New Fishing Stuff Your Mom or Dad (or You) Might Need

When I was 10 years old, I bought my mom a tacklebox for Mother’s Day.

My mom didn’t fish.

But, she dutifully thanked me for the gift, which I had bought with money made by berry-picking at the local fruit farm.

But of course, as I deviously expected, the tacklebox was soon in my possession.

I hope that I’m a bit less self-serving in gifts bought for my family these days, but never the less it’s always a challenge to buy suitable gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and the seemingly endless round of birthdays of family and friends—particularly if they are serious anglers.

However, with ICAST now on the not-too-distant horizon a flood of new gear is crossing the transom, and some of it might just be a fit for your next gift-giving obligation—or for yourself.

For Mom, the Magellan Outdoors Caddo long-sleeve women’s fishing shirt is on sale right now for only about $15 bucks. Magellan is Academy Sports’ captive clothing brand, and they sell a lot of good stuff for cheap.    

Or for a bit more, consider the Huk Women’s Cover Up, a quick-dry, all poly pull over just the thing for heading to a waterfront restaurant after a morning on the boat or beach—it’s about $60.

For guys, the choices are much broader in the fishing/outdoors world, of course.  

For guys, the Jacob Wheeler Pro Jogger pant is a winner. Super light, draw string top, water repellant and they actually look pretty cool, which is not something I can say about most of my fishing pants. They’re made of nylon and spandex for a stretchy feel, and the elastic waistband with adjustable drawstring stays in place. The company says the fabric is water resistant, which means it will keep you dry in fog or a bit of spray, but not in a downpour. I like that these pants are loaded with zipping pockets for cell phone, pliers and other stuff besides the usual wallet and side pockets. The L size roughly fits 36-38 waist, and the inseam is 29”, about right if you’re in the 5’10” range and like em low on the hips—about $45.

Shimano’s new 40-size Torium reel is mid-priced for heavy duty offshore reels at around $380, very useful for reef fish anglers who prefer conventional spool tackle, also good for big king mackerel, cobia, tarpon and other near-shore powerhouses. It matches well with their Grappler Series rods, also reasonably priced as these things go at about $300. Shimano reels are noted for dependability and for their USA repair/warranty service in South Carolina. Shimano also has a useful new Miravel Spinning Reel series with many of the features of their high-end Stradic reels at prices in the $140-$160 range—these reels are sized just right for freshwater bass and walleye as well as for seatrout, reds and back bay snook in saltwater.

Fishing footwear is a whole category unto itself these days, and among the more impressive entries is the Bluefin Sandal from Strike Footwear. These things have the feel of a comfortable running shoe, but the sandal construction keeps ‘em cool and quick draining.  The soles are non-slip, of course, and they’ve got a really good arch support. Price is around $100.

There are a lot of good shoe-makers out there, but Strike distinguishes itself by donating a portion of their sales to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the official record-keeper of all sportfishing records as well as a major force in fisheries conservation.

There’s no such thing as too much tackle storage, but the Plano GoNow Box makes an impressive effort with a monster 8-gallon composite chest that comes stuffed with four Plano tackle boxes, a tackle tray, cutting board, two stout rod holders, gear net and assorted other stuff. The boxes are stackable, so useful for storage of your stash in the Man-Cave garage, as well, and lockable, so the kids can’t swipe your $50 wakebaits. The kit is $169.95.

If you just scored big on oil futures you might want to consider some pricier gifts, like the new Humminbird Xplore sonar/gps series, available in 9-, 10- and 12-inch diagonal screens. The series replaces the venerable Helix line in all but the smallest units, and has a lot more clarity and features, including a very crisp touch screen and available side-vu and forward scan with the appropriate transducers. And, the company is offering a discount on most units at present—the 9” model with a basic ‘ducer, normally $1499 is $1399.

To say the least, it’s all a bit of a candy story for anglers this spring, and your choices are limited only by your budget—and the chance of maybe getting your gift back for your own use.

– Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com