From the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, winter’s hold is slowly releasing it’s grip. That first line cast in the spring warmth is like medicine for a long-lasting ailment. FishAngler’s suite of utility features are just what you need to welcome a spring full of successful fishing. Below, we’ve highlighted some of our favorite app features and how they can help you set the hook once the warm weather arrives.

Whether the Weather…

Your time on the water is precious and spring weather can be fickle at best. In some places you can expect sun, rain and snow in the same week. Sometimes in the same day! FishAngler’s weather forecast uses NOAA information to help you plan your fishing days. Your highs and lows for the day will be clearly displayed and easily accessed on your app as well as the predicted precipitation and cloud cover. The sun forecast will even give you an accurate idea of how much daylight you have before that “one more last cast”.

Tides, Waves, and Buoys

On the ocean, having access to accurate weather information is imperative to the safety of you and your crew. It’s also important for predicting the movement of specific species. FishAngler’s Wave Forecast provides you with the size of swells, direction, and frequency of the day’s wave patterns on your chosen section of water. The Tidal Forecast will give you exact highs and lows of the day’s tides. You get the predicted time until the next high tide, as well as how long ago the previous tide was. The chart will also provide you with a graph outlining rising and falling tides throughout times of the day. You can even plan upcoming fishing trips by getting the highs and lows for the balance of the week.

If you’re looking for forecasts on a specific stretch of ocean, enable the buoy filter of your map. Buoys will appear as red waypoint icons on your map.

  • Select the Filter icon in the top right-hand corner of your Map screen.
  • Scroll down under the Layers section and ensure that your Buoys/Stations layer is checked.
  • Go back to your map by tapping the “X” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
  • Locate a buoy icon (red waypoint icon) and select it.
  • An information card will slide up at the bottom of your screen.
  • Select the weather icon in the lower right-hand corner of the information card.
Predicting the Bite with the Fish Forecast

FishAngler’s Fish Forecast uses solar and lunar placement as well as feeding habits, temperature and lunar cycles to predict when fish will be most active. The forecast lets you know if activity levels are rising as the day goes on, or if things should be slowly waning due to conditions like high sun, or temperature swings.

The best times of day to fish will appear on your screen as green spikes with corresponding times. Typically, there will be four peaks a day when the fishing should be at its best. Two of these spikes will be major rises in activity, while the other two will be considered minor. You can also see the approximate time of these peak fishing windows at the top of the chart. 

Under Pressure

Fish of all species are highly in tune with their environment. They have incredible organs and attributes. Their lateral line system, for example, helps them detect the slightest vibrations and changes underwater. This is why understanding pressure is not only important for understanding incoming storms, but also fish feeding habits. Underwater barometric pressure can even displace insects and other food sources.

Pressure in the spring, like most things, can be hard to predict. Paying attention to the barometer on your FishAngler app will help you predict when inclement weather is on the way. It will also give you a comparative idea on what levels fish are feeding at.

Blowing in the Wind

Wind is many an angler’s arch enemy. It costs us more flies, lures and curse words than we can count. Checking wind velocity when spring storms are brewing helps anglers determine which banks to fish from. This way, you can use the wind to send your line out instead of fighting it. The same goes for lake shores and ponds.

For boat anglers, wind speed has a direct correlation to wake sizes on lakes. Keeping a close eye on your wind direction can save you from heading to the lake just to turn tail and leave at the site of white caps.

Plenty of Fish in the Sea

If the winter downtime has you thinking of new species to check off your bucket list, FishAngler’s fish species database is your destination. Our database includes information about environment, scientific data, food value, and more, for over 30,000 different species of fish! When you download the app and allow your phone’s internal GPS to share your location, a list of species in your general region will appear.

You can also choose to follow fish species.

  • Go to the “More” menu in the lower right-hand corner of your app screen. 
  • Scroll down to “Fish Species” under the Discover section.
  • Select “Follow” next to the suggested list of Top Species in Region.
  • Or search for your target species at the top of the screen.
In Search of New Water

It’s safe to say many anglers suffer the effects of cabin fever. It’s easy to spend the winter thinking of new waters to go explore. The FishAngler app will help you plan a trip on a brand new piece of water or a new section of one of your favorite rivers or lakes. Our Map clearly labels bodies of water and provides the option to open navigation in the mapping app of your choice.

Or maybe you’re looking for a spot and you know the name but don’t know where it is. All you need to do is go to the “More” menu in the bottom right-hand corner of your app screen and scroll down to “Bodies of Water near me” in the Discover section. A list of nearby bodies of water will be provided. Simply find the lake, river, or creek you’re looking for, select it and the app will take you to the water’s exact location on the map. You can also get forecast information for the body of water or choose to follow it. 

Map layers, like catches and reports, will show you the kind of action other anglers are getting in the area you are exploring. The catch intel can provide you key insight into fishing a new spot, or simply deter you from a location that is not productive for the time of year or species of fish you are interested in.

Connect Near and Far

Some of the best fishing information we get is from word of mouth. Maybe it was from some salty Joe on the bar stool next to us at the watering hole, or the old owner at the fly shop. At FishAngler we don’t just want to improve your time on the water, we want to keep you connected to the wealth of information anglers from all over the world can provide. You can connect locally to find which early season rigs are working on largemouths, or find someone on your global feed to get tips from for that destination fishing trip you’ve got planned. You can also share photos of your catches, and join or start groups where you and like-minded anglers can share tips and information. Our goal is to help keep you connected to the fishing action, near and far.

Log It  

Spring can be a tricky time to fish. As the waters are warming up many fish are just starting to shake off their lethargy from winter. They’re still not actively feeding like in the summer, but they are starting to get more active and aggressive when chasing a meal.

For anglers that prefer to keep their juicy secrets to themselves, our app serves as a logbook. Record your successes and tag them with over 45 catch attributes, like weather and forecast data, to give you a better understanding of what was working that specific day. You can also look back and analyze your tactics to ensure a higher likelihood of success for future fishing endeavors. Other tags to help keep track of your catches include fly patterns, leaders, weights, lures, live and natural baits, rod size and more!

Spring is on the way, but regardless of the time of year, the FishAngler app is the best mobile tool to improve every aspect of your time on the water.

Click below to download the FishAngler app today and find new ways to make the most of your time on the water this spring.

 

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