The past decade has seen innovative technology shake up nearly every aspect of modern life—including timeless activities like catching fish. While our parents and grandparents may have spent countless hours searching for the best fishing spots, wondering about the weather, and struggling to connect with other fishermen, modern anglers have it much easier thanks to the many great fishing apps out there these days. Today, we’re taking a closer look at seven of the best.
Fishbrain
Cost: Free, Fishbrain Pro: $12.99/mo or $79.99/yr
Fishbrain combines the best elements of informational fishing apps with the power of crowdsourcing and social networking. It's the largest of its kind for anglers, with 15 million users logging catches at nearly as many locations. The free version of Fishbrain allows users to log their own experiences, follow their historical performance, and share with their online friends and followers, as well as access general reviews of fishing spots.
Pro Membership provides up-to-date reports on exactly where the fish are biting and the appropriate bait or lures. Meanwhile, depth maps, fishing forecasts, and the ability to plot waypoints offer additional benefits, as does the built-in pro shop, which includes tens of thousands of gear reviews to help with your next purchase. Fishbrain Pro provides
ANGLR
Cost: Free, Anglr Pro: $29.99/yr
An alternative all-in-one fishing app is Anglr. It's popular for its highly automated data collection, which can track your GPS locations, weather, and other factors automatically. By logging additional data on your own, it's easy to build an incredible database of fishing information to fine-tune your excursions. Users can either share this data publicly to help others or keep those secret spots to themselves with private storage.
ANGLR Pro offers additional map layers, water conditions, and even a Bluetooth remote to quickly and easily log waypoints or catch spots without opening your phone. All of this means more time fishing and less time recording data without sacrificing this valuable information.
Fish Deeper
Cost: Free, Premium: $6.99/mo or $24.99/yr
Those looking for the top choice for depth maps should try out the Fish Deeper app. The free version allows those with a castable Deeper sonar to create and log their own depth maps of their fishing areas, providing valuable data to improve your trips. This can range from water depth and temperature to the location of nearby fish in real time.
Like other best fishing apps, Fish Deeper also allows users to log catches, mark favorite spots, and check out weather forecasts. However, the best benefits come from the Premium level, which provides pre-scanned depth maps of more than 50,000 locations, which are regularly updated.
iAngler Tournament
Cost: Free
As the name suggests, iAngler Tournament is uniquely geared toward competitive tournament fishers. It's primarily used to quickly and easily log catches during catch-and-release competitions, as well as keep an eye on the leaderboard and fellow competitors. iAngler Tournament also provides information on upcoming tournaments, from dates and locations to detailed rules. Those interested in similar functionality outside the competitive sphere can use the standalone iAngler app instead.
Fishing & Hunting Solunar Time
Cost: Free
Fishing & Hunting Solunar Time is one of the best free fishing apps out there. It's based on the solunar theory, which suggests fish and other animal activity can be predicted based on the movement of the sun and moon. The app shows precisely when solunar fundamentals provide the best time to go fishing in your location or any other favorite fishing spots. You can also track the weather forecasts for upcoming days. It's a perfect planning app to help you dial in the ideal weekend for those bucket-list fishing trips.
Fishidy
Cost: Free, Premium: $9.99/mo, $49.99/yr
Fishidy is hard to beat when it comes to maps, with charts of more than 20,000 freshwater waterways and more than 180 saltwater fishing spots. While the free Basic version offers catch logging, real-time weather and fishing forecasts, and reports on local waterway activity, the Premium tier provides a Fishing Hot Spots map layer, GPS coordinates of proven spots, and fishing tips from local experts. With Fishidy, you'll easily spot hazards or landmarks, locate boat ramps and launches, and see real-time information on catches from fellow users.
FishAngler
Cost: Free
Another of our best free fishing apps, FishAngler provides an excellent option for folks looking for an all-in-one app but without the best features reserved for premium or paid members. Users can set up their custom feeds to automatically show them desired information or updates from other community members they can connect with.
This social element helps supplement the easy-to-use, in-demand features like catch logging directly on the map, with information from others helping provide tips for the best recent locations. This comes on top of real-time forecasts and a detailed personal logbook with up to 45 catch attributes for easy categorization and trend-spotting.
Step Up Your Next Fishing Day With Today's Top Fishing Apps
While fishing apps provide some incredible benefits, it's also important to be realistic about their limitations and downsides. For one, sharing information with other anglers could lead to frustrating crowding at popular spots. Additionally, those who come to rely on the apps may find themselves feeling lost or otherwise struggling with a lack of cell service, or a lost or broken phone. That's why it's vital to view them as part of your overall fishing toolbox (or tackle box, as it may be) that enhances your experience, not defines it.
Still, there's no doubt that the explosion of apps in recent years has made fishing easier and more fun for millions of anglers around the world. These best fishing apps offer varying benefits that will appeal to just about anyone, from beginners to experts. And with free and paid options, there's something for all budgets, too. So keep these apps in mind ahead of your next fishing trip, and you'll quickly see how they can make even the best fishing days even better.
When you’re ready to head out for your next fishing trip, Free Fly has you covered from head to toe with breathable, packable, quick-dry fishing apparel for men and women. From best-selling fishing hoodies, tops, shorts, and more, our men’s and women’s fishing apparel is designed for unparalleled comfort and protection out on the water. Shop now to find your essential fishing gear for every season.
0 Comments