Why I built On The Fish
A note from Patrick, founder of On The Fish
The app was built with one pretty simple goal in mind: I wanted to enhance my family's fishing trips.
My kids have always been into fishing, and as a typical dad, I encouraged the time outdoors and away from screens. Honestly, I don't love fishing quite as much as they do. They're obsessed. But I really enjoy the time with my kids, particularly because it's time outdoors, creating memories and enjoying nature.
It also helps to teach some valuable life lessons, such as:
not everything you do is going to be successful every time
how to celebrate with your friends and not get upset by their success when you fail
Because if you keep at it, your time will come, and it's much better to celebrate with others.
As the kids got more and more into fishing, their friends also started getting more and more into it. It happened quite independently, and it was really good to see. I encouraged that too, so quite often now my kids will just go out fishing with their friends.
They'll be laughing, comparing catches, and giving each other grief when a fish gets away or something funny happens. They're enjoying being outdoors and the camaraderie that goes with fishing. I mean, you're going to spend a long time looking at a line and a rod in the water, so you've got to be able to have fun, talk to people, and enjoy the social side of it.
The moment it became an app
The point when I actually thought it would be a good idea to build an app was when we realised we kept arguing about what we'd caught when we caught something new. Was it this fish or that fish? What species was it?
It was good fun, and it was always good-natured. There was no problem with that. But quite often we'd pull in things that we genuinely had no idea what on earth they were.
Then I also became much more aware of the social side of it. My kids were always posting on Instagram and TikTok saying, "Look, this is what I caught," and those posts would get lots of views. Other people would comment, and there'd be that same good-natured banter about whether a fish was amazing or too small, or whatever they decided.
That was when it became important to me to combine both the social side and the fish identification side into one fishing app.
What I wanted to stay clear of
The things I wanted to stay clear of were:
- I didn't want to write a weather app.
- I didn't want to write an app that told people, "This is how you should be fishing," or "This is what you should be using."
Fish roam all over the water, so there are no guarantees about where they're going to be, where they're going to bite, or what they're going to bite on.
One of the best things you can do is head to your local fishing shop. It's a great source of information. There's often a guy sitting there who is so keen and knowledgeable about fishing in the local area that it's an absolute goldmine of information. You're never really going to replace that with an app.
What the On The Fish app can do
But the things you can get from the app are:
- Identification of fish thanks to AI.
- The ability to record the fish you catch.
- The ability to connect with people, and those connections can take lots of different forms.
It won't always be the same group of people, and some of them don't even have to be friends. It might just be people you went out on a fishing charter with. You can say, "Hey, let's talk about the fish we caught, record them, and keep that as a great memory."
It doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be lifelong besties, but it's nice to share those memories with good people you meet along the way.
And not everyone you're going to connect with will necessarily be into fishing, which is one of the reasons there's a free tier.
My kids' grandparents are members of On The Fish and follow them as friends so they can see what they're getting up to and talk to them about it. But I can't really see either of them heading out fishing anytime soon.
What this app is
So On The Fish became the answer to those things.
It became a way to connect with other people over fishing, a way to identify the fish you catch, and a way to keep some fantastic memories alive.
A way to actually know what you caught, and a way to bring everyone else along for the ride, even if they're sitting at home.
Post your catch, identify it properly, let the people who matter to you see it and comment on it, and let them feel like they were there too.
That's really what this app is.
It's not about being the best angler or catching the biggest fish. It's about the time outside, the people you're with, and not losing any of those moments to a forgettable argument about what species that thing even was.
If any of that sounds like your family, I hope you enjoy using On The Fish as much as we do.
Write to me
Got a story of your own, some feedback, or just want to say hi? You're more than welcome to.
I read all of these emails personally.
Write to me at support@onthefish.app.