5 Tips for Scouting Online

Ryan Barnes for SPLIT REED

Presented by onX Hunt Maps

In today’s age, we seem to have an app for everything. There’s apps to tell us how much or how little to use our apps. There’s apps to help us do everything from pay our bills to get even farther into debt (an easy task for us hunters). Luckily for waterfowlers, the onX hunt app has given us the ability to not only know where boundary lines are and who property owners are, but it also has given us the ability to scout for new spots to try and hunt. Here are 5 of the most helpful hints I have found when using onX to find my next banger hunt.

1.  Look for the big water first.

When scouting for a new spot to try to hunt, most people try to find the small sloughs or the pond off in the boonies. While those are great options, you first want to find the big water. Mainly, you want to find the water that will be holding the largest concentration of ducks. When You find that, you can learn 2 major things:

1. Are there any WMA’s or access that would allow you to hunt the water?

2. Are there any feeds surrounding the area that the birds could be using?

After you’ve found the big water, you can start to either eliminate surrounding areas, or find possible contenders, understanding that ducks will go where it’s safer on bigger bodies of water, or they will move off the big body of water and move to the smaller water to get off any roosting areas. Using this tactic just helps you narrow down any possibilities to help get you started.

2. Google + onX search bar = much better success

This might seem a little bit more of an elementary style suggestion, but it’s an invaluable tactic, for obvious reasons. If you don’t know where to go, Google and onX can help you at least get started in the right direction. For instance, a few years ago I found myself going on a weekend trip hunting Colorado for a weekend. I had one day on a guided hunt, and the others were on me to find my hunts. I knew the South Platte had some excellent opportunities, but I instead found myself using Google to find any public land access, and then using the search tool in the onX app to locate these destinations. I found some great hunting areas along the Colorado River that resulted in a great two days of mallard hunting. Remember, Google + onX search bar = much better success

3. Utilize “Map Layers”

One of the many helpful features of the onX hunt app is the “map layers” feature. In many states, the feature can show you where certain access points are. Whether it be public land access, state shooting grounds, or even where USFWS access is. This can allow you to locate federal and state hunting grounds that you may not be able to find otherwise when scouting for new areas. You can access this feature in the bottom row, and choosing the icon that says, “map layers”. From there it will give you options to add multiple different options to add to your map.

This has been an extremely helpful tool for me, even when hunting my own state. Using the map layers feature has allowed me to locate areas I never knew about, or areas that I didn’t know were available to hunt.

4. Find the possible feeds

This is an extremely important tactic for the honker hunters. This where onX maps comes to its finest light. It allows you to identify where the water is, and where the possible feed is. Now obviously without getting out and actually seeing the fields, it’s hard to know exactly where the birds are, but by simple reasoning you can whittle down a few options to know where your best options are to at least run traffic. Start by identifying the fields that would be closest to the water. The shorter the distance to the water, the more likely the geese are to feed there (so long as it’s a field they have interest in feeding in). After you’ve identified possible feeds, this allows you to contact the landowners and get permission.

This is all info that you can track down and find through the onX hunt app. However, one thing to keep in mind, just because you found a field, doesn’t mean it will be loaded with birds. Using onX to find fields to hunt usually can only provide traffic hunts, so pack your divebombs, you’ll need a big spread.

5. Utilize “waypoints”

Waypoints are like pins. They allow you to mark certain places on your onX map, and track how to get to them. They’ve been crucial when I’ve found a spot to hunt, and needed to figure out how to get there. Your maps app on your phone can only get you so close, but luckily with onX, you can mark the spot you’re wanting to try with a waypoint, and use that to get to your new found hunting destination. As most hunters know, it’s hard to find things in a new area, it’s even harder in the morning dark. Using onX helps eliminate that struggle of not having someone show you a new area, because you’ve been able to do a large amount of the legwork right from your phone.

Something to remember

One thing you should remember, though, is while online scouting can be extremely helpful, it doesn’t take the place of getting out and looking for birds. There’s also an element of safety to keep in mind when hunting new areas you haven’t visited before, especially with water. Depths, boat hazards, and other risk factors can all be something to keep in mind. When you find a spot you want to try, call someone from a local fish and wildlife office to get more information. While onX maps has great information and extremely detailed maps, they can’t tell you exactly what’s in the water. There does need to be some caution taken when online scouting.

Another element to consider is that onX wasn’t made so you could simply scout from your couch. It was made to help hunters gain access and permission to land that would help them be more successful in their hunts. It wouldn’t be in your best interest to only scout online. Put in your effort where you can, get out, and scout to the nest of your abilities. Then, when you need to, utilize these 5 tips to help dial in your next hunt with onX maps.