We have only a few shopping days remaining, so we offer this, our final outdoors gift guide of the year:
Kayak
Kayaks represent the fastest growing segments of the boating and fishing industries, and few gear items have given us more satisfaction than our Hobie kayak.
It's sleek, fast and stable, and its foot-powered Mirage Drive system makes Hobie the most versatile and user friendly kayak on the market. Why? Because it replaces the paddle for propulsion and frees both hands for fishing.
Hobies are dedicated fishing platforms. A recess built into the hulls are specifically molded for Lowrance transducers, but you can modify them to accept Raymarine, Garmin and Humminbird transducers, too.
I have the Hobie Revolution 13, which is ideal for small lakes and rivers, and inshore and nearshore saltwater, but the Pro Angler is suitable for almost all water.
Fishing accessories abound. A battery-powered Hobie live well keeps live bait viable. The H-Crate stores tackle boxes and other gear, and additional trays store tools such as scissors, pliers and knives. You can mount additional rod holders, a depth finder and a myriad of other items to the integrated H-Rails.
The Hatch Cooler mounts to the Pro Angler's front hatch, allowing you to store drinks, lunch and even fish.
You can even buy Hobie sails and masts that fit existing hardware on your kayak.
Electronic graphs
Advanced technology in electronic graphs has enhanced our ability to find and catch fish by giving us clearer, more accurate pictures of lake and river bottoms.
Technology that cost $1,500-$2,000 a few years ago is available for much less, and models change so fast that you can get last year's stock for deep discounts from major retailers.
It's all good. Stephen Browning, a Bassmaster Elite angler from Hot Springs, uses Raymarine. Gary Hubble, owner of N.I.F.E. Marine, prefers Humminbird. Mark Hedrick, my co-host on Ray Tucker's Arkansas Outdoors radio program on 103.7-FM, The Buzz, loves Lowrance. I like Garmin.
You can't go wrong with any of them, but Lowrance is the gold standard, and it's also the most user friendly.
For less than $1,000, you can get a unit with a 7-inch screen, sidescan and downscan and GPS capabilities. These include the Lowrance Elite 7 (about $800), Raymarine Dragonfly 7, ($550), Humminbird Helix 7 ($550) and Garmin EchoMap 73SV ($500). For about $150 extra, you can get enhanced versions with CHIRP technology.
There are some great sales going on right now to make them even more attractive.
Reels
Bill Taylor, the longtime tournament director for the FLW Tour, says Lew's baitcasters are the best you can buy.
They are light, low-profile, slick, available in multiple speeds, and they are very well built. They are also readily available in left-hand models, which seals the deal for me.
Lew's offers a baitcaster for any budget, but I don't notice any functional difference between the entry level models and the tournament models.
For spinning reels, Penn's SpinFisher V and SSV models are peerless, and they are affordable.
The Spinfisher has a saltwater heart, but a variety of sizes are suitable for anything in freshwater. It has a full metal body and sideplate, 5 shielded bearings, sealed drag and instant anti-reverse.
I use the SSV4500 primarily, but the 8500, 9500 and 10500 models can subdue the biggest striper in Lake Ouachita or the biggest catfish in the Mississippi River. No lie.
All of these reels are capable of handling big snook and redfish, which means they can also handle giant largemouths. I am not good at skipping plastic frogs into tight cover with a baitcaster, but I can zip them through keyholes with spinning gear. Getting fish out of tight cover with a spinning reel was always the problem.
To that end, the Penn Spinfisher is an answer to my prayers.
Bluetooth speaker
Smartphone technology allows us to enjoy music and news while in camp or on the water, but you need a good speaker.
Our nod in this department goes to the new Chant Sport.
About the size of a beer can, the Chant Sport fits in a standard cupholder. It is water and dust resistant, and its lithium ion battery lasts up to eight hours.
It has an integrated mic, a 3.5mm auxiliary input and a micro USB charging cable.
The shell is made from recycled wood fiber, so it's "greener" than petroleum-based materials.
Most importantly, it sounds terrific.
Sports on 12/18/2016