Best Fishing Apps

Who goes anywhere without their phone these days? It's not only because we're all moderately obsessed with technology, but it's a good idea to have one on your side in case of any emergency on your fishing trip. Since you're taking it with you, you might as well download some fishing apps! Here are five Smartphone and/or tablet apps the modern fisherman will find useful.

Navionics Boating

It makes complete sense for all anglers to own the world's number-one boating app. On your mobile device, get the same detailed charts as on the best GPS plotters on the market. A Navionics+ one-year subscription includes downloads of Nautical Chart, SonarChart, and Community Edits that will reside on your device even after expiration. You will also get daily Chart Updates, Dock-to-dock Autorouting, Navigation Module, Advanced Map Options, Plotter Sync, Weather & Tides and, only on iPhone/iPad, Timeline. Maps include detailed one-foot contours allowing anglers to pinpoint exact spots. You can also add waypoints — just like you would on a GPS plotter.

€¢    Dock-to-dock Autorouting is a unique breakthrough in boating navigation, quickly creates detailed routes even through narrow passages and channels, based on chart data and navigation aids. Choose your destination by selecting a point of interest, entering a lat/long or by tapping on the map and your route is calculated. You can see estimated fuel consumption, distance, and ETA.

€¢    Advanced route planning with ETA, distance to arrival, fuel consumption and more. Plotter Sync lets you connect to a compatible Raymarine Wi-Fi eligible plotter to transfer routes and markers, update charts to your Navionics plotter card and more via the Boating app.

€¢    Get detailed weather forecasts and weather buoy data. See hourly and daily forecasts, wind conditions, tides, currents, temperature, air pressure, visibility, precipitation and sun/moon cycles. In addition, NOAA Weather Buoy data can include wind speed, gust and direction, air pressure, water temperature, wave height and other relevant marine info. Watch this video for more information.

€¢    Enjoy looking back at your trips in the track Timeline where you can see photos taken while tracking, POIs and Navionics panoramic images. Available on iPhone/iPad only.

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GoFree Hooked

If you love to keep a record of your fishing escapades, the GoFree Hooked app is your best companion for each trip. With this app, you can keep a comprehensive record of each angling trip. You will use it to capture fish photos, take notes about each fish or record where you caught it using GPS. What's more, you can easily share this information with friends, family or other anglers through text messages, social media or email. Better still, add fun to the activity by inviting other users into a fishing contest and project the action through a live leaderboard.

After several trips, you can review your fishing notes, catch locations and fish details to learn if your angling prowess is improving. Since the app records the location, date and time when you caught different fish, use this information to find out the best areas and time to go fishing so you can improve your chances of getting more. Engaging in fishing tournaments can also push you to hone your fishing skills and become a better angler with time. The GoFree Hooked app is available for IOS and Android devices free of charge.

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Pro Angler

Are you a die-hard saltwater angler? The Pro Angler app is a one-stop shop for you. It is designed to offer you all the information you require to become a pro. Available for IOS and Android devices at no cost, this app is packed with pro-tips by expert anglers within your location, details about over 220 fish varieties, over 1000 bait/tackle shop locations and fish recipes from top chefs. Besides, it uses GPS to guide your boat through fishing hot spots and reefs. Each week, you get real-time updates of marine weather, what's biting and other exciting news regarding saltwater fishing.

It is easy to enjoy success in fishing when you are empowered with information. The Pro Angler app comes to provide fishermen with the information they need to exploit every opportunity they have at fishing. If your main limitation is that you cannot locate a bait shop, refueling marina or charter captain, Pro Angler app has the map details for you. If you cannot tie a Palomar knot, this app has the instructions. Better still, plan your trip in advance by viewing current fishing reports in your area remotely.

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Fishidy

With Fishidy app, you gain access to interactive fishing maps which have useful information such as log catches and spots, local angling reports and pro-tips from other anglers. Besides, you can also use the app to record your catches, locations and share with friends or show-off your success by posting them on the online "bragging board." If you want to assess your performance a few months down the line, you can check it out on the go from your app.

The Fishidy app is simple and user-friendly but enables you to eliminate guesswork whilst keeping fishing exciting. You can download it for free to their Android or IOS smartphone/tablets.

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Deeper

Deeper is an app that works in the online or offline mode to provide anglers with valuable fishing information. You can use it to determine the best days and times to go fishing using its Solunar Forecast Calendar, stay ahead of the weather changes using its Weather Forecast feature and change your screen preference to day/night or classic color mode to suit the time of the day. Other functions include social media sharing, photo shoot, and note-taking. It is free and available for both android and IOS devices.

The best bit about the deeper app is that you can combine it with the revolutionary Deeper Smart Fishfinder to provide you with various underwater details to influence your success anytime you go out fishing. This sonar device scans the underwater and relays information such as the bottom structure, depth of the site, underlying vegetation, location of fish, and water temperatures, among other details, to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth.

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Fishbrain

Fishbrain app is a popular app among the fishing fraternity due to its community-focused information sharing features. It is designed so that anglers can start and join discussions with peers. Just like in social media forums which bring like-minded people together, anglers can share tips, observations, their experiences and other information to help each other in nurturing their skill.

With Fishbrain, you can also get useful fishing information such as the hot fishing locations both locally and internationally, view fishing reports, track your catches and share photos with your groups or family members.  Available for Android and IOS at no cost, this app is handy for both new and experienced anglers.

Conclusion

The best Smartphone or tablet apps for the modern fisherman meet various needs. They can provide weather forecasts, marine charts and act as platforms for virtual tournaments. They not only help eliminate guesswork but also come to make fishing safer and more exciting.

Dave Holden is a content editor on ProPaddling. Dave is an avid kayaker and angler who likes to spend his weekends and holidays exploring mountain lakes and streams.