Using the internet to become a better angler means doing your homework off the water, scouting with aerial imagery like Google Earth, taking courses from proven guides, and forecasting tide, wind, and sun, so your limited fishing days produce far more. When I started in the Keys there was one aerial photo of the Marquesas; today you can dissect any flat from your couch. In this How 2 Tuesday I break down the online tools I use and how finding your own spots makes you better and keeps you out of conflict.
Watch now: press play on the video above and follow along.
The internet lets you do your homework off the water so your fishing days count for more. Aerial imagery, online courses, and forums put information at your fingertips that anglers a generation ago never had. When Tom started fishing the Florida Keys there was a single aerial photo of the Marquesas that everyone studied. Today you can scout any flat, find access points, and learn from top guides at home. If your fishing time is limited to weekends, the prep work is where you gain the most ground.
Tom looks at Google Earth almost every night before a trip. He studies channels, points, and dead-end pockets to understand why fish use a spot, dissecting tarpon, bonefish, and permit areas the same way. He also uses it to find boat ramps, wading spots, kayak put-ins, little ponds, and breaks in the mangroves he never knew existed. You can even pull it up on your phone on the water. Studying the map first turns a blind trip into a plan built around tide, wind, and sun angle.
Salt Strong is run by Tom's friends Joe and Luke Simons, and their Insider membership gives you courses from captains like Peter Deeks on finding fish, lure retrieves, and even boat rigging like a breakaway anchor. Around 25,000 anglers use it. Tom calls it so legit you are almost hesitant to recommend it, because the people who take the courses end up fishing the good spots. It is reasonably priced and, in his view, a good buy for anyone serious about improving.
Finding your own spots is far more rewarding than having someone hand them to you, and it keeps you out of conflict with other anglers. When you study a map, forecast the tide and conditions, go try a spot, and actually catch fish, that spot is yours to fish on your terms. Crowding into someone else's spot is the recipe for hard feelings. Good anglers and good guides simply move on and explore rather than fish right next to someone, which is both better etiquette and a path to more water.
The core rule is simple: put yourself in the other angler's shoes. If you would not want someone cutting you off, running in front of you, or fishing right on top of you, do not do it to anyone else. If someone is already in a spot, move on and treat it as a chance to explore rather than crowding in. As more people take up fishing, etiquette matters more than ever, and the anglers who respect it are exactly the ones we want on the water.
Rarely. The good guides do not hammer a new spot every time the tide is right. Treat scouting as a continual process so you build up more spots than you can fish in a day, a week, or a month, then rest each one and hit it only when you need it. Resting your spots is when you start to be really good, because the fish stay undisturbed and the spot keeps producing instead of getting burned out from overfishing.
If you only fish Saturday and Sunday, the difference between a good angler and a frustrated one is usually what happened the other five days. The internet lets you scout, plan, and learn at night so your weekend is spent executing instead of guessing. I came up studying a single aerial photo of the Marquesas, and I am still amazed at what is available now. I explain how I work through it in the episode, so watch the video above.
Google Earth is the first thing I open before a trip. I look at a tarpon spot like Loggerhead Key and study every channel, where fish lay up, and why they end up in a dead-end pocket they like to use. I am not just finding spots, I am learning the reasons behind them, and that understanding transfers everywhere. I walk through dissecting a real spot in the video above.
It is far more rewarding to study a map, forecast the conditions, go try a spot, and catch fish than to have someone tell you where to go. When you find it yourself, it is your spot to fish on your terms, with no worry about crowding another angler. That is also the heart of good etiquette: put yourself in the other person's shoes. I get into why that matters more every year in the episode, so press play above.
The mistake most people make is hammering a new spot every time the tide lines up. The good guides do the opposite. They build up more spots than they can fish and then rest each one, hitting it only when needed. That is when you start to be really good, because the spot stays fresh instead of burning out. I explain how I rotate my water in the video above.
Here is how I turn screen time into fish. The work happens at home so the catching happens on the water.
Watch me walk through these tools in the video above.
The anglers who improve fastest are the ones who do the research, do the extra work, and sometimes get a coach. The tools are right there, and most of the real progress happens before you ever launch the boat.
Open Google Earth tonight, study the water you already fish, plan around the tide, and start building your own list of spots. Then rest them and fish them rarely. Watch the video above and follow along.
Google Earth · aerial imagery · Salt Strong Insider · Joe Simons · Luke Simons · Peter Deeks · fishing etiquette · Florida Keys · the Marquesas · Loggerhead Key · tarpon · bonefish · permit · finding your own spots · How 2 Tuesday
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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