Have an angler on your holiday shopping list? The gift of a fishing trip with Angling Unlimited is certain to bring joy and excitement to whoever receives it this season. Here are our nine reasons to give the gift of fishing for the holidays.

Family trips are a great way to bring everyone together.

1. Family: Your clan gets together at Thanksgiving and the Holidays, then there’s that long stretch we call the rest of the year. Why not punctuate that long stretch and converge on Sitka? Do some family bonding over three or four days of great fishing, cooking fresh caught fish on your deck and enjoying the saltwater wilderness. Great family dates include Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day – and all the dates in between.

2. Anniversaries: No, it’s not Paris in springtime, we get that. But Sitka in spring or summer provides a unique backdrop for celebrating an anniversary. The big surprise may come with the non-fisher catches the most, the biggest, and demands a rebooking for the next year. We’ve seen this happen many times.

3. Father’s Day – Call this one two gifts in one and buy dad a fishing trip for Father’s Day 2014. You’ll make him happy in December, he’ll be daydreaming about Alaska until June, and he’ll be in fishing heaven for Father’s Day.

4. Learn to Cook – For anyone who aspires to put gourmet fish dishes on the table, AU’s Hook It & Cook It event during May 15-20 is the ticket. The happy recipient of this gift will enjoy four days of fishing and four nights of instructive cooking with Chef Ludger Szmania. Add a box or two of perfectly processed fish to bring home and you’ve got a gift wrapped package.

5. Reunions – Family, friends, classmates, whatever the connection, there is no better way to get together than an AU fishing trip. Face time, fun, fish, friendly competition, and stories to tell for years to come.

6. Grandkids – Each summer we enjoy spending time with grandparents who introduce their grandkids to fishing. It’s a great way for the two generations to spend time together. While on the water the kids leave the virtual world behind and live in the reel world. AU’s skippers are great teachers and provide instruction to kids on everything from fishing skills, to rigging baits, netting a fish, tying knots, etc.

7. Business relationships – Whether you want to make a customer happy, reward outstanding employees, or just go on a retreat with your team, an AU fishing trip is the Christmas gift that keeps on giving.

8. Bucket List – Is there someone special in your life that has fishing in Alaska on his or her bucket list? If yes, give us a call and get them set up for 2014. There’s no time like the present. We know a lot of people who came to Sitka in order to check Alaska fishing off their bucket list. They’re still on this side of the bucket and they keep on coming back.

9. Fun – Great boats, great fishing, four days of building and enjoying relationships, getting cared for by a team of captains, hostesses, and deckhands who never forget how much fishing in Alaska means to you. Is there a better gift? We don’t think so.