A free fishing app that can save you time and help you taste more success? Download the ScoutLook Fishing app today and begin planning your next on-the-water adventure.
In the past I was a notorious “non-user” of smartphone apps, despite the best attempts by my kids to show me some really cool features of the many apps they accessed regularly. Somehow apps just never seemed to “click” with me, or at least, not until I found the ScoutLook Hunting app a few years ago. Almost instantly, I used the app to locate a stand site that has since produced three good whitetail bucks; I used the ScoutLook Hunting Satellite view and ScentCone® features to locate a great, somewhat remote funnel on public land, and the stand has now become my all-time favorite. I was telling a friend about my good fortune when he informed me that ScoutLook also offered a fishing app, so of course I had to check it out. Immediately I saw the advantages of the ScoutLook Fishing app, which I’ve since used regularly to fish smarter and more efficiently, and with more success.
One of my favorite features of the ScoutLook Fishing app is the DriftPoint® Wind Map; there are a couple of different ways I use it when searching for active fish. One is to find wind-blown banks when fishing for bass, and the other is to locate protected coves when targeting panfish.
WORKING THE WIND FOR MORE BASS
Baitfish will relate to wind-blown banks either because the zoo plankton that they eat is being blown there, or because the wind is causing enough current to force the baitfish there. Oftentimes there are more actively feeding bass on these banks than on the calmer shorelines around the lake. When this pattern has been established ScoutLook’s DriftPoint® Wind Map can quickly show you the best wind-blown banks, allowing you to efficiently cover more water and hopefully, boat more bass. This tactic has consistently helped me to locate more bass, and ScoutLook’s great map detail has helped me eliminate some of the less-desirable wind-blown banks, well before I’ve wasted the time and gas checking them out while in my boat.
Here is an example of a point where I catch a lot of bass in cold water using a jerkbait. You can see that the ScoutLook maps are very clear and the submerged sandbar is easily visible. I can pull up ‘Driftpoint’ on this spot any time and see if the bass are there based on wind direction. When the wind hits this sandbar the bass are there…every time!
How do I determine some of the best areas to fish from the boat ramp, my hotel room, campsite, or even back at home? If, for example, you know a current productive pattern is shallow pea gravel flats, you can use the app’s Satellite view to instantly see if a bank 10 miles down the lake is truly a desired flat, or, instead, an undesirable rock bluff. Details like these can save a lot of time, especially during a tournament when you can’t use your phone. Using the app’s 72-hour forecasted winds, you can study the lake map on the ScoutLook website and come up with a solid game plan for the tournament, based on the wind’s direction the following day.
WIND-PROTECTED PANFISHING
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to battle the wind when I’m fishing. I don’t even like it when I’m bass fishing, but in bass fishing the wind is your friend. When I am chasing bluegills and crappies, I like to find some calm waters because it’s more relaxing and you don’t have to be on the trolling motor constantly. The ScoutLook Fishing DriftPoint® Wind Map can quickly locate calm and comfortable areas for you, even before you launch the boat. These calmer areas are more suitable for techniques like bobber fishing, spider rigging, flyfishing, and more.
When fishing panfish I like to find calm waters to aid in employing favorite tactics that can include bobber fishing, spider rigging, flyfishing and more.The ScoutLook Fishing app shows me instantly where to find protected bays, coves, and lee sides of points and islands.
In addition to my favorite DriftPoint® Wind Map, there are other great features of the Scoutlook Fishing App. They include the nifty FishLog where you can log species, lure type, water depth, water temp and more. Your location and weather details are also recorded with each entry and you can even snap a photo of your fish as well, which automatically saves all the precise conditions. These highly detailed logs can be a great way to establish seasonal and weather-conditional trends that you can always consult, on a moment’s notice, to get you on the right track on wide-ranging bodies of water, considering the current local conditions. And of course, when all that data is in your compact, lightweight, take-everywhere smartphone, you eliminate all the hassles of toting around and writing in bulky notebooks and other logbooks.
Snap a photo of your catch on the water and the ScoutLook Fishing app automatically saves all the pertinent wind and weather data at that instant. These highly detailed logs, saved in your phone, are a great way to establish hot seasonal or lake-specific trends.
My smartphone will never have all the many new wild and wacky apps that my kids seem to believe are integral to their lives, but now, depending on whether I’m toting a bow, gun, or fishing rod, I do use and depend on two of them. If you don’t have the free ScoutLook Hunting and ScoutLook Fishing apps on your own phone, maybe it’s time you gave them a try.
