Buying successful gifts for outdoors-oriented kids takes a bit of thought, a bit of preparation and a bit of luck, but not necessarily a lot of money.

One of the best gifts I ever gave my sons was a 20-year-old 10’ jon boat equipped with a tired but trustworthy 4 horse outboard. You can find these indestructible little boats for around $200 today (less power) on Facebook Marketplace. If you can’t find a good used one, Tracker’s 1036 all-welded model is a good one for a relatively modest price; www.trackerboats.com. 

In the same vein, a kayak provides the same sense of freedom in kids who know how to swim and be safe around water, and they’re available in basic youth models for around $130. Of course, you buy and insist they wear PFD’s when using the ‘yak, as well.

If you’d like to give your kids a chance to learn fly fishing, you couldn’t do better than to get them Cortland Line’s “Fairplay” package for $99 including four piece rod, reel and of course Cortland fly line, a great starter kit; https://www.cortlandline.com/products/fairplay-outfit-8-9-wt.  

If you don’t fly fish yourself, books like the Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Fishing ($12.95) will quickly teach the basics and it’s up to the kids from there on. The great thing about fly fishing for kids is that flies catch bocu fish of all species, from bluegills and bass to carp (during mulberry time) and of course all the trout species as well as abundant, fun coastal species like ladyfish by the dozens.

Speaking of fishing books, Noel Vick’s “All Fish Are Awesome” introductory book on fishing for kids 5 to 10 or so would make a good stocking stuffer, too—about $17: https://blueballoonbooks.com/bookstore/all-fish-are-awesome.

Though it’s a whole family gift—and a responsibility—a sporting breed puppy is a great gift for an outdoors household. I mostly had Brittanies when I lived in Florida’s then undeveloped farm country, and they were wonderful companions as well as great quail/dove/duck dogs. One of the ways a kid learns responsibility is feeding, training—and cleaning up after—a puppy. 

Price varies depending on breeding, but unless you want to breed them, the blood lines don’t necessarily make a big difference—I had one backyard Brit that was a world class pointer and retriever, and one high-dollar Brit that was most effective at sleeping on the back porch. Price can range anywhere from $200 to over $2,000 (ouch!)

A trip to Bass Pro Shops, if you’re lucky enough to have one nearby, is a great experience for outdoors-oriented kids, with the always fascinating giant aquarium loaded with lunker bass, catfish and other species. And, if one of your kids (or you) has a practical joking bent, the BPS Remote Control Alligator Head (about $30) is likely to be a winner—run this baby along the shores of your home lake and it will definitely provoke some excitement anywhere outside gator country!

A BB gun for hunting- and shooting- oriented families is always welcome and is a great chance to teach responsible kids the first basics of gun safety and respect. I got my first one when I was 7, but it’s a different world now—maybe 10 would be better age to start, and I emphasize a responsible kid, with a responsible parent willing to train in safe gun handling. The Daisy Red Ryder is the archetype, around since the 1940’s—it’s about $60 now. (Note that a bb gun is NOT a pellet gun or a firearm  but it can still put out a kid’s eye or injure a pet—some serious instruction is essential before handing one over to your youngster.)

Every responsible outdoors kid needs a small pocket knife like the Gerber Ultralight LST, which has a razor-sharp 1.96” blade right out of the box. I’ve carried one of these just about everywhere for decades (and lost a few when I forgot to take them out before going through airport security) and they are endlessly handy for everything from opening packages to clipping leaders—about $25. Country kids who need a more substantial cutting tool will like the Toadfish 7.4” EDCfolder, slick as butter to open and close, dead sharp Swedish steel with a carbon fiber handle, about $100. (These are obviously left at home when the kids head to school in these days when knives are seen as deadly weapons rather than useful tools by many.)

– Frank Sargeant, Editor, The Water World Wire