Sometimes even the thought of a driving trip to scout streams in this weather is discouraging. Wind chills dip below zero, ice is building up in the wheel wells of your truck, and the snow is piling up.
Even if you manage to get out to a stream or lake your looking forward to fishing, ice might obstruct your view, and hamper your ability to determine what the paddle will eventually be like.
But the internet is becoming a very, very good place to look for good fishing streams and lakes that might not be well known in your area. You just have to know where to look.
Scouting Kayak Trips in Internet Forums
Last week, Paul wrote up an excellent piece on kayak fishing resources on the internet. And there are more out there. Many small streams and lakes have been discussed in those millions of pages of forum posts, blog posts, and other articles. Searching Google is a good way to find them, but sometimes a fishing location is simply too obscure, or, if it’s a really great place, it might often go “nameless” on the internet. Some guys just like to keep their honey holes a secret.
So how do you use the internet to find those places?
Using Internet Mapping Technology to Scout Kayak Fishing Trips
We’re well into the 21st century now, and the amount of information you have at your finger tops with a high speed internet connection is staggering. Last Sunday, Paul and I drove along Lake Ontario looking for put ins, and potentially to target a steelhead or 2 from shore. While it was warm that day, it still wasn’t exactly “position A” for fishing. And we were driving blind. I had a few spots in mind, but no real game plan aside from that.
Then we drove over a couple of streams we didn’t recognize. And we couldn’t find any signage. So, once we got home, I started searching the internet looking for information on the creeks we had “discovered”. And doing it without knowing their names became a challenge. That, is, until I discovered the ACME Mapper.
Click on the map to get a better look. Or view it here: Mapper
So what’s at play here? A few things. It’s based on Google Maps technology, but includes a Topo version (see the buttons on the top right), and an AMAZING feature that pulls photos from a couple of online photo storing centers (Flickr, for example) based on the coding inside a digital image. Most of them track a GPS location, believe it or not, when the photo is snapped. On the map, if you don’t see images, click Options on the bottom right and turn on the photo options.
Sure, you’ll still find streams on the map that no one has uploaded pictures of. Perhaps you can be the first, and make your mark on the kayak fishing world? All it takes is a digital camera, and a free Flickr account.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 21°F;
- Humidity: 70%;
- Heat Index: 21°F;
- Wind Chill: 12°F;
- Pressure: 30.25 in.;
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