Christmas is right around the corner, and the shopping season is in full swing. Whether you are buying for someone in your life who loves bass fishing or constantly getting asked what you want for a gift this year, these items are great choices. They have all been proven to work as intended and will make any bass angler smile.
Rods and Reels
Our preferred rods and reels are relatively subjective depending on the angler and their budget. Also, many anglers have loyalties to one brand or another, so choosing the perfect one can be a challenge. Still, these two stand out: the re-designed G. Loomis GLX Bass line of rods and the Abu Garcia Revo STX reel.
The GLX line from G. Loomis is a high-end product name that has been around for decades and keeps improving. The new version is costly, starting at $525, but incredibly sensitive and well-balanced. The latest version is stronger, more sensitive, and built to last.
The Abu Garcia Revo line is a good option for a good all-around reel. The STX LP is a solid choice that retails for $229 and has some cool features that make it great for heavy-cover fishing. It has a slightly longer handle, oversized reel knobs, and an impressive 25 pounds of drag. It's perfect for winching big bass from thick vegetation and casts amazingly far.
Accessories
One way to keep an angler honest is a scale and having a good scale on hand, which will give an angler all the proof they need when telling the story of a big bass. Scales have also come a long way in recent years and have become high-tech with many features. Some of the great new generation of scales are the Rapala Touch Screen Tournament Scale, which retails for around $70, and the Bubba Pro Series Smart Fish Scale, which has more features and can be found for just under $200.
The Rapala version has been out for several years and is battle-tested by many anglers. It weighs up to 15 pounds but also has a touch screen, which makes it easy to input weights to keep track of your day for tournaments. The Bubba version is accurate and has a livewell management system for culling. It also has a mobile app that connects to the scale to keep track of weather conditions from the day, GPS locations of each catch, and more.
One additional gift idea is a good pair of sunglasses. No matter how many you have, an extra pair wouldn't hurt. These items are indispensable on the water, and it always helps to have a few different lens colors for different sunlight conditions.
One unique color that not all brands use is a Rose Mirror, and it's offered by Bajío Sunglasses, which makes excellent sunglasses and has some unique lens tints. Rose Mirror is great for low light conditions because they are very bright, but they are also fantastic for shallow water sight fishing because everything tends to pop out more with this lens color. They have many different shapes and sizes, including the "Toads," a large fit and wrap-around design for great coverage on your face. Price varies based on whether or not you choose the polycarbonate lenses ($209) or glass lenses ($259), but either is a quality option backed by a great warranty.
Line and Terminal Tackle
No matter how much fishing gear we have, terminal tackle and fishing line are two things we can always use more. These products must be replaced often by spooling up fresh line or replacing the hooks, weights, and jigheads that get snagged and break off during the season.
This category has many excellent options, but three stand out: Seaguar's PE-X8 braided line, the Gamakatsu Nano Alpha hooks, and Owner Range Roller jigheads. Any of these will be welcome additions to a bass angler's collection.
The PE-X8 braid from Seaguar comes straight from Japan and utilizes a new material that makes it much thinner and stronger than any other braid they make, which allows for better casts and ease of use. The latest Nano Alpha hooks from Gamakatsu are the same popular styles that have been out for years but now include a new slick coating that helps to keep the hooks sharper and resist rust and corrosion.
With the popularity of fishing a jighead minnow, companies like Owner have developed specific products to get the baits to do more. Their Range Roller jighead design allows the soft plastic bait to roll better, and it features a super sharp hook to get more of those fish to the boat.
Lures: Soft Plastics and Hard Baits
Finally, every bass angler needs more lures. Baits continue to evolve and improve, and some really cool new options are sure to catch fish. For hard baits, Shimano, a name known for rods and reels, is now in the lure game, and the Zumverno jerkbaits are a great choice. They feature Flashboost technology, a small piece of foil inside the bait connected to a spring. This allows the bait to flash and attract fish, even when the bait is not moving. They've incorporated this into several baits, but the new Zumverno jerkbait is perfect. The baits come in several great colors and 95 and 115-mm sizes.
For soft plastics, it's hard to beat one of the most popular baits on the market right now: the Deps Sakamata Shad. This soft jerkbait has molded wings on each side, making it perfect for mid-strolling and fishing a jighead minnow because it rolls better. They can be incredibly hard to find because they sell so well, so snagging any of them will be a welcomed gift to the bass angler in your life.
Picking a gift for the bass angler can be tricky since many of us have piles of fishing gear. That's why these items work so well for gifts: they are proven to work and are unique enough to stand out from the rest.
