An Alaska resident has created a smartphone app designed to connect anglers and guides with each other and to a hub of local fishing information.
Jim Voss launched his app Alaska FishTopia this summer, aiming for it to be the central source of angling information on the Kenai Peninsula, about 75 miles south of Anchorage.
The app includes guide information, local events and the latest fish counts from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said Voss, a fishing guide and the owner of Alaska Boat Rental in Soldotna. The idea for the app was to have the vital information anglers need all in one spot, he said.
The Kenai Peninsula is a top Alaska tourism destination, with the blue-green waters of the Kenai River and its runs of Chinook, sockeye and coho salmon a draw for anglers. The peninsula’s coastal communities also offer saltwater fishing opportunities, especially for halibut.
After the guide and angler connect through the tool and agree on a price, the app works similar to a short-term lodging service like Airbnb. Certain information is sent as the trip is booked.
Summer Lazenby, director of the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council, said a 2016 Alaska travel survey recorded 563,000 out-of-state visitors to the peninsula, with 22% taking part in sport fishing. That number, Lazenby said, did not account for the thousands of visitors from Anchorage and other Alaska cities who drive to the peninsula to fish.
Voss plans to expand the app to cover the entire state.
