What is the best fish catch log app?

[07Rapala]

I'm looking for a good catch logging app for my phone. I have looked at many apps and do a quick review alone, but really none of them is perfect, or even near perfect. I would like some input from other folks as well. Here are the features I think are important:

 

1. Quick and easy to use so I can get back to catching.
2. Data can be downloaded from the phone so I can review the results in a spreadsheet.
3. Include a mapping features so I can see catch locations. Ideally this map would be a bathymetric map, showing water depth and other features.
4. I would also like to be able to add points and draw areas on this map, which is a bit beyond what one could expect from a basic catch log, however, it would make for one fishing app to rule them all.

 

Here are the Apps I have evaluated so far:

• Fishing Smart: (★★★★) Seems somewhat crude compared to flashier offerings. A little slow to set-up with new lures and such, but probably pretty smooth once you've used it a while as it remembers the data from your previous catch (so if you're still using the same lure and catching the same species of fish, no need to input that). You can Export data to a CSV file! Does have a mapping feature, but it only shows google satellite images, and cannot be drawn on. With a bathymetric map and the ability to draw on it, this would be an absolute winner.
• FishBrain: (★★★) Focuses on the social aspect, but you can choose to make your catches private. Good for getting to know a lake that you are unfamiliar with, but seems to be most popular among shore anglers and young users. Though its great to see kids getting into fishing, its not always the most useful information. Has great Navionics maps on the phone, but not on the website, so not great for planning. Very easy to input catches, you can even do it from a photo, and it will get the location and time data from the photo's metadata for you. This means you can just photograph your fish when you're on the water and log the catch later. It even has a feature to ID the fish species, which I don't find necessary, but its pretty neat, especially for people learning. In addition to your catch points being on the map, you can drop points, but not draw areas. Cannot export data, so that's a deal breaker for me as a catch logger, but the app has other uses.
• Fishing Spots: (★★★) Another social app. No way to download or review catches, no bathymetric map. Oddly, it can capture the catch time from the metadata of a photo of fish, but not the location. Nice set-up though, well designed, automatically captures weather data for the time/location of the catch, and has a pretty good list of lures to choose from rather than having to build it from scratch. Has an automatic fish species ID and includes a 'fish forecast'. Add maps and data downloading and this one could be great.
• Angler's Log: (★★★) Would take a while to set-up with every lure you might use, lake you might fish, species you might catch, etc. But it does allow you to capture useful data. Nice interface. Pro version ($12/yr) allows you to back-up to Google Drive, which I assume means you can access and review the data in a spreadsheet. You can see your catch locations on google maps, but that's about it.
• Fishidy: (★★) It seems the developers have abandoned this app, but its still somewhat useful. It does have an accurate bathymetric map, with Fishing Hot Spots info, and you can drop points, but the map can be hard to read, especially in the sun. Clearly meant to be a social app with good mapping features, not a catch logger, but user-base is waning due to lack of recent development.
• Anglr: (★★) This one is a little different, they may be moving in an interesting direction, but not what I'm looking for right now. Looks like the idea is to record a track for your entire fishing voyage, then you can just pin catches and points along the route as you want. Seems to rely a lot on connected devices... a tag that you can put on your rod? Tackle used input is crude. Doesn't really appeal to me but I'd be interested to see what they're up to in a couple years. Bathymetric maps for Great Lakes and the ocean, but not inland lakes. No data export.
• Fishaholics: (★) Similar to FishBrain, and free, but less well developed and lacks bathymetric map, limited user base.
• Catch Logger: (★) Seems underdeveloped. No map feature, however a premium account allows you to "online sync".
• Catch: (★) Very limited data you can enter, so not particularly useful.
• Angler: (★) Hybrid fishing forecast and catch log. Not much details, no map, no data export.
• Fishing Plus: (★) Doesn't seem to offer anything these other apps don't and also looks like a chore to set-up.

 

In conclusion, unless anyone knows of any better options, I think I will be recording my catches for now with FishingSmart, and using the mapping and social feature on FishBrain for planning and navigation. Its unfortunately that I would have to double-enter information if I would like all my catches to be on FishBrain, but if I really want to, I could just take photos of my fish when on the water and enter them in FishBrain at a later time, which may not be so bad.

[MickD]

Small spiral tablet, pencil.  There might be a better solution, but it's worked very well for a long time.  Easy to go back to previous records.

[DogBone_384]

I use, and like, ANGLR and keep my own spreadsheet.  I can pick up patterns easily with ANGLR and transfer the weather data to my spreadsheet manually.  I’ve connected my Lowrance to ANGLR a couple times, but I doubt I’ll use it.  

 

ANGLR’s developers reply to emails and encourage communication with their users.  That tells me they’re paying attention and want to improve their APP.

 

If you’re good with EXCEL or NUMBERS, use your own log.  You can set it up the way you want and keep your notes more easily.

 

Best of luck.

[Deleted account]

Don't know, never will.

[schplurg]

Doesn't FishBrain post where people caught all their fish? Or would that information be secret to you if you wanted it to be?

 

Quote

The map shows the amount of logged catches in each body of water, which species anglers have caught and with what gear.

 

Sounds like a good way to destroy good fishing spots.

[07Rapala]

2 hours ago, schplurg said:

Doesn't FishBrain post where people caught all their fish? Or would that information be secret to you if you wanted it to be?

 

 

Sounds like a good way to destroy good fishing spots.

You can post the exact location of a catch, and that may be the default condition, but you can definitely set it to mask your location, and anything else about your catch such as the lure you were using. Most people have it set to record the body of water they are in, but not the location, leaving you to try to guess by the background of the photo as to their rough location.