I need help with X-mas ideas...

[JUSThereTOfindGOODgifts]

I am the "old lady" (not really old) of someone on this site, so I have to be careful what I say, because I am trying to remain annonymous!!!

I am just wondering if anyone can rattle off a few good Christmas gift ideas for a ice fishing fanatic, or just for a fisherman in general. Any ideas would be very helpful! The more the merrier. What are some things you might like? Who knows....maybe it's for you.

[bgreen82]

it would definitely be helpful to know what kind of stuff he already has. is he pretty well set up on ice fishing stuff like rod/reels, ice house, auger, flasher etc. or is he still getting started? some people would just say gift cards but that is so impersonal. let us know what he already has without giving yourself away, and it may be easier.

[BoxMN]

You are top notch to come here and get ideas.... nice

I would say this - Under Armour head gear, camo, can use duck, deer hunting or ice fishing. I wear mine under my baseball hat and it works great. About $25.

If duck hunter, Gander has all camo stuff on sale for 50% off, and the Drake 1/4 zip fleece pullover in Duck Blind camo is awesome! About $35 after markdown. Works good for ice fishing as well.

Frabil round tipups are my favorite. About $15.

On the higher price side, I think Gander (maybe others too) have St. Croix Avid open water rods on clearance for pretty good price. There are some sponsors of this site who have some great prices on reels. I am going to get a bunch to replace all my spinning stuff.

Okay, I am rambling now and I bet your name isn't "teri" so I will stop. I did get her a new dewalt saw and drill for Xmas though - she will love it

[fishtank]

Not knowing what they already have is tough, but in my opinion a gift card is money well spent. Some people might say it's not "personal enough" but believe me, it would do just perfect....

[Wash-Ups]

I would agree with the gift card. Then he can pick out the things that he needs.

[SP180]

A custom ice rod from thorne bros is always nice.

[Dogzlife000]

Quote:

---

I am the "old lady" (not really old) of someone on this site, so I have to be careful what I say, because I am trying to remain annonymous!!!

I am just wondering if anyone can rattle off a few good Christmas gift ideas for a ice fishing fanatic, or just for a fisherman in general. Any ideas would be very helpful! The more the merrier. What are some things you might like? Who knows....maybe it's for you.

---

Well, if you really love him, you'd drop the $20,000 for a new deluxe crank up house (I'm pulling for you my FM brother - whoever you are)

That aside, I'm impressed with your efforts. Gift cards are a bit impersonal, but they are appreciated because many fanatics tend to be very particular about their gear. Keep that in mind.

Now, let's assume he has a shelter, flasher, underwater camera, power auger as well as good boots and clothing. Other stuff to consider:

- A good GPS like a H2OC with a Lakemaster chip? Around $300 (but "lost" will no longer be an excuse for coming home late).

- More rods/reels - I personally just can't have enough. Thorn Brothers rods are great.

- More tipups - I have a preference, your hubby may too, but nothing wrong with having a variety for various applications.

- Strike sensor (alarm) for tipups - always nice to have.

On the low budget but highly appreciated side, consider printing up a little "coupon book" with some coupons that state "Good for One Day of Fish Filleting Duties" upon which you will personally redeem. Of course, various other coupons could be added

[DTro]

I'd have to say:

A custom wheelhouse

A monster 4-wheeler w/tracks

A Ranger or RiverPro Boat...or both

any of those will do (just is case it's MY wife)

[Sifty]

The H2o is a good Idea I got one last year and really like it.

A nice rod from Thorne Brothers.

Any of the gifts dtro had in mind would work as well.

(Boy I hope this is my wife)

How about a little get away to Lake of the Woods then you both could enjoy a nice Christmas gift.

Sifty

[Sandmannd]

A getaway would be nice. If you are on a budget, go to criag's list and type in "ice fishing". If he doesn't have a lot you can find portable shelters, augers, rods, flashers all kinds of stuff from $50 to a few hundred.

If this is my wife, go with what dtro said.

[Lisa Almquist]

Welcome to FM JTTFGG !

Maybe if people just starting putting their Christmas lists on here maybe you could sift through our lists! Just an idea...

LT's Christmas Wish List

New Stone Legacy Rod Bag Look here!

New Otter Look here!

Reel Weeds Look here!

Some really cute socks with toes-preferrably pink

White Underarmour Sweatshirt

Sorry for hijacking your thread but maybe your person wants these things too?

[hawkeye43]

Give him a weekend trip to a like that he talks about fishing someday. Lake of the woods is great anytime.

Honey, at least you came to the best HSOforum to ask what I wanted for chistmas, Love You.

[BartmanMN]

Best wife ever. haha

[looneyducer]

Dear Mrs. Looneyducer, (I'm being hopeful)

What I really want for Christmas is time to fish, you to fish with (I know that's a long shot), and a custom rod from Scotty. A 32" medium action with a 7" handle would do.

By the way, You're the best.

Mr. Looneyducer

[Eric Wettschreck]

A tye-dyed hoodie sweatshirt.

An 8-track player for his fish house.

A fish house.

Thorne Brothers gift certificate (If they have them) would be da-bomb.

Box of his favorite brand of pilsner for the fish house.

A weekend in a sleeper or a cabin somewhere up nort. Winnie, URL, Leech, LOTW, Mille Lacs, etc.

A garage with a furnace and a drain in the floor.

[looneyducer]

In case you're not Mrs. Looneyducer, here's the way I look at gifts as far as ice-fishing is concerned:

You can't go wrong with good long-johns, socks, and gloves. Quality on these items is directly proportional to the insanity of the pricetag, but any are better than none. Avoid scoops and chisels, in general, and doo-dads, basically because none of them work as well as they're supposed to and you don't want your name attached to a questionable heavy eyesore that's prone to entangling itself on the everything.

That being said, know that almost everything ever developed for ice fishing really doesn't work, or at least doesn't really work, and that the few things that do work don't look like they should work, but do. This accounts for the puzzled looks on non-icefishers' faces when they encounter a flasher display, be it for Marcum or Vexilar. Yes, these things do work; No, they are not from Fisher-Price. (Lowrance is ahead of the curve on this, since they at least look like they're from this century. Nature Vision, however, seems to the non-icefisher like a stretched-out Timex from 1983 -- nostalgia is important in ice fishing).

Never buy anyone an ice auger; instead, buy them a portable icehouse. Anyone who wants an auger is in desperate need of a portable icehouse. Of course if they want a portable icehouse, the never buy anyone an ice auger rule still applies.

Rods are a good gift so long as you know what the icefisher is looking for as far as fish are concerned. The high end rods are, well, high end, and the higher the better. That being said, I don't know of anyone who would be upset at recieving a rod from Thorne Bros, or Scotty's Custom Rods, or Jason Mitchell, or even the right Genz stick. Reels, however, are a far better bet. No fisherman, and especially no icefisher, has enough reels, and certainly not enough good reels. Any moderately priced spinning reel is sure to find use somewhere, and an expensive one will be treasured for years. If your icefisher uses levelwind reels though, get them a gift certificate. You can't win that game.

For small ticket items, buy the lures he already has tied on his rods, followed by the ones he already has in his tacklebox, followed by the ones that are almost gone at the sporting goods store. A good rule of thumb is small and shiney, gold or silver, preferably with some kind of glow (I like red/orange or yellow/green). If it looks like something a teenager might hang in their ears, nose, face, or navel, you're in good shape. Be conservative in your liberalness.

Big ticket items are much trickier, and call for you to be liberal in your conservativeness. I think that might mean only buy what they've already picked out, but I might be wrong. Sometimes not being surprised is a good thing.

[Borch]

It's great that you're taking the time to pick the brains of FMers. Here's a list for the ice fishing enthusist with varying costs.

Artic Armor - It'll keep him warm, dry and it floats in case he goes where he shouldn't go. $300

Lowrance H2O GPS with a lakemaster chip $230

Custom Thorne Bros rod with a quality reel $85

Custom Scotty Rods with quality reel $65

Jason Mitchell Rods with quality reel $60

Marcum Rod or Ice pack $50-60

The Lure Lightning $39

Artic Armor Gloves $30

FM/HSO Shirt(Personalized with user name) $30

FM/HSO Cap(Personalized with user name) $18

FM/HSO Logo Decals $15

Salmo Chubby darters $7

Little Atom Plastics & Jigs $2 a pack or jig

Custom Jigs & Spins Plastics and Jigs $2 a pack or jig

Check out the FM Ice get togethers at the Ice Leaders link and make hotel arrangements for one of them. It's a get get away and a lot of fun put faces and names togther.

Many of these items can be found on the sponsor page here on FM. You can get there by clicking on hte sponsor link at the bottom of my post.

Have a great holiday!

[Grant Pearson]

a getaway to a destination of my wifes' choice???

[JigginIsLife]

Hey i didnt know that HSO customized hats and shirts like that... i guess i never really looked into it but that is a sweet idea, might be picking one of those things up for myself this xmas. Merry X-Mas to me!!!!

[Eric Wettschreck]

You could always contact one of the establishments on URL that rent sleepers in mid-March for some march madness crappie action!!!!

[JUSThereTOfindGOODgifts]

im not going to say what my name is. But thank you for the ideas. He is a hunter, so those were very helpful. the fishing pole was a great Idea. Also I have heard about the Gary yamomoto*(spelling) lures. I was thinking about filling a stocking with different types of those, is that a good idea?