With holiday shopping deals filling up the email inbox, this seems a good time to review some of the tackle and tools that have proven themselves useful over the past year or two.

13 Fishing Oath and Myth spinning rods — Soon after Rapala acquired the 13 Fishing Brand, it embarked on developing some new entries into the product line. This includes the Myth and Oath rods.

Unveiled at last year’s ICAST meeting, and made available to the public early in 2025, I’ve tried out spinning versions of both rods over the past several months. Having put these rods through the trials I’m overly impressed with their quality and value.

Retailing for $200, the Myth model I’m using is a six foot, nine inch medium power, fast action rod. The light weight rod has proven to be outstanding in multiple applications, including fishing jigs, worms, and smaller to medium-sized jerkbaits.

At half the price, the Oath is 7-foot, one inch, and medium-light in power and fast in action. While there is a large overlap with the Myth rod, being longer and somewhat softer in action it excels when presenting soft stickbaits like Senkos and soft jerkbaits like Flukes.

Both Myth and Oath rods are available in other lengths, actions, and power. They also come in casting versions.

Pitbull Line Cutters — I’ve used a lot of line cutters over the years. Cheap nail clippers work fine for nylon and fluorocarbon lines, but braid requires special cutters. Among the many versions of cutters I’ve used, the Pitbull cutter has proven to be the best. It cuts braid quickly and cleanly and so far (I’ve used one cutter for well over a year) has remained sharp, performing like new.

Retailing for around $15 this cutter isn’t cheap. But considering the durability factor, it’s money well spent. The frayed end of braid cut with dull scissors makes knot tying a chore. Also, a clean cut at the knot joining braided line and nylon/fluro leader makes for a smooth transition that flows through rod guides well.

Kastking Speed Demon Fishing Pliers — Like cutters/scissors, I’ve used a pile of fishing pliers through the decades. My favorites so far are ones from Kastking.

These pliers are lightweight, reasonably priced, and continue to function well even after exposure to the weather. The profile is just right for reaching down in the mouth of a fish while unhooking.

Kanroot Double Pocket Holster — Tools like pliers and cutters have a way of disappearing at inconvenient times. I fixed this a couple years ago with the Kanroot Holster, liking it so much I’ve put one in both of my boats.

This holster is made of leather that holds up to the elements. Having two pockets one can store your pliers, the other your cutters. This way the tools are always there when you need them.

Loctite Super Glue Gel Control — Super glue serves many functions in a boat, not the least of which is securing soft plastic baits to the head of a jig. The best I’ve found is Loctitie’s gel super glue. Being thicker than a liquid version, a small drop stays in place while you jam the bait against the jighead to make the bond. It dries enough within a few seconds to allow you to put the bait into action. Perhaps most importantly, the design of the bottle/applicator is such that it rarely glues itself shut, rendering the balance of the contents unusable.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.