The Impact of "Tech Tackle"
We tend to think of fly fishing tackle as your rod, reel, flies, and everything else you need to catch fish. However, it feels like no trip is complete without technology too, like navigation and weather apps. "Tech tackle" has become intermixed with traditional forms tackle, and it's here to stay.
The goal of HatchCharts.io is to contribute something small to the "tech tackle box", giving fly fishers a modern fly fishing resource that puts insect hatch information at their fingertips. Lots of amazing work has been done by fly fishing experts to document the most important hatches in almost all of the country's top fly fishing destinations. However, much of that information is spread out across multiple sources. Many anglers would agree that simple hatch charts only scratch the surface of truly identifying what the fish might be feeding on.
By consolidating the best source data, such as generalized public data (ex: entomological studies) and classic, historical hatch charts (usually in table format for creatures and months of the year), fly fishers can more quickly identify the fundamental food sources available to fish all over the country.
HatchCharts.io plans to go way deeper than that though. If you research hatches for any amount of time, you will hear from countless sceptics that agree there's way more to the story. The goal is to capture all of those details and give you the most accurate resource you can find in preparation for your next outing.
Confessions of an Indoorsman
My name is Colin and I started working on HatchCharts.io at the beginning of 2025. I feel like I need to set some expectations on who I am and how I arrived at making this website. The worst thing you can do online is pretend to be something you're not, so here's a little bit about me:
- I’ve done a good bit of fly fishing, but I am by no means an expert on it yet. If you're into fly fishing, you probably fish way more than me! I'm hoping to learn from the pros as this project comes to life.
- My current priorities keep me inside a lot (can we start a “work from outside” movement for all the desk jobs please!?). Hatchcharts.io is my attempt to squeeze in a little adventure and exploration from home without sacrificing what's important to me.
- This is my first real attempt to make a website, so I'm excited to improve on it slowly until it becomes something super functional and fun to use!
Feel free to reach out to me on the contact page if you have any questions or ideas!