2026 Father’s Day Gift Guides and Other Top Stories from Fishing on SI

These 3 stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week.

Fly Fisherman’s 2026 Father’s Day Gift Guide: Gear He’ll Actually Use; Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico; Shopping for a Fishing Dad? Here's What We Actually Want. | Ken Baldwin | Jasper Taback | Julie Mazurek

In case they slipped by you, following are the most read fishing stories of the week. Fly Fisherman’s 2026 Father’s Day Gift Guide: Gear He’ll Actually Use; Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico; Shopping for a Fishing Dad? Here's What We Actually Want.

1.) Fly Fisherman’s 2026 Father’s Day Gift Guide: Gear He’ll Actually Use

It was in the subject of "fishing" where my father and I could find common ground. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Don't do the predictable Father's Day gifts this year. Give the fly-fishing or outdoor-loving dad something he’ll actually use and appreciate.

I test a lot of gear throughout the year. Some of it is good, but forgettable. Some of it I don’t like and will never use again. And some of it earns a permanent place in my system because it’s simply better than what I already had.

The items in this guide are products I’ve personally used and continue to use in the field. Through time and testing, they have proven their value on the water and in the outdoors…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

2.) Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico

Trout fishing in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains. | photo by Jasper Taback

The 70-mile drive from Santa Fe Regional Airport to Taos cuts through high-desert valleys – open expanses of sagebrush and junipers framed by 13,000 foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east.

I've been wanting to get to Taos for a long time, but this trip was different from what I expected. I always imagined the drive with snow on the mountaintops – sometime in January or February, on my way up to high elevation to ski.

But it's June, and I was headed there for trout…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

3.) Shopping for a Fishing Dad? Here's What We Actually Want.

Field-tested picks from a guy who's spent 30 years in the fishing and outdoor industry.

There are lots of Father's Day gift guides for fishing dads, but most are written by people who don't fish. Real fishing guys can tell. Every item below is something I've personally used, tested, and loved. And, they’re not all specifically fishing tackle, but I promise you these are all going to be deeply appreciated by dads who fish, camp and spend time in the outdoors. The price and where to buy is right there. Easy. 


The good thing about a gift like this is even if dad already has some of these new Berkley Lab Series baits, he will always appreciate more of them…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.