3 Great Holiday
Ideas for Any Angler
Weird Finds Be on the Lookout
If you still have an old Nintendo Game
Boy lying around, you might be able to put
it to use on your next fishing trip.
Seriously.
In 1998, Bandai released a “Pocket
Sonar” accessory – essentially a sonar-
equipped cartridge with a floating trans-
ducer – that actually worked as a fish-find-
er. It also included a fish encyclopedia in
the programming.
Retailing for 14,800 yen (about $136)
at the time, it certainly wasn’t the cheapest
accessory, and finding one now might be a
tall task. Still, they pop up on eBay from
time to time and aren’t prohibitively expen-
sive (at least by vintage Game Boy acces-
sory standards). The northern snakehead isn’t so north-
ern anymore, it seems. In early October,
Johnathan Maynard was fishing a private
pond in Gwinnett County, Ga., when he
hooked into one of the toothy predators
that the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) says should be killed
immediately if caught. Maynard says the
fish freed itself from his scale while he was
weighing it and returned to the water.
The “Frankenfish,” as it was coined
after being discovered in Virginia, is now
present in 15 states. It’s a nonnative pred-
ator that can have serious negative impli-
cations on aquatic ecosystems. If you spot
one in Georgia, kill it, freeze it and report it
to the Georgia DNR.
1. Lifetime Fishing License
Several states offer options for lifetime hunt-
ing and fishing licenses. Save the outdoor
enthusiast in your life some hassle and sign
him or her up for a lifetime commitment to
enjoying the great outdoors.
2. Tackle Warehouse Gift Cards
Like it or not, a generic pack of hooks and
some soft plastics isn’t always what the
angler in your life wants or needs come
Christmas morning. Instead, opt for a gift
card or two from tacklewarehouse.com and
let your favorite angler buy what they really
want.
Get Paid to Fish
3. DIY Lure Starter Kit
The National Parks Service (NPS) is mulling over a novel approach to curbing the
spread of an invasive species, and you might like where this story is going.
Brown trout are not native to the Colorado River, and their boom (after initially being
introduced in the early 20th century) has led to some ecosystem imbalance, particularly
below the Glen Canyon Dam, where the larger cousins of rainbow trout are making a dent
in the humpback chub population.
The NPS wants to incentivize the natural removal of brown trout via traditional fishing
methods that don’t include electrofishing, which would also affect the nonproblematic rain-
bow trout population and is opposed by some local Native American tribes, and it wants
to pay people to help.
While compensation details have yet to be put in place, the NPS will notify the fishing
public when it’s ready to roll out the incentive program.
WINTER 2020 I FLWFISHING.COM
When anglers aren’t fishing, they’re thinking
about fishing. They’re also probably spend-
ing a lot of money on the best new lures or
the old standbys they have a hard time find-
ing these days. Kill multiple birds with one
stone and get them a do-it-yourself lure-mak-
ing kit (there are dozens to choose from).
Whether a balsa crankbait kit or a pour-it-
yourself soft plastics setup, giving someone
the chance to save money and spend a little
more time focusing on what they love is sure
to be appreciated.
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