Fishing Software

[Andy & JoAnne]

All,

I hope I am not out of line here..........If so, I will delete the post.

I am a senior software application developer with 30+ years of experience. I have been contemplating/planning on creating a freshwater fishing software package for the past few months. I have done some browsing through some of the commercial applications available and haven't really seen one that is user friendly, comprehensive, customizable, and run on a multitude of platforms (tablet, iPhone, etc.). I would like pick your brains and see what information you would like to capture in this type of software and, as development progresses, know if you would be willing to test it out. I have been a member of OAF for quite some time, have met and fished with several members, and thought this would be ideal place to get such a project started.

Thanks for your thoughts.....

Andy

[HeWhoFishesSolo]

It would be neat to have a lakemap that you open in app that starts running and recording to the minute data in real time.. (For review later).. As you catch a fish you could mark in the app where you caught it.. (App already recording bm pressure/ temps/ etc meanwhile) you could set it up so through Siri you just talk and say, ten foot water, Norman Crankbait, water stained.. (And that data could be tied to that waypoint)

Its a great idea, its just sooooo broad ridiculous ideas kind of have to be thrown out there to get it started.. (I'm saying in an app, i realize there is likely equipment that does this already..)

Its a great idea.. My ipad surely has most anything (available to it via web) on it that would be required for most functions..

Hoping folks chime in.

[jpb2187]

I think something like an interactive fishing log could be cool. Where you can choose criteria on what was working for you that day (lures, locations, time of day, water temp, air temp, frontal/post frontal, etc.). After you have your data entered, you could open the app say a day before a trip and enter what the conditions will be like and it could open up several trips that you have encountered before with similar conditions- whether it was time of the year, same weather patterns, etc.

[Bird Watcher]

One thing that is lacking from the fishing journals I have looked at that would be very beneficial for me would be a real time interface with USGS river gauges and dam releases. (i.e. current!) I usually have to pull that information together myself from 2-4 sources and reference it back to a time that the fish started biting.

[Andy & JoAnne]

Good points. Thanks for your input. The way I envision the app is to record as much real time info as possible with minimal user input. There are ways to capture the types of info you pointed out. Limitations would be on how promptly these items are updated. I like the idea of being able to plan a trip, put in conditions, and based on past data, be able to have suggested locations/lures/depth. I hope to have a test version ready for the Spring and would love for you guys to give it a try.

[bfishn]

In the "always thinking of others" vein...

...how 'bout a phone app that triggers your car alarm if you spend more than 3-4 minutes on the ramp?

...or a cloaking mode to hide when you're reeling one in?

...or a tractor beam that attracts fish but repels other boats?

[HeWhoFishesSolo]

LOL

[DChance]

I also like an interactive log. An app assoc with it for easy entries after fish catches to record and enter data tjat can later be viewed and studied on pc or tablet/device. GPS those catches on a topo map as well would be very cool.

[Ham]

It would be vital to be able to look back at the data in a variety of searchable modes. Looking back at your trips based on month or current water temps, water level, CFS where applicable, by weather trends, by body of water.

It would help you refine patterns or decide where your best oppurtuntities lie for the next trip.

[Bluff-Bassin]

I've been keeping a detailed fishing log on an excel spreadsheet for the last 10 years. I have looked into some of the commercially available fishing logs from websites but none have had all the data points I wanted and most were difficult and timely to navigate. I couldnt agree more about the minimal user imput. The more that can be auto filled by the app the better and easier it will appear. Here is what I thought would help. If the app could pull weather data from one of the major weather apps (weather.com/accuweather) from the closest location available to you. Also sync and load the lake level and fluctuation as mentioned. Sync with your phones camera function so you could easily add in a picture of a lure/piece of cover/or fish to go back and reference at a later date. Sync the app with depth/location data from navionics app.

The big downfall to the apps on a phone compared to a computer is it is much more tedious to add data with a phone keyboard than a traditional desktop and keyboard. To counter act this I would think redundancy in data entry should be minimized. For example if someone is fishing with a 3/8 ounce white/chart spinnerbait and enters that information in once, the next time someone enters "spinner" it would provide the option to auto fill all the additional data used from previous entries. This would be especially helpful as anglers are creatures of habit and I often use the same lure through out the year at different times. The best time for me to record data is immediately before and after the trip. It would be cool if you started the app when you pulled into the boat ramp. When it opened it asked you a short series of questions about the conditions and provided you options to click instead of having to manually enter it on a keyboard. These would be questions like water clarity, watertemp, boat traffic, etc. Then a similar series of questions when you left the lake. This would show the changes that occured through out the day. As mentioned above, the greatest benefit to me would be the ability to sync it with a computer based program on a desktop much like iphone syncs with itunes on a computer or tablet. This would allow all the data to be easily retrieved and viewed at a later date.

This would all be a ton of work I'm sure haha but hey, you asked!