fishdonkey
FishDonkey operates a mobile and web platform for hosting and joining digital fishing tournaments, using its patented Catch Photo Video Release® and Digital Livewell® technologies to enable catch-and-release tournament play with offline capability and anti-cheating verification, serving individual anglers, clubs, schools, and parks and recreation departments.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersNot specified, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What fishdonkey does
FishDonkey, Inc. is a US-incorporated, founder-owned private company that operates a mobile and web platform for hosting and participating in digital fishing tournaments. The company was co-founded by Darren Amundson and Bonnie Amundson, who also invented the platform's two foundational patented technologies: Digital Livewell®, which records fish catches without requiring internet connectivity, and Catch Photo Video Release® (CPVR), which uses photo and video evidence to verify catches and enable immediate release back to natural habitat, addressing fish mortality concerns inherent in traditional livewell-based tournaments.
The product consists of a native iOS and Android app for anglers and a web-based tournament management portal (tourney.fishdonkey.com) for organizers. Organizers can configure rules, prizes, sponsors, and payment accounts, while the app provides real-time live leaderboards, species-flexible catch recording, anti-cheating verification (including boat video check-ins), and offline operation via Digital Livewell. Complementing the core platform, FishDonkey runs the North American Master Angler (NAMA) program, a year-long species achievement initiative spanning 61 fish species across North American public waters.
The business model combines freemium tournament hosting (free for organizers) with three monetization streams: per-tournament service fees paid by participating anglers, recurring subscriptions for tournament organizers including a dedicated high school and college team tier, and transaction-based promotional tournament services for businesses and brands (with coupon/promo code support tied into retail channels). Distribution is product-led through app stores and self-serve web onboarding, and the company reports 171,000+ anglers, 18,000+ tournaments, 1.8 million+ fish photos, 276,000+ release videos, and usage across 10 countries as of October 11, 2025. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding.
fishdonkey firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- fishdonkey
- Legal name
- FishDonkey, Inc.
- Website
- https://fishdonkey.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- FishDonkey operates a mobile and web platform for hosting and joining digital fishing tournaments, using its patented Catch Photo Video Release® and Digital Livewell® technologies to enable catch-and-release tournament play with offline capability and anti-cheating verification, serving individual anglers, clubs, schools, and parks and recreation departments.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
fishdonkey industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fishing Tournament Management Software
- SIC
- Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Esports Competition Platforms (Tournament Platforms, Matchmaking, Ladders) (MPAFADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Fishing & Angling Charters / Guides (THAAALAD)
Keywords
Where fishdonkey is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Not specified
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
fishdonkey business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Angler Service Fees: Fishermen pay a service fee to join and participate in tournaments. This is the primary revenue stream from end users.
- Tournament Hosting Subscriptions: Subscription plans for tournament organizers, including high school and college team subscriptions, with direct billing options available.
- Promotional Tournament Services: Businesses can run promotional tournaments with coupon and promotional codes, tying into retail channels for extended brand engagement.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free Tournament Hosting |
| Subscription | Annual | High School Subscriptions |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Angler Service Fee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
fishdonkey product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FishDonkey provides a mobile app (iOS and Android) and a web-based platform that enable anglers to join, record, and verify fish catches in competitive fishing tournaments, and enable organizers to host and manage those tournaments. The platform is built around two proprietary technologies — Catch Photo Video Release® (CPVR) for photo/video-based catch documentation with immediate release, and Digital Livewell® for offline-capable fish recording in remote locations with no cellular service. Tournament hosting is free for organizers, while participating anglers pay a service fee, with additional subscriptions offered for high school and college fishing teams and promotional tournament services for businesses.
Product overview
FishDonkey is a tournament fishing technology platform consisting of a mobile app (available for Android and iOS) and a web-based tournament management platform. The core offering centers on Catch Photo Video Release (CPVR) and Digital Livewell technologies, which enable catch-and-release fishing tournaments with anti-cheating verification. The ecosystem includes the North American Master Angler (NAMA) achievement program spanning 61 fish species. Tournament hosts use the web platform to manage events while anglers use the mobile app to record catches and track live leaderboards.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Catch Photo Video Release® (CPVR™): A patented catch documentation process that makes fishing tournaments more sustainable by allowing immediate fish release after photo/video recording.
- Digital Livewell®
Products and services
- FishDonkey Mobile App A native mobile application available on iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play) that allows individual anglers to join fishing tournaments, pay entry fees, record catches using the Catch Photo Video Release (CPVR) process, submit entries for verification, and view real-time live leaderboards. The app works offline via Digital Livewell technology, enabling tournament participation in remote locations without cellular service.
- FishDonkey Tournament Management Website Platform A Chrome-based web platform that enables tournament directors and organizers to host, set up, and manage fishing tournaments end-to-end — including rules configuration, prize setup, sponsor management, payment accounts, and participant communication — and to view real-time live leaderboards throughout the event.
- North American Master Angler (NAMA) Program A year-long fishing achievement program that recognizes anglers who catch 61 different fish species at qualifying minimum lengths across North American public waters, providing a structured species-challenge goal that keeps anglers engaged on the platform.
- High School and College Fishing Team Subscriptions A dedicated annual subscription offering tailored for high school and college fishing programs and teams, with direct billing options, designed for team practice sessions, inter-school competitions, and affordable tournament management under educational budgets.
Quantifiable outcome
- Eliminates delayed mortality from livewell storage by enabling immediate fish release
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use fishdonkey
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
fishdonkey technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
fishdonkey partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
fishdonkey competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- MyCatch: MyCatch is an angler science and catch-data platform combining citizen science with tournament-style catch recording. It intersects FishDonkey in catch documentation, photo verification, and species tracking for conservation-minded anglers.
- ANGLR (Yamaha): ANGLR provides fishing trip recording, gear tracking, and community features, now owned by Yamaha. It overlaps with FishDonkey in mobile fishing logging and is a potential consolidator in fishing-tech.
Direct peers
- FishBrain: FishBrain is a leading fishing app with catch logging, maps, and community features. It overlaps with FishDonkey in mobile fishing logging and social/community functionality, though it emphasizes catch tracking over tournament infrastructure.
- TourneyX: TourneyX is a dedicated fishing tournament management platform offering online registration, weigh-in, and leaderboard functionality. It is the closest direct competitor to FishDonkey's tournament-organizer product.
- iAngler: iAngler is a fishing tournament and catch-tracking app used by clubs and tournaments across the US. It competes directly with FishDonkey in mobile tournament participation and catch documentation.
- Fishing Chaos: Fishing Chaos is a mobile fishing tournament app with leaderboard and catch-photo functionality. It targets recreational tournament anglers similarly to FishDonkey's CPVR-based workflow.
Others
- Take Me Fishing (Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation): Take Me Fishing is the RBFF's consumer-facing platform for promoting recreational fishing. While not a direct competitor, it serves the same end-angler audience and could be a channel partner or competing platform for tournament discovery and participation.
Broad incumbents
- Bassmaster: Bassmaster is the largest professional bass fishing tournament organization and media brand. While it runs traditional weigh-in tournaments, it represents the established incumbent that digital tournament platforms like FishDonkey could disrupt or partner with.
- Major League Fishing: Major League Fishing (MLF) operates professional bass fishing tournaments and the largest US competitive fishing tour. As the dominant professional circuit, it is the benchmark for competitive fishing integrity that FishDonkey's anti-cheating tech targets.
- Garmin (Striker Cast): Garmin is a dominant fishing electronics brand with sonar and now mobile-app integrations. It is a broad incumbent with resources to enter tournament software if the category scales, representing both partnership and competitive risk for FishDonkey.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
fishdonkey social profiles
Digital presencefishdonkey compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
fishdonkey financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
fishdonkey leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
fishdonkey funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
fishdonkey M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about fishdonkey
What does fishdonkey do?
FishDonkey provides a mobile app (iOS and Android) and a web-based platform that enable anglers to join, record, and verify fish catches in competitive fishing tournaments, and enable organizers to host and manage those tournaments. The platform is built around two proprietary technologies — Catch Photo Video Release® (CPVR) for photo/video-based catch documentation with immediate release, and Digital Livewell® for offline-capable fish recording in remote locations with no cellular service. Tournament hosting is free for organizers, while participating anglers pay a service fee, with additional subscriptions offered for high school and college fishing teams and promotional tournament services for businesses.
Is fishdonkey a public or private company?
fishdonkey is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was fishdonkey founded?
fishdonkey was founded in -1.
Where is fishdonkey based?
fishdonkey is headquartered in Not specified, United States, in the North America region.
How does fishdonkey make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Angler Service Fees are the primary driver. The others are tournament Hosting Subscriptions and promotional Tournament Services.
Who are fishdonkey's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are MyCatch and ANGLR (Yamaha). Direct peers are FishBrain, TourneyX, iAngler and Fishing Chaos. Take Me Fishing (Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation) is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Bassmaster, Major League Fishing and Garmin (Striker Cast).
Does fishdonkey have an API?
No public API is recorded for fishdonkey.
What industry is fishdonkey in?
fishdonkey's product category is Fishing Tournament Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFADAF, Esports Competition Platforms (Tournament Platforms, Matchmaking, Ladders), with a secondary code of THAAALAD, Fishing & Angling Charters / Guides. Its SIC code is 7997.