Pick the best gift for your fisherman

If you’re like most Christmas shoppers, you don’t have time to track down a particular item for the fisherman on your gift list.

Here are a few ideas that are sure to please even the most demanding angler:

•  Waterproof Topographic Lake Maps show bottom contours and creek/river channels. Available at tackle shops or at www.lakenormanmonster.com. $9.99 plus shipping and handling.

• Wooden Fishing Rod Racks are the perfect way to store or display rods and reels. $9.99 up.

• One year subscription to Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine, www.ncwildlife.org. $12.

• Jake Busolinni’s paperback book, “Jake’s Take on the Lake” helps you learn to be a better fisherman. www.amazon.com. $17.99 plus shipping and handling.

• Coleman Cartcat Catalytic Heater (3000BTUs), uses 16.4 oz. disposable propane cylinder and fits in most boat or golf cart cup holders; available at golf course pro shops or online. $79.99.

• Lifetime sportsman license for statewide hunting and inland fishing license for children under 1 year of age, $200; youth ages 1-11, $350; adults age 12 and older, $500; 65 or older, $15. Visit www.ncwildlife.org for details and exclusions.

• A fish finder shows fish images and changes in bottom depth; a “must have” item for anglers fishing from boats. Available at tackle shops. Black and white units beginning at $79.99.

• Underwater camera to caputure fish swimming below the boat or dock or to locate items that fall overboard. Portable units, complete with camera, monitoring screen, cable, battery and charger are $99.99 and up.

• Gore-Tex weatherproof jacket, pants or bibs, $79.99 per garment and up.

• A gift card is the perfect gift for the hard to shop for angler.

Stocking Stuffers

• Filet knife with sheath, $9.99 up.• Fishing cap, $7.99 up.• First aid kit, $3 up.• Fishing pliers, $ 7.99 up.• How to fish DVD’s, $ 4.99 up.• Plastic fishing tackle sdtorage boxes, $3.99 up.

• Assorted plastic floats, $1.99.

If you can’t decide what to buy the fishermen on your list, ask a fishing buddy. He can usually tell you.

Tips

When deep jigging in open water; use the smallest diameter line practical. Lighter line allows the bait to sink smoothly, and improves sensitivity at the rod tip when a strike occurs.

Hot Spots of the Week

Fishing has been phenomenal for bass, crappie and white perch. Spotted bass are taking a variety of baits, depending on where they’re feeding in the water column. Best baits are shaky heads fished around deep docks, deep diving swim baits over humps and buzz baits on shallow points. Crappie are hitting jigs fished near submerged brush and bridge pilings.

The crappie are large. One angler reported releasing everything less than 12 inches in length and still had a 20 fish limit. White perch are biting minnows, worms and Sabiki’s fished along the edges of creek and river channels. The larger perch are feeding just off the bottom in water to 50 feet deep.