What Fishing Hot Spots does

Fishing Hot Spots, Inc. is a privately held cartographic publisher founded in 1975 and headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota. The company produces detailed fishing maps for US rivers, lakes, and coastal areas across 35 states plus Ontario, covering freshwater, saltwater, and Great Lakes environments. Its core product line consists of durable, waterproof printed paper maps organized by state, complemented by digital map chips formatted for the three dominant marine GPS platforms — Lowrance, Raymarine, and Garmin — and a mobile mapping offering delivered through the partner platform Fishidy.com. Branded accessories (Map Cases, HooRags, Fish N' Rulers) and instructional books (including Catch Fish With Maps and a waterproof GPS Coordinate Logbook) round out the catalog.

The underlying technology is a proprietary cartographic mapping system, with content that encodes bottom structure, contour data, and angler-relevant annotations. Digital chips are produced as annual releases that slot into the user's existing chartplotter hardware. The "Fishing Hot Spots" name is a registered trademark, and the company positions itself as "America's Preferred Fishing Map."

The business model is direct-to-consumer e-commerce augmented by an authorized dealer network of independent sporting goods and fishing retailers across the United States. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and revenue is generated primarily through one-time purchases of maps, digital chips, accessories, and books. The primary customer segment is recreational anglers seeking to locate productive structure and reduce unproductive time on the water, with a secondary segment of boaters and outdoor enthusiasts using FHS maps for navigation and trip planning. No headcount, revenue, or funding figures are disclosed, and there are no M&A, fundraising, or institutional investor signals in the available data.

Name

Fishing Hot Spots

Legal name

Fishing Hot Spots, Inc.

Website

https://fishinghotspots.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Fishing Hot Spots, Inc. is a privately held Maple Plain, Minnesota cartographic publisher founded in 1975 that sells waterproof printed fishing maps, GPS-compatible digital chips, and accessories for recreational anglers across 35 US states and Ontario.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fishing Maps and Cartography

akta.pro primary industry

Fishing Electronics & Marine Tech Retail (Fishfinders, GPS, Sonar) (CRAMALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Freshwater Fishing Specialty Retail (CRAMALAB), Fishing & Tackle Retail (CRAMABAL)

Keywords

• Fishing maps
• Fishing cartography
• Marine GPS charts
• Fishing accessories
• Angling reference products

Headquarters

HQ city

Maple Plain

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Printed Maps Sales: Sale of physical, durable waterproof paper maps covering US rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. Available by state including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi River, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
2. Digital Map Chips: Sale of digital mapping chips for marine GPS and chartplotter systems including Lowrance, Raymarine, and Garmin. Available as annual releases for 2018-2021.
3. Accessories and Books: Sale of fishing accessories including Fish N' Ruler measuring tools, Map Cases, HooRag headwear, GPS Coordinate Logbooks, and Catch Fish With Maps instructional books.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Fishing Hot Spots publishes and sells detailed cartographic fishing maps of US rivers, lakes, and coastal areas in both physical and digital formats. Its core offering includes waterproof printed maps organized by state and region, digital map chips compatible with Lowrance, Raymarine, and Garmin marine GPS/chartplotters, mobile fishing maps via the Fishidy platform, and a line of branded fishing accessories and instructional books.

Product overview

Fishing Hot Spots is a mapping company that distributes fishing data across multiple formats and platforms. Its core portfolio consists of Printed Maps (durable, waterproof paper maps of US rivers, lakes, and coastal areas, organized by state and region), Digital Maps/Digital Chips (freshwater, saltwater, and Great Lakes mapping sold as chips for Lowrance, Raymarine, and Garmin GPS/chartplotters, organized by release year), and Mobile Fishing Maps via Fishidy (a separate mobile application). The product line is complemented by a Gifts & Accessories category that includes branded tools — Map Case, Fishing Hot Spots HooRag, Fish N' Ruler 36-inch and 60-inch — and books — Catch Fish With Maps and GPS Coordinate Logbook — which serve as supplementary fishing aids that extend the utility of the company's mapping products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Printed Maps Durable, waterproof paper maps of US rivers, lakes, and coastal areas, organized by state and region including Mississippi River and Ontario, sold to recreational anglers for navigation and structure identification.
• Digital Maps (Digital Chips) Freshwater, saltwater, and Great Lakes digital mapping distributed as insertable chips for Lowrance, Raymarine, and Garmin GPS and chartplotter systems, sold by release year to recreational and saltwater anglers.
• Mobile Fishing Maps (Fishidy) Mobile fishing maps accessible through the Fishidy mobile and web application, providing digital fishing cartography and trip tools for recreational anglers on the water.
• FHS Map Case Zippered pouch of tough, weather-resistant fabric with the Fishing Hot Spots logo, designed to organize and protect maps for anglers, boaters, and hikers during outdoor use.
• Fishing Hot Spots HooRag 100% polyester microfiber headwear, 20 x 9.5 inches, that wicks moisture and provides 30 UPF UV protection, sold to anglers as a multi-way branded headwear accessory.
• Fish N' Ruler - 36 inch Durable adhesive-backed vinyl ruler for measuring fish up to 36 inches, featuring unit conversions, catch-and-release tips, and useful knots, designed for mounting on boats or workbenches.
• Fish N' Ruler - 60 inch Adhesive-backed vinyl ruler for measuring fish up to 60 inches, with length-weight conversions for bass, crappie, pike, and walleye, plus unit conversions, catch-and-release tips, and navigation aids.
• Catch Fish With Maps Color-illustrated instructional book teaching anglers how to locate prime structure, eliminate unproductive water, visualize bottom features, pre-plan fishing trips, and pattern fish across lakes, ponds, rivers, reservoirs, and saltwater.
• GPS Coordinate Logbook Waterproof, tearproof booklet matching the company's map material, providing a permanent record for over 500 latitude and longitude coordinates and sized for a tackle box or boat console.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 GPS coordinates can be recorded in the GPS Coordinate Logbook

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FishidycoreTechnology or IntegrationFishidy.com serves as the mobile companion platform for Fishing Hot Spots, providing digital fishing maps accessible on mobile devices for anglers on the water.
• LowrancecoreTechnology or IntegrationFishing Hot Spots digital maps are compatible with Lowrance GPS and chartplotter systems, allowing anglers to access detailed fishing maps on Lowrance marine electronics.
• RaymarinecoreTechnology or IntegrationFishing Hot Spots digital maps are compatible with Raymarine GPS and chartplotter systems, enabling detailed fishing cartography on Raymarine marine electronics.
• GarmincoreTechnology or IntegrationFishing Hot Spots digital maps are compatible with Garmin GPS and chartplotter systems, providing detailed fishing information for Garmin marine electronics users.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bass Pro Shops: Bass Pro Shops is the dominant US outdoor/sporting-goods retailer; it retails fishing maps, accessories, and branded merchandise in competition with FHS's dealer channel and direct e-commerce store.
• Cabela's (Bass Pro): Cabela's, operated by Bass Pro Shops, is a major outdoor retail chain that sells fishing gear, accessories, and related navigation products, providing a broad incumbent channel competing with FHS's dealer-distributed catalog.
• Raymarine: Raymarine, part of FLIR Systems (now Teledyne), manufactures marine electronics and supports LightHouse charts as well as third-party mapping chips including those offered by Fishing Hot Spots.
• Lowrance: Lowrance is a major fishing-electronics brand owned by Navico and a key distribution partner for FHS digital chips; it also sells first-party cartography through C-MAP and other branded mapping solutions.
• Garmin: Garmin manufactures chartplotters and, through Navionics, competes in chartplotter cartography. Fishing Hot Spots integrates with Garmin chartplotters via chip sales, making Garmin both a partner and a broad incumbent competitor in marine cartography.

Direct peers

• Navionics: Navionics (now owned by Garmin) produces marine electronic charts and sonar charts for recreational boating and fishing, directly competing with Fishing Hot Spots in the cartography-for-chartplotters category across mobile and chartplotter formats.
• C-MAP (by Lowrance): C-MAP provides electronic marine charts used on Lowrance and other marine electronics, including fishing-specific contour layers — directly substitutable with Fishing Hot Spots digital chips on the same Lowrance platform.
• Fishidy: Fishidy is a mobile fishing companion platform that already partners with Fishing Hot Spots, providing digital on-water mapping and catch-logging. It is both an integrated channel for FHS and a direct competitor in mobile fishing cartography.
• Lakemaster (by Humminbird): Lakemaster-branded fishing map cards are sold by Humminbird for its fishfinders and chartplotters, directly competing with FHS digital chips as the premier fishing-specific cartography add-on for competitive marine electronics brands.

Emerging players

• Fishbrain: Fishbrain is a community-driven mobile fishing app that crowdsources catches, depth, and structure data. It is an emerging substitute for paid cartography in the recreational angler segment that FHS primarily serves.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fishinghotspots
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1135149

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fishing Hot Spots