Updated 12/29/2023
Anyone who’s tried to pick the best fishing gift knows how difficult it can be to find the perfect present. What do you get an angler who seemingly has everything?
Great fishing gift giving considers budget, angler fishing preferences, and angler skill level. Whether the gift receiver is a true beginner or an advanced fisherman or fisherwoman, there are great gift options at all price points.
Check out our recommendations for the best fishing gifts under $50!
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
The 15 Best Fishing Gifts Under $50
We’ve tailored a list of the best fishing gift options below $50. Make sure to check out our guide on picking the right items towards the end of the article.
1. Huk Icon X Fishing Shirt
Our favorite fishing gift under $50 is a high-end fishing shirt. The Huk Icon X is a lightweight, breathable fishing shirt with built in sun protection that is a delight to fish in all day. We love fishing clothes in the $50 budget range because it’s a great piece of gear that anglers of all levels will appreciate.
We don’t guarantee fancy fishing clothes will help you catch fish but at least your loved one will be fishing in style! Check out our article on the best fishing gifts for the fisherman who has everything for more options of fishing gifts that we think any and all anglers would like!
2. KastKing Cutthroat 7 inch Fishing Pliers
The KastKing Cutthroat 7 inch fishing pliers are a great choice for the best fishing gift under $50. Almost every angler can use a pair of great pliers to help with removing hooks from fish plus these pliers come packed with other features like a lanyard and line cutter. New anglers may need their first pair and advanced anglers appreciate redundant equipment.
Have you ever been on a boat fighting over one pair of pliers? The answer? More sets of pliers!
Check out our article on the best fishing pliers for other great options!
3. Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag
While it may not be strictly fishing gear, the Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag is a top choice for the best fishing gift under $50. A high-quality dry bag is an excellent fishing gift because it gives anglers peace of mind that spare clothes, phones, or keys will stay dry. No more fear if the skipper gets a bit wild in the waves and accidentally launches the bag of spare clothes overboard!
4. Piscifun Speed X Fishing Line Spooler
While all anglers use fishing line, many don’t have a line spooling machine to help change out their fishing line. The Piscifun Speed X Fishing Line Spooler makes changing fishing line a breeze. While not strictly needed, a spooling machine like this makes changing line a much more pleasant experience and any angler would appreciate this gift.
5. Rapala Electric Fillet Knife
Electric fillet knives are a blessing to the fishing world. Most anglers love to eat fresh caught fish but dread the filleting process. The Rapala Electric Fillet Knife is a perfect gift for anglers looking to streamline filleting their catch of the day.
At the under $50 price point you can only afford a corded electric knife. If looking to splurge, check out our article on the best fillet knives for battery powered fillet knife options as our top pick!
6. Coddies Fish Flip Flops
The Coddies Fish Flip Flops are perfect for a laugh at a holiday white elephant gift exchange. While maybe not for everyday wear, these fish shaped flip flops definitely won’t be a flop on your next fishing trip.
7. SF Fishing Rod Socks
Rod socks are a great gift to help protect fishing rods during transport. They slide down the top of a rod and help avoid nicks, dents, scratches, and other types of damage. They also come in fun colors to personalize the gift!
Don’t let your favorite angler leave the house without protection!
8. Huk Fingerless Fishing Gloves
Fishing gloves are a great gift option for a bit of warmth, hand protection, and sun protection. We like the Huk Fingerless Fishing Gloves because anglers retain full dexterity with their fingertips to tie finnicky fishing knots.
9. Rapala 9″ Floating Fish Gripper
Fish grippers are a great way to safely hold fish that minimizes danger of spikey fins or sharp teeth hurting the angler. They also are safer for the fish because grippers minimize chance of dropping a slippery, flopping fish. The Rapala 9″ Floating Fish Gripper is a great intro level fish gripper. We like the lanyard and that it floats.
The main difference between a budget fish gripper and a high-end fish grip like a Boga Grip is higher end grips freely spin which is safer for flopping fish and may also have a built-in scale.
10. Rat-L-Trap Lipless Crankbaits
A great choice for the best fishing gift under $50 is a selection of quality baits like a few different color Rat-L-Traps. Rat-L-Traps are a solid quality brand of lipless crankbaits which are a casted lure effective for bass, walleye, and pike in freshwater and redfish and speckled trout inshore fishing.
Focus on natural colors that look like baitfish or crawfish for best results!
Check out our article on how to fish lipless crankbaits to understand how, what, where, and why to fish lipless crankbaits!
11. SNIP Fishing Line Cutters
All anglers have had that moment of “where the heck did I put my scissors?” The fish are biting and they’re wasting time looking for a cutting tool.
We like the SNIP Fishing Line Cutters as one of the best fishing gifts under $50 because almost every angler appreciates having backup line cutters.
We picked these cutters because the lanyard means they can be semi-permanently attached somewhere for easy access and they’re rated for cutting braided fishing line unlike many of the fingernail clipper style line cutters.
Have one at the front of the boat, one at the back of the boat, and one on the tackle box so you never have to lose any prime fishing time again.
12. Huk Next Level Quick-Drying Fishing Pants
Another great fishing gift is high quality fishing pants like the Huk Next Level Quick-Drying Fishing Pants. These are slightly over the $50 budget but definitely make for an incredible fishing gift! They’re lightweight, breathable, and great for sun and bug protection. These are my go-to fishing pants.
13. Lazy One Funny Fishing Boxers
Everyone needs a good pair of funny fishing undies! If your loved one isn’t always catching fish they can at least catch a laugh with these hilarious fishing boxers.
14. Plano 3600 Waterproof Dry Box
Waterproof dry boxes are a great addition to a boat, kayak, or even camping set. Every fishing trip I put my wallet, phone, and keys in my Plano 3600 Waterproof Dry Box for peace of mind that my important items are safe from the elements.
15. Hook-N-Line Fishing Map
Hook-N-Line makes a great series of fishing maps for popular fishing areas in California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. These maps are waterproof and have an excellent level of detail on primo fishing spots. They make a great gift to help anglers increase their odds at a successful catch.
Conclusion
Picking the best fishing gifts under $50 is an art around finding quality equipment in a budget price range. This price point is great for performance fishing clothes and robust fishing accessories.
That concludes our list of best fishing gifts under $50!
Check out our other fishing gift giving guides:
- Best Fishing Gifts Under $25
- Best Luxury Fishing Gifts
- Best Fishing Gifts for the Fisherman Who Has Everything
Read on for help tailoring gift ideas to the fisherman or fisherwoman in your life.
How to Choose The Best Fishing Gifts Under $50
When trying to pick the best fishing gift under $50, it is important to consider the skill level of the angler, how much gear he or she owns, and what type of fishing they are into. We strongly recommend tailoring fishing gifts to the personality, skill level, and gear situation of the gift receiver. A good gift for one person may be a bad gift for another based on circumstances.
What Makes a Good Fishing Gift?
Good gift giving is an art. Anyone can purchase the newest gadget on the market, but truly good gifts are meaningful to the person receiving the gift.
We recommend fishing gifts that accomplish one or more of the below categories:
- Items that enable new or exciting experiences
- Items that are the gift of time by making a process easier or more pleasant
- Consumable item of solid quality that will get used
- Useful item of higher quality than someone would buy for themselves
- Upgrade for an item they already have
Examples below:
- Angler made passing comment of wanting to try fly fishing but doesn’t have any fly fishing equipment. Get them a starter fly rod/reel and associated supplies
- Angler finds filleting fish tedious. Look into a high-end fillet knife or even better, an electric fillet knife to save them a bunch of time.
- Upgrade their $10 fish grip to a high-end $150 Boga Grip fish grip that’s a massive upgrade in quality and also has a built-in scale.
Angler Skill Level
Angler skill level is a great place to start when assessing fishing gifts. Is the gift receiver a beginner, intermediate, or advanced angler? Beginners can be easier to shop for because they need all kinds of equipment whereas an advanced angler may seemingly have every piece of fishing gear ever created.
Considerations for Beginner Angler Gifts
Beginner anglers are generally the easiest to shop for because they don’t have strong gear preferences and likely are missing important kit pieces. Additionally, beginner anglers are generally more comfortable with introductory quality equipment. For beginners, focus on the basics and think about the below options:
- Budget to intermediate quality rods and reels
- Assorted Tackle
- Lures
- Hooks
- Jigs
- General Fishing Accessories
- Pliers
- Fillet knife
- Rod socks
- Net
- Fishing Clothes
- Tackle box or bag
Avoid niche gimmicks and focus on useful items for beginners.
Don’t be afraid to purchase high quality items for beginner anglers. For example, a set of high-end fishing pliers would last them a long time and they’d think about you every time the remove the hook from a fish!
Considerations for Intermediate Angler Gifts
Intermediate anglers are just catching their stride with their fishing gear. They may have a decent inventory but are still determining preferred fishing gear and techniques. Shopping for intermediate anglers is generally a balance of purchasing useful kit pieces and high quality items they may not buy for themselves.
For gifts for intermediate angler, focus on the below categories:
- Intermediate to high-end rods and reels
- High quality accessory upgrades like fillet knives, pliers, and fish scales
- High quality fishing clothes
- Consumable fishing items like high-end lures
- Fishing experiences like a chartered fishing trip or fishing vacation
Intermediate anglers likely have a reasonably well-stocked tackle box and don’t need the basics. They probably only have a few rods and reels so a new high-quality rod and reel setup in a new length, power, and action could be a great gift.
Considerations for Advanced Angler Gifts
Advanced anglers are the toughest to shop for. They generally own high quality equipment that they’ve hand-picked after years of fishing. But not all is lost! There are still plenty of great options for gifts for advanced anglers.
For gifts for advanced angler, focus on the below categories:
- High quality accessory upgrades like fillet knives, pliers, and fish scales
- High quality fishing clothes
- Consumable fishing items like high-end lures
- Fishing experiences like a chartered fishing trip or fishing vacation
Avoid low quality gear for advanced anglers, especially for primary gear like rods and reels. Advanced anglers probably have a decent equipment inventory that they’ve tailored over years of fishing. Rods and reels can still be great gifts for advanced anglers just make sure they are high enough quality that they’re actually desirable to the gift receiver.
Angler Gear Quality Preferences
Angler personality for gear quality preferences is an important consideration for gift giving. Some anglers only buy the best equipment money can buy. Others are more than happy using budget gear until it breaks then they purchase a replacement.
Budget Angler Considerations
Budget anglers are generally easier to shop for. They will appreciate intermediate quality gear which makes life much easier for the gift giver! Solid quality rods, reels, and fishing accessories are great options for budget anglers. Don’t be afraid to purchase high-end options as well!
Best Money Can Buy Angler Considerations
Many hobbyists whether they fish, hunt, woodwork, paint, or whatever they spend their time on prefer to only buy the best gear money can buy. If you are buying a gift for someone like this, take this quality preference into account!
For example, instead of buying this person a budget $50 rod they won’t use, get them a high-end fishing shirt for $50 that provides sun protection and will have them fishing in style. Focus on quality for the best-money-can-buy anglers.
Angler Preferred Fishing Styles
Fishing may sound simple enough but there are a multitude of fishing styles and techniques for numerous target fish species. Every angler has preferences to fishing techniques and the specific gear required to catch their preferred type of fish.
Common fishing styles to consider when tailoring a gift:
- What is their target fish species?
- Do they fish saltwater or freshwater?
- Boat, wading, or shore fishing?
- Lake, river, pond, inshore, or ocean fishing?
- Catch and release or trying to fill the freezer?
- Soaking live bait or actively casting?
Understanding an angler’s preferred fishing style can greatly help pick a solid fishing gift.
For example, a wade fisherman may really appreciate a waterproof dry bag whereas a beach angler doesn’t need a dry bag as much.
Gift Budget
Gift budget is important when picking the best fishing gifts. We generally recommend buying high-quality gear in the budget range available. For example, a $50 budget will NOT afford a high-end fishing rod but is plenty for great quality fishing pliers or a UPF fishing shirt.
Great quality gear is almost always a safe bet when purchasing fishing gifts. The only time we recommend budget fishing gear gifts is for true beginners where you enable them to start fishing in a specific way.
Why trust us for picking best fishing gifts under $50?
Our whole extended family fishes! We’ve been picking fishing gifts for all price points, skill levels, angler personalities for birthday gifts, father’s day presents, Christmas presents, white elephant gifts, and stocking stuffers for over twenty years. We’ve seen what went over well, and what did not. Not everything on this list works for every angler, but we guarantee there’s at least one item on here that will be a hit!
Written By: Andrew Juran
Andrew is a seasoned angler with over 25 years of experience fishing across the United States. He has caught hundreds of fish using various techniques and mentored many in the art of fishing. An advocate for sustainable fishing, Andrew is an active member of the Coastal Conservation Association, an organization committed to marine conservation.
For frequent fishing tips, behind-the-scenes looks, and real-time catches, connect with Andrew on Instagram
