If you're looking for the perfect stocking stuffer for the angler in your life, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has a suggestion. In California all anglers 16 years of age and older will need a new annual sport fishing license to take or pursue any fish, shellfish, reptile or amphibian (including catch-and-release fishing) in 2012. And during the holiday season, DFG's real-time Automated License Data System (ALDS) makes it easier than ever to give a gift that will bring joy year-round.

The 2012 sport fishing licenses and gift vouchers can be purchased online at Department of Fish & Game OnLine Sales. Annual licenses are also available for purchase.

To buy a license for yourself or someone else, you must be able to provide all required information, including date of birth, address, phone number and physical description. If you want to buy a license for someone else but don't have all of the required information, you can also purchase a gift license voucher that the recipient can exchange for an annual 2012 sport fishing license.

A California sport fishing license offers a full year of more fishing opportunities than any other state in the country. California has 1,100 miles of ocean coastline, 4,172 lakes and reservoirs, 29,664 miles of streams and rivers, and 1,800 miles of bay and Delta waters. A sport fishing license is an angler's passport to these amazing opportunities.

In addition to native fresh and saltwater fish, DFG trout hatcheries will have planted roughly 7 million rainbow trout in 2011 and salmon hatcheries annually release more than 20 million young salmon. Those are millions of reasons to give the angler on your holiday gift list a 2012 California Sport Fishing License.

Along with a sport fishing license, the DFG California Fishing Passport Program challenges anglers to fish their way around the state in search of 150 different fish and shellfish species. And like a traveler's passport book, for each successful catch, participants will receive special stamps in their books to mark their accomplishments.

For more information about the Passport Program, please visit Department of Fish & Game Passport.

To learn more about ALDS, please visit Department of Fish & Game Licensing.