HERMITAGE, Mo. (InvestigateTV) – For many anglers, sometimes it’s not the fish but the memories that are keepers.
“Some of my best memories,” John Bledsoe said, “and the best memories I have with regards to fishing, are always about the people I’m with at the time.”
Without a doubt, this lake is a dream spot for many. But for John, this spot launched his dream.
“It was on this lake right here, Pomme de Terre Lake, I was fishing by myself,” John said. “That day I was feeling a little lonely. And I happened to look at my empty seat and got to thinking, man, why didn’t I bring somebody with me? And then the wheels started turning.”
That day, John bought the domain name coangler.com for $13. His idea was an app where people could connect and book fishing trips together.
“Helping people that maybe don’t have the means to get outdoors,” John said about the app, “or maybe people that need help loading and unloading boats, or their wives would feel more comfortable if they had an extra co-angler in the boat with them.”
A chemist by trade, Missouri State’s e-Factory was right next to where John worked. It was there he got advice and attended a 10-month-long coding program.
That led to funding opportunities from various organizations to get Co-Angler launched as smooth as a bass boat off a boat ramp.
“It’s a great way for people to connect and meet each other,” angler Luke Routh said.
Luke’s fished in tournaments all across the nation, but the Co-Angler app is a way for him to have a little more fun.
“A lot of outdoorsmen are good people,” Luke said. “They just want to go outside and have fun, enjoy the lake; a lot of people don’t have access to it.”
“So, if you’re a person that has a boat,” Luke continued, “you ain’t got to show off all your good fishing spots. We’re coming here today, John and I, just fish randomly throughout the lake, and we’ve had a heck of a time.”
“Social media has created this kind of pseudo-social connection, which isn’t really real,” John said. “And so having the ability to use technology in the outdoors to connect people in the real world to go fish together is something I’m really passionate about.”
On the app, you can create your profile, explore trips, rank your activity level, techniques, and target fish you want to catch.
“First and foremost, it’s about human connection,” John said. “It’s about getting people in the outdoors together, sharing each other’s company, having a great time.”
”There’s definitely some natural healing properties to, you know, being around water and the outdoors, and sunshine, getting some of that vitamin D,“ John continued.
Right now, there are over 2,500 users on the app. John says it’s the only app connecting anglers.
Co-Angler is available in the App Store on your cell phone, or you can find it by clicking here to go to coangler.com.
It’s free to join, but you can add on some premium features as well.
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