Holiday Gift Guide 2014
Costa Del Mar Starfish
While anglers throughout the state and world are familiar with Costa Del Mar’s reputation for producing stylish sunglasses with superior optics, the company’s glasses end up on many more men’s faces than women’s. The company also offers a full line of frame styles for ladies featuring all the technology that’s made their men’s glasses so popular, including the Starfish.
With vintage-inspired nylon frames whose temples take their shape from the arms of the popular sea creatures, the Starfish glasses are perfect for anyone looking for a fashionable and functional gift for a lady angler.
The Starfish feature the same tough TR-90 nylon construction as many of Costa’s other popular sunglasses, along with a 5-barrel optical hinge that adds strength and durability to their attractive design. Five frame colors (White/Black, Retro Tortoise, Topaz Fade, Pomegranate Fade, and Black Amber) are paired with three colors of the company’s popular 580P lenses to give buyers a host of choices to personalize their glasses or gift.
The patented 580 lens technology features 100% polarization and UV protection and blocks yellow and blue spectrum light for ultimate clarity and color. Costa’s C-Wall coating on the lenses repels oil, water, and dust while enhancing scratch resistance.
Check out Costa Del Mar Starfish at a local Costa dealer, or visit www.costadelmar.com for more information and to see their full line of men’s and women’s sunglasses.
Angler’s Fish-N-Mate Cart Caddy
North Carolina surf and pier anglers are surely familiar with Fish-N-Mate’s line of aluminum carts, as they bristle with rods on nearly every beach and pier in the state. The carts make transporting large amounts of gear a breeze, but transporting the carts themselves can be a bit trickier, particularly for those without pickup trucks. Enter the Cart Caddy, a receiver hitch attachment that allows users to securely transport their carts and gear without unloading or dismantling them.
Surf casters in particular will appreciate keeping their sand-covered carts and the interiors of their vehicles at a respectful distance, as vacuuming sand out of a vehicle becomes a regular chore for those keeping gear inside.
Like all the company’s carts, the Cart Caddies feature solid aluminum construction that’s built to last for years without corrosion or failure. A stabilizer bar included with the devices locks anglers’ carts into place and eliminates movement while anglers are heading to or from the beach.
Check out the Cart Caddy at one of Fish-N-Mate’s many dealers along the coast, or visit their website at www.rodrack.com to learn more.
Rigid Industries Halo Torch
With 800 lumens of output on high power along with a focused beam that projects 1,000 feet, Rigid Industries’ Halo Torch offers anglers spotlight-style performance in a pocket flashlight-sized package.
The Halo Torch is packed in a rugged aluminum housing and combines the latest technology in US-made LED lamps with a machined aluminum reflector to achieve maximum output in the smallest, lightest package possible. Water-resistant up to 1 meter, the lights are also designed, engineered, and assembled in America.
The dazzling glare of 800 lumens of light is overkill in many situations, so the Halo Torch has High, Medium, and Low output settings along with flasher and Morse code SOS modes.
Those who’ve purchased compact high-output lights before may have found their specialized batteries expensive and short-lived, but the Halo Torch comes with a rechargeable battery and both 110V and 12V chargers for home or vehicle use.
With the ability to reach out and illuminate a channel marker from 1000’ and provide light for more delicate tasks like knot-tying, the Halo Torch can replace several lights with one small package.
Learn more about it and all of Rigid Industries’ lighting products at www.rigidindustries.com.
Custom Rods
Very little can enhance the angling experience more than a custom rod, and it’s tough to describe to those anglers who’ve only used off-the-shelf models the feeling of fishing with a rod whose blanks, guides, and other components are tailored to the angler and task at hand.
Consulting with a local builder is the best way for anglers to design and realize their ultimate fishing rod, and coastal North Carolina is fortunate to have a host of excellent rod builders.
Ryan White of Advanced Fishing in Rodanthe, NC, builds a variety of rods, but his surf rods are the best known as they’ve set distance casting records and proven themselves on the beaches of both sides of the North American continent. Check them out at www.advancedfishing-usa.com.
Wilmington’s Capt. Mike Pedersen builds Riley Rods when he’s not operating his No Excuses Charters business. His Loki Lightning Coastal series offers a rod perfect for nearly every inshore fish in the Carolinas, with several models extremely popular on the red drum tournament circuit. Learn more about all of Mike’s rods at www.rileyrods.com.
And Chad Bazen, of Carolina Beach, builds rods for any conceivable application using blanks and components from a host of manufacturers. Anglers can see Bazen Custom Rods on the bows of bass boats and the cockpits of sportfishermen and nearly anywhere in between. Anglers can check out his work at www.bazencustomrods.com.
Eastern Metal Works Gigs
Combining quality metals and materials, American manufacturing, and an array of interchangeable options, Eastern Metal Works Powdercoated Gig Handles and stainless heads feature superior performance, usability, and durability over their mass-produced competitors’ offerings.
The aluminum handles are available in 1” or 1¼” diameters, with the larger versions offering a beefier grip and commercial-grade quality to hold up to the demanding needs of people who depend on these tools to make a living. Eastern Metal Works powdercoating process offers not only protection from the elements but a vastly enhanced grip over bare or polished metal shafts—a much-appreciated feature when anglers are dealing with a wet handle attached to an angry fish.
Owner Thomas Meyers can make the handles in any length from 2-24’ (although 16’ is the largest anyone has ordered yet). They feature a foam handgrip on one side and a tough threaded attachment point welded into the business end, much sturdier than a riveted fitting.
Keeping with the customizable theme, Meyers offers gig heads in light and heavy duty grades with 1-5 prongs (with the heavy models popular for users chasing larger flounder or heavily-scaled fish liked sheepshead). Utilizing the same threading as the gig heads are a host of other tools including gaffs, boat hooks, push pole feet, harpoons, and more, allowing one handle to transform into a multitude of useful tools for anglers and boaters alike.
Learn more about the full line of Eastern Metal Works products at www.easternmarinetools.com or check them out at local dealers.
Yo-Zuri Sashimi 3D Squirt
The most realistic squid imitation on the market, Yo-Zuri’s Sashimi Squirt combines a diving hard plastic body with a durable skirt and three patented technologies to draw strikes from saltwater species ranging from striped bass to yellowfin tuna. Freshwater anglers even report success with muskies on the bait!
An angled diving lip at the front of the lure carries it down and adds action, while through-wire construction from the line tie to the lure’s two treble hooks ensure it can stand up to strike after strike from some of the ocean’s toughest predators.
The plugs also feature an oversized squid eye for gamefish to home in on and a trio of patented features that further add to the lure’s appeal. The color changing paint scheme and large, 3D prism embedded in the hard body make the lure shift hues at different light and viewing angles, mimicking a live squid’s ever-changing colors. Ribs molded into the exterior of the body add vibration to help call fish into visual range from the depths.
Sashimi squirts are available in five eye-catching colors and are equally effective when cast or trolled. Learn more about the lures at www.yo-zuri.com or check them out at a local tackle shop.
Penn Battle II
Penn Reels’ reputation for producing powerful, durable reels for saltwater anglers goes back many decades, and the new Battle II incorporates the company’s legendary toughness and longevity with improvements from the previous model and modern features that make it perfect for anglers pursuing saltwater brutes from the backwaters to the blue water.
The Battle II is offered in sizes from 1000-8000, meaning there’s one perfect for everything from working ultralight artificials for speckled trout to deep-jigging for amberjack and grouper. New for the Battle II is a 2500 that bridges the gap between the 2000 and 3000 series reels and is ideal for those looking for a reel to fish 10-15 lb. braid for inshore predators like trout, red drum, and flounder.
Anglers widely hailed the Battle as an excellent reel upon its release, but some found the finish wasn’t quite up to the tough standards of the rest of the reel, so Penn revisited its anodizing and painting process to make the new reels’ finish much more durable. They also featured sealed instead of shielded ball bearings to enhance corrosion resistance internally as well as externally.
New keyed drag washers are also on the list of improvements over the earlier model, and they offer 20-50% more maximum drag than the previous reels. The increased maximum drags translate to more drag range and smoother drag at lower settings as well.
Anglers can check out the Battle II’s at a host of local tackle shops or visit www.pennfishing.com to learn more.
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Blue Yonder
Named for one of the company’s most beloved models, particularly among NC surf casters, Abu Garcia’s new Blue Yonders are a pair of conventional surf casting reels designed to deliver big baits long distances and take on the fish they attract.
The Blue Yonders are available in 6500 and 7000 sizes and feature a CT (no-levelwind) frame that maximizes casting distance and offers anglers easy access to the spool for line control during the cast.
An adjustable Magtrax braking system on both models allows users to fine-tune the reels for conditions and the baits they’ll be casting while minimizing the chance of a backlash.
Each reel features stainless-steel ball bearings and Duragear brass main and pinion gears that enhance the reels’ corrosion resistance (vital for a beach fishing reel) and add strength for fighting large red drum, cobia, sharks and other coastal predators. Extended power handles with EVA knobs are standard to give anglers better leverage when reeling in big fish (or heavy baits and weights in the pounding surf).
They also offer bait clickers to quickly alert anglers to strikes when their rods are in sand spikes or leaning against a pier railing.
Check out the new Blue Yonder series at local Abu Garcia dealers or visit www.abugarcia.com for more information.
GULP Alive Bucket
While no longer new to the market, Berkley Gulp’s effectiveness at fooling a variety of inshore and nearshore fish has made the soft baits a standard in many (if not most) North Carolina anglers’ inshore arsenals.
Rigged on a jighead or bucktail, fished on a Carolina rig, or under a float, Gulp baits appeal to flounder, speckled and gray trout, red drum, striped bass, and virtually everything else that eats fish, shrimp, and crabs in North Carolina waters. The company offers Gulp Alive baits in pint and quart buckets with much more of the potent “juice” that anglers buying smaller bags receive.
Consider one of the Gulp buckets for an inexpensive, yet practical gift for any local angler.
A vast array of shapes, sizes, and colors of the baits are available in the buckets, and local tackle shops can easily point anglers in the right direction regarding which will be the most effective based on anglers’ favorite target species and fishing environments.
Those looking to do a bit of advance research can find information on the full Gulp line at www.berkley-fishing.com.
Fishing School Tickets
There’s no better gift for an angler than something that will make them a better angler, and Fisherman’s Post Saltwater Fishing School tickets fill the bill handily.
Each featuring over a dozen of the area’s finest captains and professional anglers, the Saltwater Schools give anglers a chance to interact hands-on with the experts in their area on subjects ranging from flounder and trout fishing to Gulf Stream trolling and grouper digging.
New for this year is a less-expensive additional half-day school in Wilmington on the Sunday following Saturday’s full-day offering, ideal for younger anglers with shorter attention spans (shorter day and shorter sessions) or any age angler who can’t make the Saturday session. The half-day event will be February 8 following Saturday’s full-day event on the 7th.
Like the previous years, anglers can also choose to attend our Morehead City Saltwater School at Crystal Coast Convention Center (February 21) or Greenville School at Overton’s Sporting Goods (March 14) with captains tailored to their respective local fisheries.
Fisherman’s Post Saltwater Schools have been ranked among the top in the nation by Sport Fishing Magazine and score highly enough on participant evaluations to see many repeat students.
Anglers can buy advance tickets for the schools at West Marine and Tex’s Tackle in Wilmington, Chasin’ Tails Outdoors and West Marine in Morehead City, or at Overton’s Sporting Goods (at both Greenville and Raleigh locations).
For more information or to buy tickets online, visit www.fishermanspost.com.
