Fishing Report: Alaska FishTopia smartphone app

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska Fishtopia is a smartphone app that is a one-stop-shop with everything you could possibly need to go fishing in Alaska.

Fishing and Alaska go hand in hand, but fishermen and technology — not so much.

Finding all of the different information you need to plan a fishing trip can be difficult. With tide books and fish counts spread out throughout the internet, one innovative Alaskan decided to create an app where everything you could possibly need to know to plan a successful fishing trip is in one place.

“There just wasn’t a convenient place to get all of the different data from tides and currents, to marine weather swell forecasts. It all came from a wide variety of different sources some were more mobile-friendly than others, others weren’t friendly at all” said the Owner and Developer of “Alaska FishTopia” Jim Voss.

Alaska Fishtopia is the name of the app and you can find it on the IOS and Android app stores.

Voss says they started developing the app in 2017 and have slowly been adding new features year by year. The newest being the nautical map feature allowing you to have a complete nautical map, including depth charts right in your pocket.

“We now have depth charts added to the app, so when you go to the maps page you get a fully functional contour map of anywhere you might be fishing. Those types of things would typically sell from other apps between $30 and $100 a year and they are included in a $1.99 package with FishTopia” Voss said.

The app costs $1.99 per year with nearly too many features to count, with everything from updated fish counts to tide tables. Alaska FishTopia not only tells you everything you need to know about fishing but also helps you find local entertainment throughout the state. There is a section that shows events happening so you can not only plan when to catch a fish but also when to catch a concert.

For a complete walk-through of the app with the owner and developer watch the video below.

According to Voss, right now the app has around 10,000 subscribers. Voss also says he thinks it is about 50/50 between Alaskan residents and non-residents. And pretty soon that non-Alaska resident portion will grow substantially.

“Over the next sort of several months, Alaska FishTopia is going to become FishTopia and you will select the region you are fishing in. So if you are in Alaska you will select the Alaska region, and then if you happen to be in Washington or Oregon or California or Florida, you can select those regions and it will bring you the data that is related to those specific fisheries,” Voss said.

For this Fishing Report, we used the app to see how many fish were counted on the river that day, with that information we decided on which fish to target silver or sockeye.

Voss flossed for Sockeye while a guide in training Craig was using a different method to try and catch a silver. It wasn’t long before we hooked into two late-run sockeyes and one silver salmon.

Alaska FishTopia isn’t the only thing that Voss owns, he also owns Kenai Riverside Resort, and much like the app, the resort has many features. One of which being what Voss calls “Canvas Cabins” — glamping tents that feature four full-size beds, internet, and heat.

“We wanted to build an experience that was more authentic Alaska rather than just staying in a hotel or your standard lodges you might find anywhere in the world,” Voss said.

You can basically step out of your “Canvas Cabin” and right onto the banks of the Kenai River where the fishing is almost always good. Kenai Riverside Resort offers guided trips and lodging, but for Voss, he said that he doesn’t want people to be stuck just on the Kenai. Voss uses the resort to help people connect with other activities in Alaska not necessarily just fishing, activities like hiking and biking.

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