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Trout Hold Finder home ·
Trout Hold Finder reads the river, not the fish. It flags stretches where the shape of the channel and the flow of water typically hold trout. It can't tell whether trout are there today.
Search an address or tap My location. You'll get the flagged stretches and trout ponds near you, why each one holds fish, whether to go today, how to get in legally, and what to use.
Covers Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Lidar doesn't see through water, so it flags stretches, not individual boulders, pools or depths. Water temperature is modeled, not measured. Conditions change: look before you wade.
Trout Hold Finder reads the river, not the fish. It flags stretches where the shape of the channel and the flow of water typically hold trout. It can't tell whether trout are there today. More
Your catch log is private. It's never shown to anyone else and there's nothing to share. Log the trips with no fish too: those are what tell us where the flags are wrong.
Saved on this phone, and backed up to your account when you're signed in and have signal.
Trout Hold Finder reads the river, not the fish. It flags stretches where the shape of the channel and the flow of water typically hold trout. It can't tell whether trout are there today.
Each flag is a stretch of about 75 m (250 ft). It doesn't point at a single rock or pool: lidar, the laser mapping it reads, doesn't see through water, so it can't see boulders, pools or how deep the water is. Read the water in front of you and fish the best of the stretch.
From state lidar and the USGS stream map it finds the places trout typically hold: the outside of bends and the slower water below them, water below steep drops, where tributaries come in (especially colder ones), slower water below spots where high banks pinch the channel, beaver ponds and other flat water on steep brooks, the pool below road culverts and bridges, and heavy shade. Streams that run too warm in summer for trout (USGS EcoSHEDS model) are ranked down.
Go, fish early, or skip comes from the nearest USGS stream gauges compared with normal for the date, National Weather Service flood alerts, the U.S. Drought Monitor, and a stream temperature estimate. When water is likely above about 68°F, we advise against fishing for trout: they're stressed, and many die after release even when handled well. Water temperature is modeled from air temperature, not measured. Typical error is about 3°F. If the water feels warm to your hand, let them be.
Each spot says where we get trout from: state stocking (with the year), state fish surveys (with the year sampled) or Maine's State Heritage Fish list, the USGS EcoSHEDS brook trout model, or the water's own trout rules. None of these confirm trout are there today.
Every flag is listed, including water on private land. Many people own trout water without knowing it, or already have permission to fish land they don't own. Flags with no public way in are marked with a dashed line, a hollow number and "Private land · owner's written permission needed" (or "Landlocked public land", when public land can only be reached across private land). The app shows no route to them and never names owners. Our rule is stricter than state law on purpose: whatever the posting, go only with the landowner's written permission. Tap Public way in to hide them.
Routes use public roads, legal trails and public land only (including land with guaranteed public access, such as conservation easements). Each spot shows the road type (paved, gravel, high-clearance or 4WD on Vermont Class 4 roads, New Hampshire Class VI roads and Forest roads, or foot only), the walk and climb, and a crowd estimate. Road and trail conditions are not verified. Gates, washouts, mud season and snow can close them. Some public land has its own seasons or closed areas: check the land manager's rules.
Trout Hold Finder never suggests tackle that breaks a water's special rules (fly fishing only, artificial lures only, catch and release). Where it couldn't read a water's rules with certainty, it says so and suggests nothing. You're responsible for knowing and following the current state rules (Vermont Fishing Guide & Regulations, New Hampshire Freshwater Fishing Digest, Maine Open Water and Ice Fishing Laws) and having a license.
USGS 3DEP lidar elevation and NHDPlus High Resolution streams; USGS EcoSHEDS stream temperature and brook trout models; USGS stream gauges; National Weather Service; U.S. Drought Monitor; USFS tree canopy (NLCD); Vermont Fish & Wildlife stocking, special regulations and brook trout surveys, Vermont Protected Lands and VTrans roads (Vermont ANR, VCGI and VTrans, CC BY-SA 4.0); New Hampshire Fish and Game stocking, regulations and surveys, GRANIT conservation lands and NHDOT roads; Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife stocking, special laws and State Heritage Fish waters, Maine conserved lands, MaineDOT roads and North Maine Woods; USGS PAD-US; USFS roads and trails. Address search: U.S. Census geocoder and OpenStreetMap Nominatim.
Same makers, sold separately: Funnel Finder (deer travel funnels, New Hampshire) and Marsh Finder (puddle duck marsh, New York).