Summer Fishing With the Hunt App and Team onX

onX team members share their favorite ways to use the Hunt App for fishing.

It’s high summer here in Montana, and typical morning conversation at the onX office revolves around evening mountain bike rides, lunchtime trail runs and the weekly fishing plans. Area rivers are finally dropping to summer flows and the onX parking lot often houses a raft or two, ready to roll out for post-workday floats and take advantage of the daylight that stretches until 10 PM.

And while much of the team is already scouting on Web Map and planning fall hunts, we’re also striving to take a moment and enjoy the summertime—it goes by far too quickly! It’s not uncommon to see a group of onX crew getting together after the workday finishes and heading off to Rock Creek, a short 30-minute jaunt from the Missoula office. It’s an easy escape after a day in the office, with the added bonus of a bit of product testing on the side.

Two men fly fishing from a driftboat in the summertime.

Read through our “Top 10 Ways to Use the onX Hunt App for Summer Fishing” post for a primer on how onX Hunt can be used for fishing. Learn how to drop Waypoints at put-ins and take-outs, leave a trail with our Tracker feature or download Offline Maps before you drop out of cell service.

Tips from Team onX

We asked a few of our onX team members how they like to use the Hunt App for their summer adventures on the water:

Chris Fedyschyn, onX Customer Success Technician, notes, “I frequently use the Tracker for the first few miles of a float to help gauge river speed / my speed and then adjust things accordingly. I also use the “Go-To” feature to get an approximate distance to the takeout.”

GIS (geographic information system) Analyst Jordan Laughlin starts exploring new fishing areas with Web Map, ensuring that the Trails and Recreation Sites Layers are turned on. He notes, “I always have these on, as they typically help me find access to where I’m fishing or the closest campground to where I plan to stay after fishing. I typically use our Hybrid Basemap to find areas that I would want to access based off both topography and aerial imagery.”

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Jordan makes use of Waypoints to make notes of areas with good, consistent bug hatches or particularly “fishy” locations. He also makes sure he has downloaded an Offline Map to his phone before heading to the areas he’s identified while scouting—ensuring he has full access to his map markups and notes even when outside of cell service.

Customer Success Technician Zach Condon uses a few different map tools to find success on the river. He shares, “I use the Line Distance Tool on my Web Map to know how far different sections of river are that I have not floated before. I also use Web Map to scout what look to be “fishy” back channels and mark them with Waypoints.”

Two men fishing a river in the summertime with fly rods.

Keep ‘Em Wet This Summer

Late summer can bring warmer water temperatures, so consider making the hike into high streams and lakes for fish who are more willing to eat. As water temperature rises, fish often move to water with increased oxygen. So look for them along seams near active riffles and in water that may seem a bit quicker than you’re used to fishing. Rise early, take a siesta midday and stay out late.

And do the fish a favor—keep them in water and handle them as little as possible. Warmer water temperatures in late summer stress the fish. Strive to make the catch-and-release process faster and easier. Sometimes, in the dog days of summer, this can even mean choosing not to fish certain bodies of water. If the water temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, let the fish rest and then come back once cooler fall days come around.

Summertime Flies

We’re big fans of summer terrestrial season, when the big bugs are on the water and fish are looking up. And though summer has been slow to arrive, we’re finally trading out the streamers and nymphs for summertime favorites. In our summertime trout boxes you’ll find big foamy hoppers (such as the infamous Chubby Chernobyl), and classics such as Stimulators, Adams and Elk Hair Caddis. There might even be a few Purple Para Wulffs and special home-brewed flies. Dry fly season is short here in Montana, so we do our utmost to enjoy it.

We all find different ways to leverage the onX Hunt App for our summertime adventures, and certain features work particularly well for fishing. What’s your favorite way to use onX for non-hunting pursuits?

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Jess McGlothlin

Before taking the role of onX Communications Writer, Jess McGlothlin worked as a freelance photographer and writer in the outdoor and fly-fishing industries. While on assignment in the past few years she’s learned how to throw spears at coconuts in French Polynesia, dodge saltwater crocodiles in Cuba, stand-up paddleboard down Peruvian Amazon tributaries and eat all manner of unidentifiable food.