Fly fishing gifts: buy the tools and the consumables, never the rod

A net has no size that has to match their gear, which is what makes it the one safe bigger fly gift. It is also the piece most people under-buy, because the net they own is the one that came free with something.

The published specifications are the reason to pick this one. Rubberized micromesh does not strip slime off a fish the way knotted nylon does, and it does not hold a fly - which is the single most irritating thing a fly net can do, because every barbless hook you land goes straight into the mesh. The hoop floats, so a dropped net does not disappear downstream. The bottom is flat, so the fish is supported along its length rather than folded into a cone.

The 13 x 18 in teardrop is the right size for stream trout; Frabill publishes four hoop sizes from 11x15 up to 19x23 in if you know they fish bigger water. Our fly net page covers the sizing, and our catch and release page covers why the mesh material matters more than the hoop.

Fly line is the consumable almost nobody replaces often enough, and it is the component that most affects how a rod casts - more than the rod does. A tired, cracked line on a good rod casts worse than fresh line on a cheap one.

It is a gift with exactly one condition: you have to know their rod weight. That number is printed on the rod just above the handle, so if you can get near their gear for ten seconds you can buy this with confidence. Five weight is the most common trout rod by a wide margin.

RIO publishes this as 80 ft total with a 36 ft head and a short powerful front taper, in sizes 3 through 8 weight - a straightforward all-round trout line rather than a specialist one. Our fly line page covers what the taper numbers mean, and our rod weights page explains the matching.

Spring loaded and off-set are exactly the two features a fly angler needs and most nippers do not have. Spring loaded means the blades reopen themselves, so you cut while the other hand holds the knot. Off-set means the cutting line sits below your fingers, so you can trim a tag end flush against a blood knot without the handles fouling the leader.

Rapala publishes these as developed for cutting micro super line, which is the right scope for fly fishing - fine tippet and light leader rather than heavy braid. The titanium coating is published as extending blade life up to 15 times, which we report as the maker’s claim rather than a tested figure.

Our leader and tippet page decodes the X sizing these are cutting, and our line cutter page compares them against the alternatives.

The tether is the gift. Fly anglers lose nippers constantly, because nippers are small, get set down on a rock mid-knot, and then the fish rises. A retractable cord on a carabiner means the tool goes back to the vest by itself.

Boomerang publishes a 36 in military-grade type-II braided nylon cord and an integrated safety lock that holds the blades closed while it hangs - which matters when it is swinging against a wader leg all day.

The published 50 lb rating is far more line than fly fishing asks of it, so this is a tool used well inside its envelope - which is the right way round. It is also the better of the two cutters here if the recipient fishes conventional tackle as well as fly.

Fly fishing is the branch of the sport where your hands are wet most often and most precisely employed - tying 6X tippet with numb fingers is genuinely difficult, and it is the thing that sends winter anglers home.

A box of ten means a couple live permanently in the vest, which is where they need to be. Our hand warmer page makes the argument that the right place for one is a chest pocket rather than a glove, which is doubly true for fly fishing because you cannot fish in thick gloves anyway.

They are also the easiest thing on this page to buy, because there is no size, no fit and nothing to match.