Sarley: Shopping for outdoorsmen can be difficult to do right

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If you have friends or family members who are outdoorsmen, I’m sure you’d like to give them a Christmas gift that pertains to their favorite sport. I know that I love opening a package Dec. 25 and finding a nifty hunting or fishing item hidden underneath the wrapping paper.

The hard part is figuring out what exactly to buy.

A lot of items are something personal that many outdoorsmen would like for themselves. You know, I’d really prefer to select my own new shotgun or rod and reel. It’s not a problem if the outdoors enthusiast has dropped a lot of hints about a certain make or model or even has been blatant enough to leave catalogs lying about the house with wanted items circled in magic marker.

Of course, you always can head on down to the local gun or tackle shop and buy a gift card. I never get a charge out of opening an envelope and finding a gift card. I much prefer tangible items.

That said, I’d like to offer a few suggestions for outdoors-related gift items. Some are new and unique while others are tried and true.

What outdoors enthusiast isn’t hooked on gadgets? I’ll admit to that vice. Electronics are exciting and always heartily welcomed. Sonars and depth-finding units can run into the thousands of dollars, but there is a lot of good quality merchandise available at reasonable prices.

Boat owners and boat renters can get a basic unit starting at about a $100. The SmartCast by Humminbird allows the shore-bound fisherman to stand on shore and cast out a sensor that is attached to a line to show the depth of the water. I guarantee the shore fisherman in your life will love one of these.

Last year, my wife gave me a TomTom One portable GPS unit. She got it on sale for $99, and I love it. I drive to a lot of remote places in the dark, and the GPS has saved me a lot of time, heartache and gasoline.

I love the Zip-Vac food storage system. It’s not a toy and is nothing like those cheapie models you’ve seen. Alhough small and lightweight, this baby seals food like you’d expect to find at a packinghouse. You get a rechargeable unit and also a manual unit for out in the field. The bags are available in the perfect sizes to freeze fish filets. Check the Web site at zip-vac.com for locations to buy this neat gift.

You’ve got all of these gadgets, so you need a lot of batteries. Cells of all sizes litter my tackle box and outdoor bag. The battery organizers made by PowerPax come in a bunch of colors including glow-in-the-dark for night fishing and even in camo for out in the field. This is a cool product.

A magazine subscription always is welcome. Illinois Outdoor News is a good hunting and fishing read (ilout

doornews.com) and big-water fishermen will love Great Lakes Angler (glangler.com).

Clothing is an easy buy, but steer clear of T-shirts and caps displaying corny sayings. Gerbing’s makes a line of battery-operated heated clothing that really works well (gerbing.com). Bassaholics is a line of fishing lifestyle clothing that is hip and modern. Children love the look, and some of the stuff even looks like things that the pro skateboarders wear (bassaholics.com).

Women aren’t built like men and shouldn’t have to wear outdoors clothing in men’s sizes. FishHer makes outdoor clothing specifically for women. What an excellent concept. FishHer also has created a line of rods and reels and tackle that is woman-friendly. It’s made for smaller hands and shorter statures (fishher.com). This gear is available everywhere.

A great gift would be a gift certificate to the Spence Petros fishing classes. For $75, you either get five consecutive Tuesday night classes on fishing for bass and panfish beginning March 3, or the Wednesday night set of five classes on walleye, pike and muskies beginning March 4. If you call Petros soon at 815-455-7770, he’ll send a card saying that you have given the classes to the lucky recipient, or he can present your gift via the phone.

As a stocking stuffer, I am a big fan of any lures made by River2Sea. They are unique, they catch fish and some look good enough to display in the home rather than tie on your line.

If I had to pop for a special rod and reel for someone, I’d get a Shimano Symetre reel mounted on a Compre rod. It’ll run you a cool $200, but it will last a lifetime.

Monte Burch’s “Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass” and Ken Schultz’s “Bass Madness” are the two best fishing books I’ve read in the past few years. The Dick Sternberg books in “The Hunting and Fishing Library” series are all excellent, and these make a gift set that you can add to every year. “Primal Dreams,” a hunting video by the incredible Mitten brothers, is almost like having a religious experience (brothersofthebow.com).

I hope I have teased your imagination and been able to offer a few suggestions for making Christmas merrier for the outdoorsmen in your life.

Birthday boy: A little birdie told me Jim “Jimmy Z” Ziebka, board of directors member and outings director of the Fox River Valley Chapter of Muskies Inc., is turning 57 on Thursday. Happy birthday, Jim!

Turkey delight: The fresh Amish turkey I bought from Jeff and Suzy Madenis at Jones Country Meats in Woodstock was by far the best bird we’ve ever cooked at our house.

You need to brine a fresh bird for 24 hours before cooking it. It’s very easy, and the Internet has hundreds of brine recipes available. Our bird came out incredibly moist and unbelievably flavorful.

If gobbler is on your Christmas menu, do yourself a favor and order one of these fresh Amish birds from Jones.