Stocking Stuffers – 12 Days of Christmas – Day 11

We’ve discussed a lot of possible gift ideas so far, but what if you’re still just not sure what to get. Maybe you don’t know the best size for shirts, shoes, waders, or boots. Or maybe you’re afraid that you’ll buy your special angler a rod or reel that they already have.

I have a suggestion that is a sure-fire hit. The one thing you can purchase that every fly fisher definitely needs; items they surely want. In fact, they already have most of these things, yet these items are so important that you can never really have enough. Most of them are inexpensive and can be bundled into a big present or sparsely gathered and placed in a stocking.

What are these magical presents? They are disposable items–leaders, tippets, split shot, indicators, floatant, and flies. Items that you must have to go fishing, no matter what. These items get used-up. They get lost in fish, trees, or riverbeds. Some of them get old and should be replaced each season. But every fisherman would be glad to see them under the tree. They’re going to have to buy them anyway.

Lets’ start with leaders and tippets. If you’re buying presents for a trout fisherman, you absolutely cannot go wrong with 7.5′ and 9′ 5x leaders. They are the standard used by trout fisherman around the world.

You can pair those leaders with some spools of tippet. 4, 5, and 6x tippet should suffice. There are two types of tippet: nylon and fluorocarbon. You can always get one of each type, in each size. It’ll get used.

Split shot, little weights that attach to the leader for nymph fishing, are in nearly every trout fisherman’s vest. So are strike indicators (fly fishing’s bobbers). So is a bottle of Gink dry fly floatant and a powder desiccant like Frogs Fanny.

Flies are always an excellent idea. This is one item that a fly angler has to have, above all others, unless they are really good at lassoing fish with just a leader. If they are, please call me. I’d really like to watch that.

Streamers, dry flies, wet flies, and nymphs–most anglers fish with all of them at some point during the season. If you’re not sure what flies to get, give us a call. We’d be happy to put together a fly package from just a few, to a whole bunch, of patterns.

We can make fly selections that come inexpensively in a little plastic cup, or ones that look very fancy in neat, soldier-like rows within a fancy fly box. And there are lots of options between those extremes. We’ll have a pretty good idea of what flies to choose just by telling us where your present-receiver plans to fish.

So spend a little, or spend a lot, but if you want to pick one type of present that’s sure to get a smile on Christmas morning, then go with the disposables. Your significant-flyfishing-other will remember you all year long as they’re using your gifts!