A Fisherman's Christmas Recap: Photo Journal

We all know that Christmas is all about spending time with family and friends, its about food and the spirit of giving.. that being said.. getting is nice as well.. here is a recap of what this fisherman found under the tree this year

Something useful:

Some anglers look at rod or tackle storage like a kid would look at clothing on Christmas morning, but not me, I love to keep my gear well organized, protected and safe.. what better to aid in that goal then a new rod rack. This thoughtful gift from my parents was put into use real quick, and allowed me to show my wife that yes, I do need more rods.. "look at the empty spots on my rod rack"

My parents also picked me up a new life jacket.. unfortunately they did not know that life jackets were one size fits all, and it was slightly snug.. even more so after all these christmas dinners 

Something to keep me busy:

I have been wanting to learn to tie flies for years now, and this year my wife who is probably grown tired of my off season cabin fever obliged my interest by picking me up a fly tying kit, that not only has all the tools and material needed to get me started, but it also has a step by step how-to on a collection of basic to medium level flies.. what I great gift, I have been hard at it already attempting to tie a few flies way beyond my skill level.

Just like teaching a child to fish, I have already learned the need to start out on the fun and easy fly patterns, I quickly grew frustrated by not being able to complete the more advanced flies, it is then that I learned the basic flies are basic for a reason, they help teach you the basic skills you will need to master before moving on up.. I was my own Mr Miyagi this Christmas (wax on, wax off)

Something to learn:

Obviously if you are going to tie your own flies, there is a good chance you are going to want something to fish them on. I have owned a fly rod for a few years now, but it does not see much time on the water. I enjoy fly fishing (even more so in my float tube) and wanted to continue to grow and learn this side of the sport.. My first fly rod is a beefy 8/9 wt rod designed for chasing down bass and even the odd pike, but in order to fish for trout and pan fish I wanted to get my hands on a 4/5 wt rod that will let me be more finicky.. ask and you shall receive

Somthing for the ice:

If your a fellow Canuck or live in the more northern parts of the US, there is a good chance you will be spending at least a few days on the ice each of every year. Personally, I'm a die hard fisherman and my Father kept that in mind this year by picking my up the all new Abu Garcia Veritas Ice series fishing combo, this rod feels like It will be a great pan fish rod and the reel surprisingly is not a throw away (like many combo reels are).. the only issue I see is loosing it in the snow.. really who makes a White ice fishing rod!

something for the guy who has everything:

Gift cards are never a bad Idea and this year I ended up with a total of five Bass Pro shops gift cards.. these lasted maybe 24 hours before they burnt a hole in my pocket.. you know as well as I that a fisherman always has a wish list and often we are willing to buy pricier baits when gift cards are in play as they don't really feel like real money. With this years cards I picked up a few of the Live Target Bait Ball baits (the popper and the square bill) as well as the Mega Bass Pony frog. I used the remainder of the cards value to refill standard baits I used each and every day on the water

Note: The Bass Pro Shop ran a free shipping program for the days immediately following Christmas, as a Canadian this saved me on average $25 per order ( I made 2), if it was not for this promo I would have held these cards until I made a trip to a local shop.. imagine losing the value of a gift card on shipping cost alone!