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Ok i'm gonna go away from the popular gift card idea. Why? Because its impersonal. It doesn't take allot of thought to go by a gift card. Will he like it...probably..will it mean as much as a well thought out and researched gift...no. First let take the rods and reels..You can pretty much kick those out. People are very brand oriented and only he knows what kind he wants next. Without giving it away and asking whats next on his rod and reel list you'll probably get it wrong. There is an exception though. You could pay to have his reels professionally cleaned and maintained. Most anglers do clean there on stuff but few go to the extremes that a professional would. I would check with Delaware Valley Tackle on this forum if you want more info on this idea. Next lets kick out electronics( fish finder). Most are very expensive and unless you know exactly what he wants then its best to just stay away. Now to the good stuff Tackle. Soft baits like Senko's on are a good idea but $150.00 worth of 1 type may be overkill. I would suggest finding out more on what soft baits he like to through and mix it up a bit. Rage Tail products have many fans (including myself) and even if he hasn't tried them yet you won't break the budget getting a package or 2 of there products. Hard baits like crank baits and spinner baits. Crankbaits again some tend to be brand loyal. Find out what he likes such as Lucky craft, Strike king etc.. Once you have that knowledge you can move onto color and style. Being in CA i cant give you much knowledge on this since i'm on the oppoisite end of the country but there are many here that fish there and they can let you know what works. Probably something natural would be good. No flashy colors. Spinnerbaits and jigs are a good choice but again not all are created equal. Maybe talk to some of the guys here that make 'em. they can lead you in the right direction. Its great that you have taken an interest in something he likes. If you do some research and get him some good items he will appreciate it allot more than a gift card.

:respect-059: Tebow does it again! :respect-059:

This is just TOO MUCH - IT'S F O O T B A L L ! ! The fundamental concept of the game is built on Unnecessary Roughness ! It's just hard to watch - forget about enjoying it. A-Jay

I used to have the same problem, and the lighter trick doesn't always work and slowly melts and weakens the screw lock. Then I discovered the Gamakatsu Skip Gap shakey heads. The 3x ElazTech worms are my favorite too, but I hated using them because of the hassle. Now I always have one tied on with a skip gap shakey head.

Utter nonsense. It's like saying don't play softball if you aren't the next Pujols. Tournaments are a great way to learn new skills and hone the ones you already posess.

Last Christmas my wife bought very specific things that I asked for for christmas. Lot's of soft plastic baits. I gave her a big list, knowing the list was far too big, and so that she could pare it down herself. Honestly, I thought it was so cool she went to Gander Mountain, found what I wanted and bought it, that I thought that was the best Christmas present ever. MUCH BETTER THAN A GIFT CARD. Find a way to go through his tackle. Write down what he has, and what colors, and buy that. Just the fact that his wife/girlfriend took the time to buy him fishing stuff vs the normal boyfriend/husband Christmas gifts will make it truly great. IMO, do the legwork (like your doing) and forget the gift card.

My suggestion would be checking out a few swim baits, and I've even got as link to a website! http://www.mattlures.com/products.htm 20% Off until 12/15, Free Shipping over $50, Free Gift over $100 Then you only need to tell us if your boyfriend is a member here. If its CAdeltaLipRipper, a bunch of these other young guys are going to turn green with ***!

Ima Bass Ninja.... I completely understand your opinion and can see the basis for it, but I respectfully disagree. Personally, there is nothing I hate worse than trying to pretend I like something given to me that I really don't, then pretend I don't mind traveling to the store to return it. A gift card to me means "hey, i dont know what you want for sure, but you do, and I want you to be as happy as possible with my gift so I want you to have whatever it is that you really want". I know they will be happiest getting whatever they really want, and the giftcard allows me to "give" them what they really want. As far as lures, I would never pick lures for somebody else. If he has spent the money on several Revo's, then he has the money to spend on lures. Based on the ASSUMPTION of his spending habits, if he wanted certain lures, he would most be able to afford them and would likely already have them. If you dont want to do a gift card, then the nicest thing I can think of would be upgrading what you know he already likes. That reduces the chances of you getting him something that he doesnt like. For instance, next time the subject of fishing comes up, casually ask him what model Revo he uses. Make a mental note then go look for the upgraded model of that reel and get that for him. Same goes for the fishing rod. Figure out which Shimano rod he uses, then purchase the nicer/upgraded version of that rod. Hope this helps, good luck!

Regarding the "coming loose". The complaints I've read about that are from the do it yourselfers. Some will say it's a piece of cake to install. No doubt, for some it is, but for others, it's best left to the pros. If it falls off, it should be on them. If you install it and it falls off, it's on you. Regardless of which product you choose, they are not meant to be routinely grounded on concrete ramps. Concrete ramps are very abrasive, so be gentle when you place your boat on them. Never "land" your boat on a ramp unless the water is calm. The waves will lift the boat and set it on the concrete repeatedly, destroying the keel shield/guard protection in short order. The forward vee of the keel is one of the most vulnerable parts to damage on any boat, particularly fiberglass. A good keel protector will run about three hundred dollars, plus two to three hundred to get it installed. Prices may vary, with the cheapest install on any given boat usually be when you order it on a new boat. So, when an amateur has his keel guard end up on the bottom of the lake, he'll need to buy an other, and most likely decide to have it professionally installed. The total cost for the final job in that case will be close to nine hundred dollars. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to the installation of any products on your boat.

If you are calling that awesome fish ugly, I guess I'd like to see a pretty one! Never met a smallie I didn't like. And as far as Im concerned the dark dark brown smallies that almost look black are even more unique and cool in my book!

As long as the Honey Badger didn't win, the correct choice was made.

3 words, Ko-Man-Chi. The only negatives are they are only in 3/8oz and 1/2oz on TW. And they are 10 bucks, but with the high quality components and unique design make it my favorite spinnerbait ever. Rober William Osler is Read the review on TackleTour if you are interested. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewkomanchibladespg2.html

Wire size and flex gives you a difference in how well you can feel the bait thump ( outside of the blade combo your using) also length of the spinnerbait arm like in the case of a short arm. The more flex the better the feel because the "R" is moving a greater distance left and right as the blade turns. The stiffer the arm with a larger wire on short casts will have the vibration like a rattltrap for example. When they came out with the titanium wire the issue I found was that if you get one that is bent wrong it was a waste.

We posted this topic at Rage Talk as well, to get more assistance with Santa's situation Paul posted this over there and I thought we needed it here too Big O www.ragetail.com (from Paul) 'twas two weeks before Christmas, but forget the snow. Santa was down south fishin' with his buddy Big O. the Ragetails were cast in brushpiles with care, in hopes that some whoppers were living in there. and wouldn't you know it, as if on cue, Santa whacked a 12 pounder, then Big O caught two. for days of sheer mayhem they continued to score, until rods were all broken and thumbs were all sore. "gotta head home", with a sigh said Steve. "you're kiddin'!", said Santa. "NO WAY i'll leave!" "Being Santa was great, but this is the best. you couldn't pull me back north with 1000 lb. test!" Steve pondered, then said with a voice kind and caring, "Don't you remember it's Christmas - the season for sharing?" "other folks love hanging these hawgs just like you. go and give gifts of Ragetail so they can smile too." "all fisherman need 'em, even the naughty. so head north real quickly, or i'll use karate." Santa knew in his heart what Steve said was true. and he liked red and white, not black and blue. so he hopped on his sleigh and as he flew out of sight, he yelled, "RAGETAIL to all, and to all a lunker fight!"

I'm also considering a new flipping stick , right now I'm thinking the new GL2 894 or the Dobyns champion 765.

The .308 is by far the most popular sniping round, and for good reason. The .308 is not punishing to shoot, has excellent terminal ballistics, behaves predictably in the wind, and perhaps most important is that it is consistent. While there are many cartridge choices that outperform the .308 in ballistics, there are few that perform as consistently as the .308 and as we know consistency is accuracy. The .30 cal bullet has long been a good performer and is very popular, which leads to more research with the .30 cal than perhaps with other calibers. While the .308 may over penetrate in some cases at shorter ranges (especially with FMJ styles bullets such as the old M118) the .308 is still used in by a majority of Law Enforcement agencies. It is accepted that if you do your job and put the bullet where it counts, you can count on the .308 to do its job and incapacitate the target. The US Army preaches an 800 meter maximum effective range for the .308, the USMC preaches a 1000 yard (915 meter) max effective range. While we have made hits at 1000+ meters with the .308, we tend to agree with the Army and indicate that 800 meters is about the max limit for RELIABLE hits in all but extreme weather conditions. After that the .308 is dropping like a rock and can become inconsistent. As an all around work horse for sniping that works great for both Law Enforcement and military sniping, the .308 is hard to beat. The only way a .308 will preform the way you describe is if you load a small 95gr projectile with the maximum powder. The bullet will start to tumble almost as soon as it leaves the barrel resulting in the obvious drop in performance. If you are having trouble holding a good group with any gun you need to find the weight bullet that the gun is most happy with. If you reload you can even go as far as finding the exact load of powder and bullet combination. Most .308s love a 125gr bullet. As the bullet gets heavier you will notice an increase in the inconsistency of the groups. There is always an exception to this but it's few and far between.

Gonna have to disagree here... There's a reason why so many people use it today and so many weapon systems are based on it. Its scary accurate and will slay 4 legged critters at 300+ yards.