This New Fishing App Is A Must-Have For Minnesota, Wisconsin Ice Anglers

If you're anything like me, you probably have a handful of different fishing or lake map apps on your phone for scouting and finding your way around the lakes of the region.

Whether you're pursuing panfish in Wisconsin or working structure for walleyes in Minnesota, there's a growing number of new technologies looking to help anglers find their target fish.

One popular category, especially in the winter season for ice fishing, is lake map apps. A lot of anglers will use these map apps to look for the right depths and lake features for the type of fish they're looking for.

The built-in GPS component helps fishermen & fisherwomen get pretty close to their desired spot, where they can start drilling holes to find exactly what they're looking for.

Navionics, a Garmin product, has long been one of the standard-bearers in this field. While it's still a great and very in-depth app, the company has changed its app and subscription options over the years, leaving anglers wondering what other options might be out there.

Enter this newcomer looking to become the go-to app for anglers, specifically for people fishing in Minnesota and Wisconsin right now.

Meet the app trying to be an ice angler's best friend

If you're an outdoorsy person, you've probably heard of the Montana-based brand onX, which has some pretty useful app tools for hunting, offroading, and hiking/backpacking.

Last year, the company decided to jump into the world of fishing, specifically starting the first phase of their new app for lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The new app, called onX Fish is being branded as "the most comprehensive fishing tool for increasing your confidence on the water", and get this - it's free right now!

Their website suggests the free component and the fact that it is limited to just Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes are both limited-time things as they look to grow the product, but here's a look at why it's worth checking out.

What does onX Fish offer that makes it unique?

Like most lake map apps, you get pretty detailed lake depth contour maps and precise GPS location so you can see where you are compared to where you want to be to target your fish of choice. Here's where things get way more interesting.

Finding new places to fish for what you want to catch is part of the app experience, with in-depth fish survey data built right into the app.

Filtering and sorting lake potential is also available. You can tap on a lake and you can access available fish survey data that shows both species abundance and average size. You can sort lakes by species with both keeper and trophy potential, so you can determine what new lake might be worth checking out.

Now, not every single lake in Minnesota or Wisconsin has every bit of survey data available, but a large majority of lakes in both states have at least some data available to help you determine if a new lake is worth checking out.

Getting on the lake gets easier too, with the app highlighting where public access points are, but it goes a step further. The app also provides land ownership data, so you can familiarize yourself with people who own land around the lake. That can be helpful to gain access to lakes with no public access or to locations far from a public access.

Navigating to the lake is easier too, with in-car navigation for roads to the lake and points of interest like bait shops, camping, and other helpful locations are also a part of the experience.

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Other stuff baked into the app includes regulation information for lakes, custom waypoints, creating tracks/routes, offline maps, updated satellite imagery for a more lifelike aerial view of the area, and weather reports/forecasts. Many of these features are pretty commonplace on apps like this, and they are also available on onX Fish.

What are onX Fish's weak spots?

While the app has a lot to offer, there are a few things that could use improvement or might be different than you're used to with other apps like this.

First, while they are currently offering lake information for just Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes, there are some notable omissions that do count as a lake in one of the two states (or both).

Popular border bodies of water are notably missing data. For example, the Duluth/Superior Harbor and St. Louis River have no data at all. Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake have fishing survey data, but no lake contour information.

Also of note is that there is limited data available for Red Lake. The Minnesota DNR's fish survey data is there, but no map/contour data.

One other small thing that some people enjoy about apps like Navionics is the ability to see traveling speed while moving. onX Fish does have the ability to track distance, speed, and elevation gain (not sure how much elevation gain you'd have on a body of water) as a feature you need to start like a timer, but just a straight "speedometer" isn't currently on the app. Probably not a big deal for ice fishing, but something to note if you're used to having it on other apps.

Is onX Fish worth it?

While it's free? Absolutely! The app tries to (and pretty successfully does) tie in a lot of features you might otherwise use a combination of different apps to complete fishing tasks.

A lot of the data is accessible in different locations, but rolling it all into once place is a convenience factor that's hard to ignore if you don't like bouncing between apps.

There's a lot at your fingertips, and I am curious to see how they expand the app and how much they'll likely eventually charge for a subscription. The company doesn't specify how long the "limited time" offering will be for free access.

In the meantime, it's a great tool to add to your fishing arsenal!