Fishing apps have become an indispensable tool for modern anglers. With sophisticated mapping, weather tracking, and community features, the top fishing apps can help you save time finding fish and have more success landing them.
In this complete guide, we’ll highlight the key capabilities of the best fishing apps in 2023 and provide pros and cons for the top options. Whether you fish occasionally or compete in tournaments, these apps will help take your fishing game to the next level.
Key Features of the Best Fishing Apps
When navigating the seemingly endless catalog of fishing apps, what key features should you look for? Here are some must-haves:
Accurate, Up-to-Date Maps: The best apps provide depth contours, underwater structure, vegetation maps, and other key data to pinpoint fish hotspots on a lake or river system. This mapping should be recently updated from on-the-water crowd sourcing.
Reliable Weather Tracking: Any seasoned angler knows major weather events like cold fronts can shut down the bite. Quality fishing apps incorporate hyperlocal weather data and predictions to help you time outings for optimal conditions.
Robust Fish Activity Reporting: Beyond environmental factors, understand what’s actually happening below the surface. The top apps show recent catch reports from the fishing community to reveal patterns in fish location and feeding activity.
Helpful Fishing Insights: Apps that offer extra context through bite forecasts, recommended baits/presentations, and fishing tips tailored to your target species give you an added edge to capitalize on fish behavior.
Affordability: While some advanced features carry a subscription cost, the best apps also offer a solid free version so all anglers can benefit without breaking the bank.
Now let’s explore the top fishing apps available in 2023 using these criteria.
1. Fishbrain – Best Overall
With over 16 million users globally, Fishbrain earns its place as the most popular and fully-featured fishing app available.
While the free version provides basics like mapping and species identification, the $12.99 monthly subscription (or $69.99 annually) unlocks advanced capabilities. These include:
- Crowd-sourced fish activity reports from the last 4 hours to 14 days
- Artificial intelligence algorithms that analyze reports to predict best areas to fish
- Recommended lures/presentations for different species and conditions
- Fishing forecasts based on solunar activity and other environmental factors
- Depth contours, vegetation maps, bottom composition (sand, rock, etc.)
For the serious angler, Fishbrain provides unparalleled insight into fish behavior and location patterns to eliminate guesswork. And the sheer volume of data from its widespread user network makes its analysis extremely dependable.
Pros
- Massive community provides extensive, reliable data
- Powerful predictive features improve catch rate
- Available for iOS and Android
Cons
- Subscription is expensive for casual users
- Less helpful on smaller fisheries with less data
2. FishAnglr – Best for Connecting with Other Anglers
While Fishbrain focuses heavily on hardcore fish finding, FishAnglr delivers robust social networking capabilities that appeal to casual and competitive anglers alike.
After creating a free account, anglers can post reports, share photos, chat in the feed, and join groups related to specific fisheries or species. This is a great way to get the latest intel from locals before hitting the water.
For $4.99 per month, users also gain access to:
- Community-sourced catch reports and predictions
- Solunar forecasts and weather tracking
- Digital fishing log to record data like locations, baits, equipment, and catches
The affordable subscription combined with its stellar community make FishAnglr a very well-rounded option.
Pros
- Active social community shares real-time intel
- Inexpensive subscription with helpful fishing tools
- Available on iOS, Android, and web
Cons
- Fewer advanced predictive features than Fishbrain
- Activity focused around popular fisheries
3. Fishing Spots – Best for Basic Mapping
Sometimes simple is best. For anglers that want to identify fishing spots and structure clearly without all the bells and whistles, Fishing Spots delivers.
After entering a lake or river, users gain instant access to:
- Depth contour mapping
- Reef, vegetation, and structure mapping
- Public/private land boundaries
- Boat ramp locations
- Recent community catch reports (on free version)
While paying $4.99 monthly provides personal tracking tools, the free features supply ample mapping intel to find promising areas to target. No matter your target species, this app provides the cartography foundation and latest catch reports to kickstart your search.
Pros
- Excellent contour and structure maps
- Recent catch reports on free version
- Easy point-based fishing spot identification
Cons
- No advanced weather or predictions
- Limited community engagement
4. Fishing Points – Best for Forecasts
While apps like Fishbrain use community knowledge and AI to generate forecasts, Fishing Points leverages scientific weather data for its predictions.
By incorporating high-resolution weather models, tidal movements, and solunar activity, Fishing Points provides bite forecasts on an hourly basis for the next seven days. This quantitative approach generally carries more weight with savvy anglers than qualitative crowd-sourcing alone.
Beyond forecasts, Fishing Points allows users to log catches, favorite fishing spots, set reminders, and get general weather reports free of charge. For $4.99 monthly, expect added mapping and tracking capabilities.
Pros
- Scientific weather model powers forecasts
- Log catches and save locations
- Basic weather info on free version
Cons
- No community knowledge incorporation
- Limited species-specific guidance
5. HumminbirdSOLIX – Best Fish Finder Integration
Fish finders provide the ultimate view of real-time fish activity and positioning. But historically, transferring sonar data from a finder to map for future use has been extremely tedious.
Humminbird’s SOLIX Series fish finders now seamlessly integrate with Humminbird’s apps via built-in Bluetooth to solve this problem.
While fishing, anglers can link their SOLIX finder to the app to record waypoints, tracks, and sonar logs generated during the outing. Later, this data automatically syncs to Humminbird’s LakeMaster mapping software on a computer for analysis and trip planning.
This tight integration helps anglers learn from each experience on the water. Over time, recorded waypoints with high fish activity transform random exploring into a more targeted, efficient approach over time.
Pros
- Automates recording fish finder data
- Creates a searchable history of fish activity
- Syncs data across devices for best analysis
Cons
- Requires Humminbird SOLIX fish finder
- LakeMaster mapping carries subscription fee
- Limited weather and forecasting features
6. Fishidy – Best for Tournament Anglers
For pros and amateurs alike, competition fuels the drive to hone skills and push limits. This is where Fishidy enters the foray.
While providing well-rounded community features, Fishidy heavily caters to tournament anglers by making competition organization smooth and social.
Anglers create profiles highlighting fishing stats and achievements, then enter free online tournaments with cash payouts to leaderboards. Competitors can chat before and during tourneys, then view final results and leaderboards.
The app also integrates mapping, weather, and reporting tools to help anglers research new bodies of water. Overall, Fishidy does an excellent job balancing competitive offerings with helpful fishing resources.
Pros
- Profile customization and statistics tracking
- Smooth competition bracket integration
- Community and mapping features
Cons
- More focused on tournaments than casual fishing
- Requires using multiple apps for complete insights
7. ReelReports – Best for Saltwater Fishing
Finding fish becomes exponentially harder when battling wind, waves, and wide open ocean. ReelReports provides offshore and inshore saltwater anglers a distinct home-field advantage.
By tapping into local fishing captain networks, ReelReports provides incredibly detailed, recent catch reporting around structures like wrecks, reefs, rigs, beaches, and jetties. Plus, the app incorporates up-to-date NOAA weather buoy and tidal data to help predict ideal conditions.
From tuna and mahi offshore to redfish and trout in the marsh, saltwater success depends greatly on timing and pinpointing specific environments. For $29.99 yearly, ReelReports offers hard-to-beat insights for seaside fishing expeditions.
Pros
- Specialized for saltwater fishing
- Very precise catch reporting
- Surface temperature info guides offshore trips
Cons
- Narrowly tailored to coastal fishing
- Requires annual subscription
Key Tips for Using Fishing Apps
To maximize effectiveness on the water, keep these tips in mind when using fishing apps:
Cross-Reference Data – Consult multiple apps for their take on weather, bite windows, locations, etc. This helps filter subjective or inaccurate information.
Study Historical Patterns – Don’t just look at what happened yesterday. Analyze long-term trends around weather, catch frequency, and lure choices for a bigger picture.
Sync Waypoints – When catching fish, drop waypoints in the app for those high-percentage spots to target again later.
Bring Backup Batteries – Losing app access from a dead phone leaves you blind. Carry portable chargers and charge between spots.
Fishing App Comparison
| App | Best For | Subscription | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishbrain | Overall fishing, predictions | $12.99 monthly | iOS, Android |
| FishAnglr | Social, community | $4.99 monthly | iOS, Android, Web |
| Fishing Spots | Maps and structure | $4.99 monthly | iOS, Android |
| Fishing Points | Forecasts, weather | $4.99 monthly | iOS, Android |
| Humminbird SOLIX | Fish finder integration | LakeMaster fee | iOS, Android |
| Fishidy | Tournaments | Free | iOS, Android |
| ReelReports | Saltwater fishing | $29.99 yearly | iOS, Android |
Key Takeaways
The most effective fishing apps deliver accurate environmental awareness, community knowledge, and helpful recommendations that enable anglers to anticipate fish behavior rather than merely react.
Advanced algorithms and mass crowd-sourcing now provide incredible insight into productive fishing. While no app alone holds every answer, cross-referencing a couple go-to options gives seasoned advantage to casual and professional anglers chasing their next epic catch.
