The holiday gift giving season is upon us and if you have not yet found the perfect gifts for the fly fishermen in your life, time is running out. Luckily, gear companies like Ross Reels, Simms, Sage, and many more have been hard at work creating loads of new equipment so that you can pick the perfect gift for every angler on your list. Choose something on this list and you are sure to pick out a gift they love and probably do not already have.
Ross Cimarron II Fly Reel
As a rule, if you want a high performance, fully machined, American made fly reel, you have to pay top dollar. The new Cimarron II Fly Reel from Ross breaks that rule. The Cimarron II features a large arbor spool, a rigid, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired porting design, and a powerful composite and stainless steel drag system that will slow down big fish and protect fine tippets. Everyone needs a new fly reel, and for under 200 bucks, you can be the hero of the year and give them one.
Sage Mod Fly Rod
The new, moderate action Sage Mod Fly Rod is the perfect gift for the serious freshwater trout fisherman. It is built with short and medium range casts in mind and made with Sage’s proprietary Konnetic Technology, making it light, durable, and deadly accurate at any distance. Give someone you really like a Sage Mod Fly Rod and you just might blow their mind.
Hatch Knot Tension Tool
Saltwater fly fishermen are constantly looking for a good way to tighten the knots they tie with heavy, unyielding shock tippet, and the new Knot Tension Tool from Hatch Outdoors is the perfect solution. This machined aluminum tool fits comfortably in one hand so that you can pull line and tighten your knots with the other. It is just another way that the designers at Hatch have made saltwater fly fishing just a little bit easier. At 40 dollars, the Knot Tension Tool is a great stocking stuffer for any saltwater angler on your list.
Umpqua Tongass Waist Pack
Umpqua’s Tongass Waist Pack is one gift that will work for almost any style of fly fisherman. The fully waterproof roll-top main compartment protects important gear from fresh and saltwater alike, and the 650 cubic inch capacity is just right, whether your recipient is stuffing it full of trout flies or crabs and shrimp patterns. The Tongass Waist Pack is loaded with additional comfort features to make a day on the water even better than it already is.
Simms Waypoints Sling Pack
If you have a high country angler on your list this year, the Waypoints Sling Pack from Simms is the way to go. This sling pack is stuffed with fly fishing specific features, but also has the gear capacity of a small backpack, which will increase your favorite fly fisherman’s range when chasing those native cutthroat, high in the Rockies. Now they will have room for all of their tackle, snacks, rain gear, and emergency gear in one, easy-to-carry and easy-to-use sling pack.
Smith Creek Trash Fish
The Trash Fish from Smith Creek is a small gift that can have a big impact on fish, wildlife, and the rivers that we all treasure. This little gadget hangs on to coils of wasted tippet, leader, and line material so that it does not make its way out of your pocket and into the wild. The Trash Fish is a great stocking stuffer for anglers who care about protecting wildlife and minimizing their impact on the wilderness.
Hopefully these gift ideas will help to ease your holiday shopping pain this year, and gave you an idea for a gift that will make you look like a hero. For more holiday gift ideas, check out the 2015 Vail Valley Anglers Holiday Gift Guide. Winter fishing here in Colorado has been out of this world despite frigid temperatures and ice-lined banks, so if you are shopping for someone who has it all, consider giving them a day on the water with a Vail Valley Anglers pro guide. It is an experience they will not forget any time soon.
Andy “Otter” Smith, Guide and Content Writer
