisherman on your list prefers to jig, no problem, a selection of jigs and soft plastics fills the bill. A nice selection of 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 ounce Eagle Claw Hair Jigs plus some 1/2, 3/4 and one-ounce Eagle Claw River Walleye Jigs will be welcome in any tackle box. Toss in some Big Bites Baits soft plastics in split-tail minnows and paddle-tails for good measure.
Bass Lures
The avid bass angler will certainly appreciate a nice selection of Strike King square bill crankbaits, Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap lipless baits and some soft plastics from Big Bite Baits, Gary Yamamoto, Keitech and Berkley Power Bait. Don’t forget to include a selection of Eagle Claw and TroKar drop-shot, treble and wide bend worm hooks. Collectively, this bass fishing selection is fit for a king.
Salmon Lures
If the angler on your list lusts for trout and salmon, a few Yakima Bait 3.5 Mag Lip is sure to please. Include a handful of 2.5 and 3.0 Yakima Bait Spin n Fish cut plugs for good measure. Also, Silver Streak Standard and Mag Spoons will help any angler catch more and bigger trout and salmon.
Panfish Baits
Anglers who love to target crappie and other panfish will be excited to see a soft plastic kit under the tree. Big Bite Baits produces some very nice kits that include smaller sizes of twister-tail, paddle-tail and split-tail grubs perfect for crappie, white bass and bluegill fishing. Toss in a selection of Eagle Claw 1/32 and 1/16 ounce ProV Bend jigs for good measure.
The perch fishing enthusiast will do back flips for a few Perch Pounder Rigs in various colors. Add in a few 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 ounce Water Gremlin bell sinkers and the most deadly perch fishing rig is complete.
Pike/Muskie Baits
For the pike and muskie enthusiast, no one would be disappointed to see a box loaded with Musky Mayhem Double Cow Girl Spinners. For both casting and trolling applications, these oversized in-line spinners routinely produce trophy pike and muskie.
Tackle Storage
No fisherman has ever had enough tackle storage options. The two best-selling options include the Plano 3700 Stowaway series utility boxes. These boxes come in both standard and deep versions. The shallow versions are perfect for storing spinners, hooks, crankbaits and a host of other smaller items. The deep open versions are perfect for storing bags of soft plastics, spools of leader material, scent products and a thousand other items every fisherman needs and uses often.
Trolling Rods
For the trolling enthusiast, the new Eagle Claw StarfireX series of rods are hard to beat. This series includes two rods ideal for in-line planer board trolling, a downrigger rod, a telescopic diver rod and a bottom bouncer stick. All of these rods are affordable and the actions are perfect for popular trolling presentations. Designed by the guys at Fishing 411 TV, these trolling rods are spot on, perfect for walleye, trout and salmon trolling applications.
Scent Products
Fishing scent products can be confusing to choose. The new Fishing 411 TV Pro Cure Pro Packs are making it easy to pick a productive selection of fishing scent products. Three different Pro Packs, including one for walleye, one for trout/salmon and a third for bass fishing applications, are now available. Each of these Pro Packs contains three different scent products.
Fishing Line
Avid fishermen go through a lot of fishing line. For general trolling applications, it’s hard to beat a good selection of P-Line monofilament in 10 and 20-pound test options. The 10-pound line is ideal for walleye trolling and the 20-pound test will find lots of use salmon fishing with downriggers.
It’s also a good idea to add a few spools of fluorocarbon leader material. For steelhead fishing, six and eight-pound test are the most common sizes. For walleye fishing, 10, 12 and 15-pound test are good choices when it comes to fluorocarbon leaders. When targeting salmon, fluorocarbon line in 15, 20, 25 and 40-pound test will be needed for adding leaders to lead core, copper line, weighted stainless steel line and diving planers.
Off Shore Planer Boards
The most popular in-line planer board on the market has been the Off Shore Tackle OR12 Side-Planer for many years. These boards come ready to fish in the package, making them the obvious choice.
Anglers can also upgrade these boards with the Economy Tattle Flag kits that convert the flag into an articulating strike indicator. Anyone who has trolled using an in-line board will appreciate that Tattle Flags are a “must have” item when trolling at slower speeds or when using live bait.
The Precision Trolling App
Looking for the perfect gift for anyone who trolls? Avid trollers will appreciate the Precision Trolling Data phone app. Available for Android and iPhones, these groundbreaking apps provide the diving depths of literally thousands of lures and popular trolling hardware. Trolling without the PTD app is literally fishing blind! Sold at the Google Play and Apple App Stores, respectively, once purchased, the owner can use this invaluable data for years to come and can even transfer the data to a new phone when that time comes.
Data for individual lures can be purchased for $2.99 per lure, or the LifeTime package includes all the lures currently tested to date, and future updates are also provided for a one-time fee of $109.99.
Summing It Up
If you have someone on your gift-buying list who loves to fish, you’re in luck. Everyone who enjoys fishing will be all smiles on Christmas morning when they open up a package full of their favorite fishing lures and accessories. That’s a Christmas Miracle you can bank on.
