TexasKayakFisherman.com est. 2000

[DeeepSouth]

Just getting into Saltwater fishing again after living inland for 15 years. Trying to learn as much as I can and I’m excited to re-discover this hobby - except from a kayak now instead of a PB.

Just a quick search on apple App Store for fishing apps yielded a long list of choices. Im hoping for one that will consolidate all the various needed info (tides, waves, wind, temp, navigational maps, structure/reef maps, etc, etc, etc) into one easy to use app.

I’m sure you guys have been at this much longer than me, what are your favorite apps to aid in your fishing strategy?








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[SWFinatic]

DeeepSouth as far as all that info combined into one app I'm not sure. First one I recommend is Navionics. It's cheap and allows you to do a lot of scouting from your phone or tablet before you go. Windfinder is another one I use as well as Google Earth.

[Ron Mc]

Texmaps doesn't scroll properly on my phone, but it's a great resource on a laptop.
Use the Layers
http://www.texmaps.com/go/texas-fishing.html

Maybe it's the places I go, but my time on the water says NOAA is most accurate for tide prediction, water level and wind measurement.
Their composite plot was great on a phone, but they downgraded their website and closed a lot of stations.

[kickingback]

No one single app can do all you need with precision. You have to search a few sites.

Navionics Boating app http://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@6&key=w_suDvupfQ

Tides4fishing.com https://tides4fishing.com/us/texas/texas-city-turning-basin

Weather Underground 10 day window https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/tx/galveston/77554

NOAA lots of info https://www.noaa.gov/

[impulse]

Not specific to fishing, but I have found a GPS Logger to be very handy in showing me where I have been.

Going out with a knowledgeable buddy? Turn on the tracker. (The ethics of using the tracker fishing with a guide are a little different. Perhaps a guide would like to weigh in...)

In one trip, a buddy steered his very big boat through a channel where I used to get stuck a lot- near San Luis Pass. I turned the GPS log into a .usr file, loaded it into my Lowrance unit, and now have a safe path. At least until the sands shift.

Of course, there are a lot of nefarious uses for such a logger, but I'll leave the decisions up to the individual.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... r&hl=en_US

[kickingback]

I use this for tracking. Free! You can access it on your PC to plan a trip and turn it on your phone on your trip to record your entire track.

https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

[Neumie]

I'm not a big app user, I prefer to keep my cell phone stowed in a dry bag, but I don't think there's an all encompassing app for what you're describing. I use several websites for planning a trip while I'm on my laptop beforehand.

For an extended forecast I like Wunderground and Windfinder. When it gets closer to my scheduled fishing trip I'll add Weather.gov.

Tides I use NOAA Tides and Current. Two reasons for this. Most importantly their gauges show predicted and ACTUAL MEASURED tides. Knowing if tides are running higher, lower, later, or sooner than forecast is important. Websites such as Tides4Fishing.com do not account for this. I'v also noticed discrepancies with their forecast tides vs NOAA's predicted and measured tides. Secondly, at least where I fish the most around Corpus Christi and Rockport, NOAA's website has a better coverage with gauges compared to other websites.

Depending on where you're fishing you can use either charts or aerial imagery. Most of where I fish having good aerial imagery is more important than navigational charts. So, Google Earth is invaluable for seeing structure. If charts are more your thing than STXmaps.com and Navionics both have decent chart viewers.

The only phone app I use while I'm on the water is MyRadar. It lets me quickly look at radar if there's inclement weather nearby. I use a standalone handheld GPS to record my tracks while I'm fishing which helps me reset drifts for fishing and to review my tracks after I'm off the water. You can see them in my fishing reports on this website.