Outdoor digital navigation company OnX acquired a Minneapolis-based fly fishing map resource startup TroutRoutes for an undisclosed amount.
TroutRoutes gives anglers maps of public streams, access points, water conditions, elevation levels and more through its mobile app and desktop platform. TroutRoutes is part of Wayzata-based Traction Capital’s portfolio of companies, which invested $500,000 into the startup in 2022.
OnX, based in Missoula, Montana, makes map apps that help hunters find public land boundaries, off-road trail maps and hiking and ski maps. The company was founded in 2009 by Eric Siegfried. After acquiring TroutRoutes, OnX will launch a new app: OnX Fish, which is a navigation and discovery tool for lake anglers. Its debut is expected this spring.
"There's a lot of synergy and shared values between the two companies," said TroutRoutes founder and CEO Zach Pope. "For the past five years, TroutRoutes has been focused on meeting trout anglers' needs by consolidating stream and river access information and developing toolsets to help anglers find and explore trout streams across the U.S."
TroutRoutes was founded in 2019 and was the first app on the market to map every designated trout stream in the continental U.S. The platform features information such as access points, public lands and real-time conditions to make trout fishing more accessible. TroutRoute will still offer its toolset to customers during the upcoming spring trout fishing season.
OnX Fish is set to launch on iOS and online exclusively in Minnesota this spring, with plans to expand across the Midwest later this year.
