Fishing With Flair

By Jeremy Caplan

It may be the oldest sport, but it doesn't lack for innovation. As marketers aim to lure more women and children to the waters, stay-dry duds, flashy lures and novice-friendly rods are all catching on. Here's some of the newest gear making waves this summer.

TRACKING TROUT It seems like cheating, but Lowrance's M68C, $419, employs sonar mapping to point out your piscine prey. Use its GPS to find a well-known spot, or built-in maps to go hunting for new ones

KIDS CAN FISH TOO Concerned that angling might seem drab to the Xbox generation, manufacturers are designing snazzy stuff that is child friendly. The $30 JetCast 3.0, a plastic intro pole, lets even the smallest novices push a button to eject a line 30 ft. out over the water, then reel in a wriggling prize. A safety feature ensures that it doesn't launch inadvertently. This toylike tool suits tykes, not teens

LOOK SHARP AT SEA DriDuds, a new line of waterproof outfits, above, $45, repels wind and water and weighs less than a pound. Other angling garb: Frogg Toggs' $19 Chilly Pad and $16 Hydroweave Cap, a towel and hat for beating boat heat. Wet them and they stay cool for hours

HOT PINK GEAR: A FISHING FIRST? FisherGirl, a year-old Canadian company, won a new-product award at the American Sportfishing Association trade show last month for its $49 Mermaid. It's designed for women by women, with a small handle and a light rod. If pink isn't your thing, it also comes in blue, green, purple and striped models

GIVE THEM A REASON TO BITE The 2006 X-Rap lures are the latest from Rapala, a Vaaksy, Finland--based firm. The translucent bodies' holographic foil will dazzle your prey, and the scalelike detail is beneath a transparent skin, so it won't wear away. The $14 model, top, works best for bigger game, such as grouper

TASTEFUL TACKLE Remember those ugly gray boxes stuffed with slimy bait? FisherGirl is giving them a feminine face-lift and donating part of the $30 price to breast-cancer research

FISHY FOOTWEAR These $80 Figawi Surge wet-dry shoes are made by Sperry Top-Sider, which also outfits Navy SEALs for covert operations

SIMULATED SALMON Landlocked? Get your fishing fix with this $20 video-game imitation. The 500,000 acres of trophy waters teem with prize fish--all on your screen