I started using the TroutRoutes app and website in February. At that point in the winter, a lot of the use really was more exploratory. I liked what I saw and anticipated the potential benefits for the upcoming season.
Six months in, and I wanted to share a few practical observations.
Once more, TroutRoutes is not social media. No one sees where you’re fishing. It is also a lot more than a glorified Google Maps overlay. Numerous data sets are integrated throughout the whole country and plugged in for the user to access without needing to navigate separate websites. These features represent one of the main reasons why the software was created: to help anglers confidently find water to fish, and do so legally and conscientious of private landowners.
After half of a year with the app, Here are five things I’ve come to appreciate about TroutRoutes:
Most of the data I need, all in one place.
Of course, you will need to rely on state conservation websites and fly shops’ latest information to have a full picture of what you need to know. But having stream gauges, access points, and miscellaneous boundaries in one concise tool is great. Often times the data for these items are readily available online, but the performance of the individual webpages is less than ideal when cell service is spotty.
They know things I don’t know.
I pore over regulation listings, probing states’ digests for potential new fishing spots. On TroutRoutes, I’ve found water I didn’t know about. I’ve also found that creeks I’ve read about are in places I didn’t expect. To scroll across a map and have a highlighted waterway pop out close to home or another river I frequent is exciting. And, because I didn’t know about it already, somewhat humbling.
Not all bridges are created equal.
Recently, TroutRoutes began integrating POV images of bridges. For wading anglers or those looking to launch a kayak, this takes the base info of “bridge crossing” and makes it much more clear if it will be a valid put-in/take-out spot or not. Having a realistic, not necessarily magazine-glamorous, picture of the waterway in question is also nice as you mentally prepare to fish a new stretch of river.
Wait… that’s new.
The team behind the software seems dedicated to not only keeping things up to date but adding new features. A few times I’ve come across updated images, more detailed links, and adjusted stream classifications. Even if the new information isn’t pertinent per se, it demonstrates dedication to the app and the user.
It is a fun new way to kill time.
I can scroll Twitter (X… whatever) or browse around news websites as I’m passing time. Now, I can randomly drop in on a National Park and imagine what the fishing might be like. Or, I can slide over to a map of one of the places in Pennsylvania or South Carolina where I used to live and get nostalgic with little blue lines. TroutRoutes isn’t just pragmatic… it is fun.
Check out my initial article on TroutRoutes here, and then head over to their site to check out the platform.