2022 Fish Wrap Holiday Gear & Gift Guide

Let’s avoid hours squandered wandering crowded mall halls and food courts or squinting at small screens to find perfect gifts for favorite outdoorsmen or women or possibly, a little something for ourselves. Let us share with you a few killer, well designed and soon to be loved products with our 2022 Fish Wrap Gear & Gift Guide.

Stick Tite lenses are game changers

StickTite Lenses

Through the 2022 Fish Wrap Holiday Gear & Gift Guide testing process, we quickly realized this is one of the coolest outdoor creations ever. If you fish, hunt or hike with corrective or sunglasses or even just with cheaters around your neck, if you need glasses in the tree stand but not to aim, if you have lost a pair of anything overboard, StickTite lenses are game changers. Available in magnifications from 1.25 to 3.0, they arrive smartly packaged, are easily applied, perform precisely as intended and will save you money and effort. Find that sweet spot on the bottom of your favorite glasses, apply, wait a few minutes then ditch those cheaters. If you have a collection of fancy shades for all occasions, change your outlook in minutes and even swap lenses between glasses. If you gift them, add extra pairs for yourself. Few products have so positively affected my fishing as StickTite Lenses. I applied them, waited for them to set, then went fishing. It really was that easy. No more cheaters around this neck. Starting at $19.99

A must read for sure

Headwaters, The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman by Dylan Tomine

It’s immediately clear Mr. Tomine has survived, contemplated and reckoned with so many positives and costs for being an obsessive fly fishing waterman. Destination anticipation, wind knots, hatchery damage, low waters, mammoth browns, bug bites and missed careers play roles in his assemblage of memories and magazine posts from the Carmel, American, Situk, Stillaguamish, Ventura and other rivers. His researched and absolute disdain for hatchery fish polluting wild waters and ancestral gene pools runs through his works as he sacrifices family, work and friends to find more fish on the fly. “Today, as a growing percentage of our country seems intent on ignoring scientific fact, the support for hatcheries remains,” he writes remorsefully. Read Mr. Tomine’s book to learn real numbers proving declines of native fishes, clean waters and open land crippled by increases in apathy, sprawl and ignorance for Native American values. Read it to understand emotions, reflections, and acceptance of real life screw ups. Read it to float on western rivers, Russian trout streams, to hear cold rain and snow tinkling off a tent then get city water thrown in your face for not being part of the solution. It’s made clear, catch and release will not reverse or cure a failing fishery or streams of selfish anglers. Anglers, not watermen. Conservation is about more than catching more fish, it’s about taking yourself out of the catching equation element and focusing on fish and habitat.

After reading Headwaters, I found myself pondering his threadbare question: “All of which leaves us where?” Conservation starts with our hearts in the game. Headwaters is the right gift for anyone who knows the sting of iced gloves hauling back February steelhead and for anyone who wishes to feel that burn. It is a fine gift to remind us all how life evolves and how far we need to go to return some balance to waters we say we love. Published by Patagonia Works, $27.95

Garmont T4 Groove G-Dry boots

I made a profound mistake with this test. T4’s were so comfortable out of the box, I neglected to track the usual high and low points normally associated with a new product we test and that crucial break-in period. Out the door on a rainy day, it was noon before I realized they were supporting me without notice. The waterproof G-Dry outer quickly eased into comfort mode. The soles are strong and do not slip. They are comfortable, sized properly, and secure when fully laced. Uppers are padded and tall enough to keep water out, and lower sections have clever details affording them a sporting look with enough grit to serve as workday boots. The coyote color is close to traditional military tan styles but clearly, Garmont gave this important detail considerable thought. From a field of a big box store, and mediocre outdoor footwear, the T4 has so far proven to be a solid and comfortable choice for people who need real tactical grade gear without any b.s.  They are worth every dime. $165

Classic styling made for shitty weather

If you fish in all weather, if you’re not seasonal, if you choose gear carefully, if you’re not interested in some small print performance disclaimer, then you need these pants. Cold and wet, hauling in slot sized bass well past midnight, Full Share Pants have kept me warm, dry, and protected from fins and rough scales. Economy be damned, we need authentic, reliable gear like Full Share Pants made right. One very early morning, I landed a 15#+ striper with a Shimano Splashwalk carrying double treble hooks (I know, singles are better but it’s a weight/balance thing) and she stuck me with four hooks. It took almost two minutes to get those hooks out of my Full Share pants and truth be told, not one penetrated the fabric. That’s all I asked from them and they delivered.

They feature 2 zippered hand pockets, a side cargo pocket, lower leg zippers to help you get out quickly, a removable belt, articulated knees, and some cool reflective logos. One can never be too safe on the water.

They have two smart traditional pockets complemented by two deeper pockets on the side with snap closures. Grundéns respect for high quality and weather resilience has been incorporated into Full Share pants. And not for nothing, they’re handsome, a web belt is practical and will easily hold a knife and if you must leap from boat to bar, they look pretty good during after-hours story stretching. They also arrived in a welcomed compostable bag, which I really appreciated. If you spend hard-earned dollars on rods, reels, line and lures, the outerwear you choose is just as important. These pants are as comfortable as they are tough. Most importantly, I trust them. $129.99

Check out the next half of our 2022 Fish Wrap Gear & Gear Guide. We bring you a crazy cool camp cooker and quite possibly the most rugged rubber boots ever.