It’s the time of the year when millions begin the frenzied and often fruitless quest to find the perfect gift for the special people in their lives. If those people are interested in fishing there is an untold number of products out there that may interest them. At the same time there countless others that may not interest them at all.
They say it’s the thought that counts. If that’s so true why don’t we write one another thoughtful personal letters rather than buying manufactured products? For a multitude of reasons the people expecting gifts hope they receive something they really like or can use.
One could make the mistake of buying the wrong gift if they don’t know much about fishing or about what kind of fishing the person they want to buy for does most. The following is a list of some of the best gifts that any angler would find useful. These are universal items that work well for everyone who takes to the water with a rod in hand in the never ending quest for fish.
Note: The Angler’s Notebook may receive compensation for purchases made at participating retailers linked on this site. This compensation does not affect what products are mentioned here.
1. Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder
For almost as long as I can remember there have been companies selling “portable fish finders” that could be used on small boats, kayaks, canoes or even from the bank. For just as long every one of those contraptions worked very poorly, if they even worked at all. When I was young I got my hopes up but I soon learned that quality fish finder technology was restricted to large boats. That is until now.
The Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder not only works, it works incredibly well. It’s easily teamed up with a smart phone to give an accurate display of the water in front of any angler whether they are in a boat or walking along the bank of their favorite river, lake or pond.
The Deeper Portable Fish Finder works without any wires or other hard-to-deal-with extras. It’s a wireless ball with a good sized battery that one can easily bring anywhere. It’s incredibly easy to connect to any smart phone or pad and it instantly starts displaying important info like the weather, sunrise and sunset times, maps and more. It can be charged with the supplied USB, wall and car chargers.
You don’t have to take my word for it. This thing has received nothing but good reviews from professionals and end users alike. It has ratings of 4 stars or more on all of the major retail websites that I’ve seen it listed on.
Costing a couple hundred the Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder isn’t the cheapest thing out there, but it’s the most expensive either. Considering the bang for the book offered it’s actually a great deal. Amazon often runs sales that cut the cost down significantly. Check out the Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder on Amazon to see what it’s going for right now.
2. Okuma Voyager Spinning Fishing Rod Travel Kit
This is something great for the person who never stops thinking about fishing or the person who never gets enough chances to get out on the water. There are a lot of purportedly “packable” travel fishing pole kits on the market, and even a ridiculous fishing pen, but sadly most of them are very poorly made. Fortunately Okuma produces a very well made travel fishing rod and reel kit that sells for a reasonable price.
The kit comes with a 5 piece six foot rod, a voyager spinning reel, and a padded case with a zipper to put it all in. The Okuma Voyager fishing kit is small enough to throw in the car or even a backpack. After a quick and easy assembly it has enough quality to put in some real fishing time and actually retrieve any fish conned into taking the bait. That’s more than some of the product’s competitors can say.
The rod and reel aren’t some throw away garbage either. Granted it’s not a handmade bamboo rod but the rod provided comes with things like ceramic guides that put it well above some of the junk other companies are pushing as travel rods. One should have no problems with this or the reel which is more than good enough to handle most fishing situations.
The Okuma Voyager is available on Amazon where it has well over one hundred good reviews.
3. Costa Fantail Polarized Sunglasses
Polarized glasses are a key tool for anyone who wants to go fishing. Not only do they protect your eyes from the sun and any run away hooks or sinkers that may result from a botched attempt at getting a snag loose, they also cut the glare off of the water allowing you to look into the depths and see what’s going on down there.
Costa is the clear leader in eyewear for people who fish or boat. The Costa fantail is a great model that comes in a number of colors and a classic design that fits any face. It’s equally at home when sported by a scruffy trout bum, a hardened catfish chaser or a salty sea dog.
There are a lot of cheap polarized glasses out there that sell for as little a few dollars. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. While the cheap glasses are made out of inexpensive plastic that bends and breaks, Costas are built to last a lifetime. The price reflects that but you still get a lot for your money. Besides a five dollar pair of Wal-Mart specials isn’t much of a gift. A pair of Costa Del Mars definitely is.
The Costa Fantail is available on Amazon where users have given it a five star rating. There aren’t many products out there in any category that get solid five star ratings from the people who buy them. Even Mercedees Benz owners have complaints!
4. GoodLuchBG Fish Lip Grabber
The GoodLuchBG Fish Lip Grabber is a great tool for any angler. It allows one to pick up a fish in a way that is safe for both the person fishing and the fish itself. It can be used equally well in all kinds of fishing situations, from picking up dangerous toothy fish like snakehead and pike to safely handling fragile fish that may not be able to withstand a tight grab by hand.
There are a lot of fish grabbers and lip grippers on the market. This GoodLuchBH model is a quality tool that sells at a very reasonable price. This would be a good small gift to pick up for an exchange or as an extra or add on for someone special.
User reviews speak for themselves. Check out the GoodLuchBG Fish Lip Grabber on Amazon where it currently has a four and a half star rating. The price offered there would be hard to beat too.
5. Learning Resources Pretend & Play Fishing Set
Finally something for the children. Who could forget about the kids on Christmas of all times? Even if you did they’d soon remind you. While the best scenario in my mind is to get children out on the water as soon as possible there are times when that just can’t happen. For those situations and children that may still be considered too young to go fishing there is this great toy set.
The Pretend and Play Fishing Set is another product with great reviews. After nearly two hundred people reviewed the product it came out with a four and a half star rating on Amazon. That says a lot. It’s easy to see why this product is so well reviewed. When I was a kid fishing toys were limited to a small fake rod and reel with a piece of string and a magnet. The magnet was used to pick up fake toy fish with small pieces of metal in their mouths. To me this was amazing. I can only imagine how I would have felt about the Pretend and Play set.
This kit comes with toy versions of everything an adult angler needs. There’s a fishing vest, a tackle box, a fishing rod and reel, a net, some fish to catch and even some toy worms. Where was this when I was young? Okay, so the fishing rod and fake fish still work by using magnets but this is a huge upgrade over the toys I played with. The kit also comes with a book of activities.
You can take a look at the Learning Resources Pretend & Play Fishing Set on Amazon and see what people are saying about it. The price is very reasonable and I doubt very much that you could find this for less money anywhere else.
If you didn’t find anything that strikes your interest here, you can also check out Amazon’s 2014 list of Boating & Fishing gifts for more ideas.