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An extra edge on
the water with the FishHead App (continued)
  On
the river detail screen anglers can see a chart which maps the flows for a
single day, 5 day or 10 day period. For a more extended view of this they can
rotate the iPhone and the screen will go into landscape mode making it easy to
see the trend over time. This is very useful for trip planning and we used this
feature before heading up on our last trip to the Smith River. We showed this
information to the local guides and they found the information to be both
accurate and useful.
FishHead also offers tide data
which I found very useful in the Northern California Delta
Under the lunar detail
page anglers can see when the sun rises and sets, when the moon rises and sets,
and the app will even calculate the length of each day down to how long anglers
will get visible light. The app is also able to tell you when the next full and
new moons are, an excellent feature for planning upcoming trips.
FishHead can store up to 20 tide
and 20 river locations, simply move your finger across the screen to scroll
between them
Turning our attention to
the “Tides Home” we found a very similar layout, only the background is blue
making it easy to differentiate between both modes. On top anglers will find the
weather followed by the tidal snapshot and the moon phase on the bottom.
FishHead can display this data for up to 20 favorite locations, which should be
plenty for most anglers.
A look at the detail tide screen
shows the current tide conditions as well as the daily swings
I absolutely loved the
tidal section for fishing the Delta, I was able to tap into locations very close
to my favorite fishing spots and get accurate tidal swings on the fly. Fish in
the Delta are often at their most active during tidal changes and with FishHead
I could get to prime locations at the absolute peak periods. We definitely
caught a few more bass and a lot more stripers using this data to our advantage.
Looking for data wherever you
happen to be? FishHead can use your location to find nearby stations
I also found the weather
details useful for fishing from my bass boat and was able to plan for windy
conditions. When I knew the wind was going to pick up I’d move to different
areas and start fishing ripbaits for stripers instead of trying to fight the
wind to present plastics to bass. The forecast mode will provide data on the
weather conditions, hi and low, chance of precipitation, wind and humidity.
It only takes seconds for the app
to provide options by distance
Price & Applications: I found FishHead both useful for fly fishing in
Northern California Rivers where I could plan my trip armed with more data. I
knew what kind of clothing to pack as well as what kind of flies I would more
likely be using. While it is clear it offers quality information to fly
fisherman this App is also great for bass or inshore anglers as well. FishHead
was extremely valuable for the Delta region where the entire fishery is affected
by so many elements including weather, moon phases and tides. By being able to
adjust quickly to all these elements I was able to formulate a better plan of
attack, and ultimately enjoy more successful days on the water.
After selecting a location
acquiring the data takes only two to three seconds
Nervous Water Apps will be
introducing new apps in the next few months but for now FishHead is the
company’s sole offering. It costs $6.99 which is a reasonable price for anglers
looking to consolidate their information into one easy to access application.
While all of the information FishHead provides is available from different
sources what this tool is able to do is efficiently consolidate it all into a
quick and easy to access graphical user interface. The current release covers
the entire United States and purchasing it is as easy as going to the appstore
via iTunes or on the appstore via your own iPhone.
The FishHead app made it easy to
plan trips as well as change our strategy on the spot in the California Delta
depending on both wind and tidal swings
Are there other possible
options that could make FishHead be even better? While we loved the easy to use
interface we would also love the ability to set alerts. For example setting a
couple ideal parameters and have the app send a push notification when those
ideal conditions come up. This would allow hard core anglers to drop everything
and go fishing when the time is right. Another possible upgrade would be access
to fishing reports, or even the ability to write your own reports to a shared
user database that is accessible through the app. Finally how cool would it be
to hook into video cams for a live view from the observation point when
available. All of this may be wishful thinking, and in FishHead’s current state
we already can really appreciate this app.
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus
|
|
J
Extremely
useful
information
for both
fly and
conventional
anglers |
L
Only for
iPhone
users |
|
J
Easy to
use,
very
intuitive
interface |
|
|
J
Fast
acquisition
of data |
|
|
J
Great
for both
on the
water
information
and trip
planning |
|
|
J
Reasonable
price |
|
Conclusion:
FishHead is a great tool
for anglers that own an iPhone, it has never been easier to lock into conditions
in and around your fishing destinations, all in one quick and easy to access
app. This handy application delivers useful data fast allowing anglers to make
real time decisions with localized information. There simply is no fiddling
around here… the interface is intuitive and refined. Even when not in the field
this app is a great resource for trip planning and allows you to store plenty of
your favorite locations so you always stay informed about the conditions of your
fishing hotspots. The quality data provided by FishHead gives anglers that extra
edge, and both fly and conventional anglers will find that this intelligently
designed app is a valuable addition to their fish catching arsenal.
Looking for the FishHead App? Just search for
"Fishhead" in the app store. For more information visit the
Nervous Water Apps site
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