flyfishing mapping project website

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
1

I’m the mapping officer for our local VFD, and anything combining mapping and fishing REALLY catches my interest. So I sent my $10 sign-up donation to Carl W. at:
[url=http://flyfishers-atlas.com/:195a6]http://flyfishers-atlas.com/[/url:195a6]
I heard about it at The Fly Fishing Show a couple months ago in Denver.

Flyfishers Atlas is a Google Earth and NASA World Wind add-on. Mail in your $10 donation, and they mail you the data. The website shows sample views and info. If you like maps and have a fairly fast internet connection, Google Earth is incredible, and it’s a free download for Mac and Windows–same with the NASA software. It gives you 3-D, color satellite pictures of the entire world. You can adjust your viewing angle, and turn on different layers, and complile and save your own map info. When you click a new location, beware of getting airsick – it’s like taking a ride on a rocketship as it zooms in on the river or lake you clicked. Once you arrive and the streaming graphics catch up, you can view everything from any angle you choose, in 3D and living color. You can easily print the maps.

Bascially what Carl has done is compile a whole bunch of world-class USA fishing locations and water/hatch/fishing data into these packages, and adding submissions from other users. Most locations are in Colorado and Wyoming, since he’s located in Arvada, CO, but there are super locations included all over the US, and they want more submissions. Users contribute to the fishing database regularly.

Turn on the ‘roads’ layer to see all roads that are on Google Maps appear, no matter what your viewing angle (hint – looking straight down from above is BORING for Google Earth). Click “ATMs” to show all cash machines in your field of view, when you spent your last bill at the fly shop and need lunch. My favorite layer trick is to look out north over the entire North Platte drainage from 20,000 ft. and click “bars and lounges” to show every cocktail lounge in south central wyoming as a tiny martini glass.

It’s a user-driven site, too – all data submitted by users (including location photos) is compiled into periodic updates that are emailed to everyone who donated. I rencently submitted the reservoir where my recent FAOL Lighter Side story “The Last Voyage of FDD-333” [url=http://flyanglersonline.com/lighterside/part367.html:195a6]http://flyanglersonline.com/lighterside/part367.html[/url:195a6] happened, and it’s in the database now.

Anyway, I have no affiliation with flyfishers-atlas.com, I just bit at it recently, loved it, and immediately spent about 6 hours flying around to my favorite fishing spots, plus many I’ve never fished but want to. All while I was supposed to be working! The $10 donation is NOT a monthly fee or anything like that – it means you get every new update by email, and pays for keeping the website up and all the new data added in. Since I do mapping as a volunteer and know how much time it takes, I’m pretty sure he’s not in it for the money.

If you like maps and flyfishing and have a fast internet connection, you might really enjoy [url=http://flyfishers-atlas.com/:195a6]http://flyfishers-atlas.com/[/url:195a6] .

DANBOB

[This message has been edited by danbob (edited 21 March 2006).]

2

Neat… I also highly recommend Google Earth for scouting an area… It shows some incredible detail.

3

Innovative for sure!
Just one small hitch.
Location example:
Meeker Pasture SWA

Brown, cutthroat and mountain whitefish

Coldwater sport fish; property provides access to the White River in an area where river access is limited; trout, whitefish; ice-free for white-fishing throughout the winter; summertime favorite of local fishing fanatics

Wonder how the local fishing fanatics feel about there summertime favorite spot being advertised on the internet!

4

Hmmm… I can see why someone would like it who is not familiar with an area, or doesn’t have the time or inclination to scout locations for him-herself, but I guess this is the best hope for those last, lesser known, and more fragile spots:

"It’s a user-driven site, too – all data submitted by users (including location photos) "

It will be up to anglers to recognize sites that can’t take the pressure.

JMHO,
Kat

5

Believe me, I thought of the fishing pressure aspect too. I recently got halfway through an article for magazine publication about one of my favorite local spots, slapped my forehead, and said to myself, “what the HECK are you thinking, dummy???”

But, at least the atlas gives only one icon for each major stretch of a river…not a comprehensive list of trails, pools, rapids, etc. So users must still do their own homework, find the topo maps, locate trails, etc. For example, pull up “North Platte River, Northgate Canyon” on the atlas (one of my favorite spots, only 2 hours from home) and you get one destination dot – for about 30 miles of river that has only 5 access points. To add to the fun, while Google Earth shows those access points, it doesn’t tell you how primitive the roads are…one of the access roads we went in on last year almost destroyed my 4WD truck!

DANBOB

6

I’ve lived in Colorado off and on for 44 years. This is the first time I ever heard of Box Prairie. I thought you might have made it up but there it was on mapquest. I learn new things every day. By the way, is there any info on camping and fishing there?

[This message has been edited by mwebb (edited 22 March 2006).]

7

I know of a Mid-West fly fishing site that requests you DO NOT give away information for small streams and lakes you favorite. It is OK to talk about them but not to give away their wereabouts. My stream is safe…I think?

8

I’m thinking that the flyfishers atlas is not going to be a threat to anyone’s local fishin’ holes. Not enough traffic, and the listings are mostly for the big, popular water anyway, and simply help the flyfisher get around and not get lost. A feature article in Fly Fisherman Magazine might be a threat – but my home waters (the Cache La Poudre and especially it’s tributaries) got featured by that mag last year, and I didn’t notice any difference in fishing pressure. I think I talked to one guy all year who had read the article–and he was in the area anyway at Pingree Park for a conference, and simply threw in the flyrod after reading the article.
DAN

9

Hi mwebb – I think you’re the first one to notice that Box Prairie is a real place from my profile! All the neighbors had a good hoot a few years back when we discovered it was in the Mapquest and Google Maps data.

I live here in the middle of nowhere, off the power grid, with no phone, because the Buckhorn is a delightful little brookie stream, and I’m only 20 minutes from the south fork of the Poudre for browns and rainbows, and the same distance from a good trailhead to launch off for catching cutthrouts. I would’ve got the Colorado Slam (brookie, cutt, rainbow, brown all in one day in the same drainage) last fall within 30 minutes drive of home if I hadn’t been so tired that I couldn’t stay up to night fish for browns. This year, I have a plan, though!

Camping is now prohibited by the USFS along the road by the crick; silly because it forces the campers up the side roads where there’s little water to put out their campfires, but it means tons of brookies now. If you (or other FAOL members) are ever in the area, drop me an email, danbob at direcway dot com, and I can point you to some great camping and fishing on a small creek for a mess of small brookies. You can eat 'em, too - the limit’s 14 here. You just have to go on a weekday, or know where to go to avoid the weekend swarms of ATVs and motorcycles, and be willing to hike in a mile or less on an easy trail.

I’m willing to share info about my home waters, because – all of our tourist pressure is from off-road vehicles. I haven’t met a single fisherman back there in 3 years, and the brookies are overpopulated and stunted. If you run into a local character back there, they’ll be astounded that you are there for fishing instead of riding motorcycles. And probably offer you a beer.

DAN

10

Hey, Danbob, remember me? We talked a little about nightfishing last summer on this site.

I might have to take you up on your offer- I like that area you are in. I live on the south side of Carter Lake, about 45 minutes from where you are. I’d like to do some night fishing this summer. Been thinking about tying up some muddler minnows with some glow in the dark flash a bou to get the browns interested.

Havent got the Joe Humphreys video on night fishing yet but did get his bushwhacking video- it is pretty good.

11

Hi CharlieB
I know just the spot for nighttime browns on the Little South. Easy access, easy casting with a meadow behind you. Let’s try it this summer! I’ve also heard that Hohnholtz Lakes up on the Laramie have some big brown that come to shore and eat mice and frogs at night – another good spot to try. Where are you getting the glow in the dark materials?
DANBOB

12

Julie, over at Bob’s had a sample of glow in the dark thread that she let me have. I found some glow flashabou at Sportsmans, and a spool of mylar tinsel somewhere else. Never did order one of those clowns wigs to grind up though heh heh. Wonder if anyone makes a glow in the dark foam. Ive got one of those STP frog cutters. Maybe leave the bottom of the frog non glow as to leave a dark profile from below. Then glow foam on top so that you can see the thing while your fishing.

When I was growing up down south, I used a snagproof frog at night for bass. (Spin fishing that is) They would explode on these frogs. If it doesnt work for browns maybe the idea would work for bass.

Yeah I want to try those Hohnholtz Lakes this summer definitely- never did make it there last summer. It’s amazing how something so close can seem so far away sometimes. Larimer is a big county.

I havent fished that south fork before but have driven through there a couple of times. We’ll have to give it a try. Im out on the road a lot, right now in Eastern MT. Maybe Ill be home early next week. I was planning on “stopping by” the Big Horn on the way home.

I like that laramie river headwater area also .