Fish Like a GIRL

A lot of people ask me if I ice fish. My answer usually is I will ice fish, but I honestly prefer “soft water” fishing over “hard water” fishing, as my Uncle Dave used to say. He was definitely the “hard water” specialist in the family. I love the taste of panfish out of that super cold water, I will admit. But, the majority of my fishing is still summertime tournament fishing.

So, what do I do in the wintertime when the lakes are frozen over. I think most tournament fishermen do the same things. We look at maps, we organize tackle, we try to decide if we want to bite the bullet on new, expensive things like electronics or updated shallow water anchors. Some of the younger guys are even spending the winter trying to reel in a new boat. 

At our age, I am not sure Chet and I will ever take that $100,000-plus plunge. But I suppose one never knows. Never say never, as they say, but the odds get lower and lower every year. The 2014 Skeeter will probably serve us well for the rest of our tournament years.

Over the years, many, many iterations of maps and mapping apps have been made available to anglers. I still have a ton of Fishing Hot Spots maps around for the lakes I fish the most. Recently, I found what could loosely be called a map of the Stevens Point Flowage that my late husband Rod must have had when he first came here in the early 1990s. It is funny to look back on what we used to think was going to be a “game changer” in the way of fishing technology. The old Green Box comes to mind, as one of those things. Shortly after Rod died, as I was going through all of the fishing stuff that followed him here from Las Vegas, I even found some paper chart plotters or graphs that were a big deal way back in the day.

Now we have sophisticated electronics to use while on the water, but sometimes paper maps are still great to look at during the offseason. There have also been a number of apps that have come along that have given us even more information long before we ever even launch the boat. As I write this column, it is snowing a bit, and yet I am sitting here checking out the Willow Flowage, for instance. We have fished tournaments there a few times, but with that much water available to fish, we are still in the process of learning, and have made some decent improvements and decisions over the last few tournaments.

Over the years, of course, I have added electronic fishing information to the Fishing Hot Spots and Sportsmen's Connection maps, although they are still fun to look at – especially because I can look back and see the notes Rod and I made on those maps years ago. It is nostalgic, for the most part. And there really is something about holding a map rather than looking at it on a computer. I liken it to holding an actual physical book rather than reading on my Kindle. Sometimes it’s the feel of the paper or the smell of the book. I am sure avid readers understand what I mean.

There have been a number of apps I have used over the years. Google Earth is still a great one. We can look back, over time, to see how things have changed on the lake. 

Up until the last few years, I even had a handheld GPS that was equipped with Fishing Hot Sports maps on an mini SD card that came with the device. That has since gone the way of the electric fondue pot. Eventually everything electronic sees the end of its days.

Fishidy is a fun platform, too. I have used it here and there and have several of my favorite lakes bookmarked on that platform so I can follow activity that is added to those lakes. I think what is fun about Fishidy is that a user can see what other people are catching on their favorite lakes. I can add my catches to the maps as well. Users can upload a photo and make a note about what they caught that fish on. It is a fun, community sort of mapping app. 

Navionics has a smartphone app as well. I have not used it much, but I believe there is a paid version and a free version.

 I do not know enough about it to talk about its high points, but I know several people, including my other half, Chet, that have the app and use it here and there. Lowrance also has a smartphone app and there are a ton of others. But one of the new ones I wanted to mention here is onX Fish. For those who use onX Hunt for hunting or onX Backcountry for hiking, biking, etc., the app will feel a lot the same. I think the familiarity of it drew me to the app to begin with when I first found out about it.

A couple of weeks ago one of the guys from onX called me and asked if I would be interested in a demo of the app. Of course, I jumped at the chance. I wanted them to show me all of the bells and whistles.

Now, before I give readers recommendations about this app, I want to say that I am in no way sponsored or compensated by onX. I just happened to meet these guys and, through our love of fishing, it organically grew into them taking the time to show me around the app. Honestly, if I find a product related to the outdoors that I like and that I think has real value, I am always going to share it. So, here we go:

For me, I think onX Fish takes all of the best parts of all of the other mapping things — Fishing Hot Spots, DNR maps, Google Earth type imagery, and even some aspects of Fishidy, and puts it all in one place. The app is free for now, and available for Wisconsin and Minnesota lakes, while it is in the development and input phase. 

When a user opens the map on a desktop, I noticed it always starts at Leech Lake in Minnesota. I would guess that was the pilot lake with which they started. But it is easy enough to pan over the Wisconsin border and find whatever lake I am looking for at the time.

Much like Google Earth, onX Fish allows the user to look back at the lake through time. Where ice anglers are concerned, it can also show ice on and off over time. A closer look at the current map can show where anglers are getting on and off the water, as far as where they are driving. Of course, the app makes no claim to those routes being safe at any time, but it can give an angler an idea of how to even access a new body of water. Snowmobile trails are also included, which is nice, not only to see where an angler can get on with a snowmobile when the trails are open, but it can also help to alleviate problems like those seen on social media recently where anglers had tip-ups set in the middle of what became the snowmobile trail on a lake in Vilas County. In any event, knowing where trails are is helpful for a variety of reasons. Users can also toggle on or off a “motorized trails” layer, that will allow them to see where known motorized access is at a lake they are looking to fish.

There’s another thing I like that is pretty ice fishing specific. With our new truck, I have Apple CarPlay. With onX Fish, I can use CarPlay to see the map on the dashboard of the truck. This can be helpful when driving out during the day and then attempting to get back to land at the same place once it is dark out. I can simply start a track when I get on the lake and then follow that track back in later. It kind of “dummy-proofs” the situation, and I am totally fine with that. Anglers can also get information for specific species of fish, private land and ownership information, and even pinpoint weather. 

Many weather apps, and even fishing apps, include weather, but onX Fish seems to take it to another level. An angler can pick a point on a map and get information for that exact point. Wind direction and speed, barometric pressure and precipitation chances can be found for that specific spot. To some people, that may sound strange, but I know I have fished plenty of tournaments where I fished in a downpour for an hour and came back to the launch ramp soaking wet while others came back perfectly dry and vice versa. To me, I think having that pinpoint weather feature is a great idea. 

Users of Fishing Hot Spots maps will recognize that data overlaid on the mapping here, too, with various numbers depicting tentatively good fishing locations for specific species. DNR fishing information, as well as the full regulations for that body of water, can be found simply by clicking the lake on a desktop, or tapping on a lake in the app.

Users can toggle on and off any species for which they would like to fish. Lake size can also be selected as a filter.

When it comes to access, anglers can look at all access points, just those that are carry-in or those that have trailer access. The type of launch ramp can be selected as well, for instance, paved, gravel or natural.

There are more features to onX Fish than I can do justice to in this column, but, with the app being free, at least for now, it might be worth it for readers to check it out. It just might flatten the learning curve on a new lake, or surprise an angler with something they did not know about one of their favorite lakes. 

Beckie Gaskill may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].