You come home and lean your fishing pole in the corner of the entryway. As you’re gutting the fish in the sink, the door opens, and you hear a loud crash and some yelling. Somebody tripped over your fishing pole. You wince, hoping it wasn’t damaged, and that your loved one wasn’t hurt…of course. A few hours after getting yelled at for leaving your fishing pole where it was, you sit restringing your pole and your dog runs through your fishing line to jump on the couch. It’s obvious, you need your own place to do this fishing stuff and these Fishing Man Cave Ideas will help you create a distraction-free space.
1) I’d Rather Be Fishing!
If you are sitting in your fishing man cave, let’s face facts – you would rather be fishing. Instead of fishing, you are probably playing a fishing game and having a beer or drink. This wall-mounted bottle opener says “I’d Rather be F___ing.” Regardless of how you fill in the blank, it is likely an accurate statement. Remind yourself of your favorite sport every time you go to open a drink.
The bucket at the bottom of the bottle opener makes it convenient, too. It catches the bottle caps so you do not have to make repeated trips to the garbage can.
2) DIY Epoxy River Table
As you design your man cave, you will want plenty of decorations that remind you of your favorite sport. Some of those decorations can be built into the furniture with epoxy resin art. Resin art is a popular way of turning almost anything into a table or decoration. This video shows you how to make a river table with resin, but you can shape it like a lake or other formation. You can also add things like river pebbles, figures, and other decorations to the river bottom before pouring the epoxy.
3) Fish Hooks
On a good day, you will come home and clean your catch before heading to the man cave. If you have a sink and refrigerator in the man cave, all the better. When you are ready to stow your gear, you will want a place to put not only your poles and lures, but your hats, vests, and other articles that you only use for fishing. Use these fishing-themed wall-mounted coat hooks for hanging your gear and keeping it out of the way. The wall plate has a fish decoration on it, though luckily the hooks themselves are not pointed like fish hooks.
4) Fish Puzzle Wall Art
Some of your wall art will be stuffed fish or posters. Try something more unique with this hand carved wooden fish plaque. The decoration is 3-dimensional, and the pieces of wood fit together like puzzle pieces to form a fish. You can hang this on the wall for a classier look than many caricature fish posters and drawings. This is also great if you do not mount your catches, but still want something fishy on the wall.
5) Rope Pendant Light
If you are a river fisherman, you probably do not use a lot of rope; however, if you go fishing on a boat, you will have plenty of rope from nets, sails, or other materials. Rope evokes images of the sea and watersports, even if people often use different types of lines now. This do-it-yourself project is a pendant light in which solid rope wraps around the light like a cage. The great thing about this project is that it requires no shop tools. You can do it with common household items.
6) Patent Art
Patent art is always a great decoration for a man cave, particularly a bar game area. In this case, you could put it in an area designated for fishing gear maintenance. This patent art from Amazon shows some original fishing lures. It is great if you make your own lures, or if you like fishing history. If you allow other people in your man cave, this is a conversation piece as few people know about fishing inventions in history. People are more likely to know what types of lures are good for each fish than historical facts about the lure.
7) Catch All
Nearly every room in a house has a drawer, bowl, bin, or other location for emptying pockets and tossing random objects. Your man cave will be no exception. If you come in after a fishing trip, you will need somewhere to throw random keys, broken lures, and other things that need to be dealt with later. This box has fishing decorations, and it is enclosed. This means it is also good storage for sharp things like fishing hooks that could injure you if they are left lying on a table.
8) DIY Boat Shelf
Your man cave needs storage for fishing gear, but also for any games or books you like. This video shows you how to make a custom set of shelves for your needs. Like anything you make yourself, you have the freedom to modify it as needed. These shelves are shaped like a boat, which is great if you like boat fishing or nautical themes. They should go in a roomier man cave or one that does not need a lot of storage, since you cannot store anything on top of them.
9) Fishing Coasters
Most man caves will have some kind of bar. If you bring your fishing gear here right after a trip, you likely have waterproof floors, but your tables may not be waterproof. Protect your furniture with these coasters to keep your bar and other tables looking nice. Each of these four coasters looks like a cross-section of wood with an image of a fisherman burned into it. The holder for them is shaped like a fish, making them appropriate for a fishing man cave.
10) DIY Fish Net
Nets are a big part of fishing. Even if you do not fish with a net, you may use a mesh bag to hold your catch in the water and keep it fresh. Either way, it evokes images of water, fishing, and boating. This netting makes a good decoration for a man cave, and it can also be used to create a neat paint pattern by laying it in wet paint or by spray painting over it.
11) DIY Pole Storage
Your fishing man cave is a place to relax, maintain equipment, and play games, but it should also be a place to store your fishing poles to keep them out of the way to prevent damage from unwary family members and pets. This video shows you how to set up a simple fishing pole rack on the wall. A wall rack takes up no floor space. This rack is designed so you are not likely to knock anything down by bumping into it, but you can take the poles off the rack easily.
12) Boat Shelf
Boats are a common theme for fishermen. If you like the water and boats but do not have time for your own project, this boat-shaped shelf from Amazon will save you time and trouble. It is good for storing fishing manuals, video games, and any other books you like. It can also hold smaller fishing gear like containers of lures. The shelf comes with some decorations that you would have to add yourself in a do-it-yourself project, and you can always repaint it or add your own decorations once you buy it.
13) Fisherman Rug
Your man cave will have a workspace for maintaining fishing equipment and an empty space for stringing rods, but it should also have softer spaces to relax. A rug is a good way to separate these spaces, so you are either in relaxing mode or focused on work. This rug from Amazon shows a vague and soft river scene that will look familiar to any river fisherman. The softness of the foggy scene will add to the softness of the area you place it in while fitting the fishing theme.
14) DIY Weathered Wood
If you have spent time along the water, you know that wood left to the elements weathers quickly. Vacation homes and fishing shacks on the shore turn gray in a few years, and often stay that way due to the expense of maintaining the paint. To capture this look, use weathered wood inside your man cave. This video shows you how to make a weathered wood wall. You can use it as an accent wall, and use the same wood for trim in the rest of the cave to tie it together. Use gray paint with this to enhance the look.
15) Drink Like a Fish
You have likely heard the saying “drink like a fish.” It is often attributed to sailers, but if you have sat back and drunk one beer after another while out fishing, you know it can apply to fishermen, too. This bottle opener has the words “Drink Like a Fish” on it, and a convenient mason jar at the bottom to catch bottle caps. This joke wall-mounted bottle opener is great for when you are around the man cave drinking like a fish.
16) Waterproof Flooring
Your man cave may be an interior one, but you will likely be coming in after a fishing trip. If you bring your fishing gear right to the man cave, you need a floor that will not be damaged by wet fishing gear. This vinyl flooring is advertised as waterproof. It also has a weathered gray look that will go with any beach- or shore-themed man cave. It is adhesive and easy to install, but you can also hire a contractor.
17) Gone Fishing Sign
When somebody is away from the office, or a business closes for the employee’s lunch break, it is common to leave behind a sign that says “gone fishing.” As a true fisherman, you can use a “gone fishing” sign as it was meant to be used. Hang this as a decoration, or hang it on the outside of your man cave door to let everyone know you are gone. You can also use this when you are at work or at the store, as a joke to tell visitors that you are not at home.
18) DIY Rope Basket
Rope is a common fishing theme, even for people who do not use any when they go fishing. This project takes a simple cardboard box and makes it look like a rope basket. Besides fitting the fishing theme, the basket is easy to make. It turns a flimsy cardboard box into a container that is stronger than either a rope basket or a cardboard box alone. It makes a great catch-all container for large materials, and has handles so you can move it around easily.
19) Fishing Storage Rack
Your fishing gear will all need to be stored. While you can hang poles on a rack, you will need to store your hooks, weights, and other components, also. While you could put your tackle box on a shelf and call the issue solved, you are better off having a larger space to store extra spare string in bulk, and organize your hooks and weights so you do not need to bring a huge tackle box for a hike every time you go fishing. Instead, use this all-in-one organizer and bring a smaller tackle box with you.
20) Overall Weathered Look
The weathered look for walls fits a beach or shore theme, but it will not fit with the rest of your man cave if you only use it on the walls. After all, most fishing gear will not be that same gray color. Add the weathered look anywhere you want it with this self-adhesive liner. You can stick this to almost any flat surface, such as the back of some furniture, a bartop, coasters, and more. The versatility of this liner makes it the ideal item for a cohesive theme.
21) Fishing Pole Photo Hanger
Repurposing old equipment is a good way to decorate a man cave. If you do an activity often enough, you will wear out your equipment and need something new to do with it. If you have poles that have worn out, you can turn them into wall decorations. Use rope or string to hang picture frames from a horizontally mounted fishing pole, for example. If you do not have an old pole to part with or lack time, you can buy a similar decoration here.
How are you going to organize your fishing man cave? Do you have any ideas that we missed? Please let us know in the comments below!