Could this be the ultimate fishing watch?

I don’t usually care much for tech on the bank as fishing’s always been a hands-on thing for me. In fact, the closest bit of tech has been the notes app on my mobile phone. But after using the new Coros Nomad watch over the past few weeks, I’ll admit this isn’t just a wearable for runners or hikers, it is a genuinely handy piece of fishing kit.

I first strapped the Nomad on for an open match, half expecting to ignore it once the all-in went. Instead, it became one of the most useful bits of kit I’ve used all season, discovering features that quickly justified the price tag.

On-the-bank tools that help

The first thing I noticed was how convenient it was having the timer, stopwatch, and fish counter right there on my wrist. No reaching to my side tray or trying to remember how many I’d netted in the last frantic hour. The screen stays visible in bright sunlight, and the buttons are spaced well enough that you’re not faffing with damp fingers mid-session.

But where the Nomad really starts to shine is in its fishing-specific features. Hit ‘start’ on a session, and it begins logging everything. GPS location, temperature, barometric pressure, sunrise/sunset times, and even moon phases.

That might sound like overkill, but if you’re the kind of angler who wants to build a picture over time of how a venue behaves, this is valuable data and, in my view, justifies the investment.

You can mark pegs and features straight from the watch. Sunken trees, drop-offs, far-bank reeds, whatever catches your eye. Drop a GPS pin, add a quick voice note and it’s transcribed in the app. Back home, it all sits neatly in one place: catches, locations, weather, even photos you’ve pinned to the map.

I can see this being a huge asset for carp anglers who fish big pits. If you're chasing one or two fish across acres of water, the ability to build up a bank of voice notes, GPS pins, photos, and environmental data is massive, far better than relying on memory, your phone, or scraps of paper, the watch logs everything in one place.

Perfect for allrounders

If, like me, you enjoy fishing everywhere from rivers and commercials to big pits or reservoirs, maybe even the occasional sea session, you’ll appreciate how the Nomad handles multiple fishing scenarios.

It’s got preset activity profiles for everything from boat and kayak fishing to shore, surf, and fly fishing. You can even create your own custom activity profile to suit exactly what data you wish to record.

Each one logs data tailored to that style of fishing. So, during your session, you’re looking at the stuff that matters. That could be movement detection and location lock for kayak fishing, perfect if you unknowingly drift out of position, tide and moon data for surf fishing, or simple route mapping for your shoreline or river exploring.

River roving and baited spots

I also gave the Nomad a proper go while walking a stretch of river one evening and this is where it really impressed me. I could wander, mark the spots I found fish, create a voice note with details about flow, depth, fish holding features, and even take photos that pin themselves to exact GPS coordinates in the app. If you’re baiting spots to return to later, this is invaluable for taking out the guesswork and uncertainty when revisiting areas, it also gives you a way of remembering spots when you don't have a rod in hand! The sunset countdown helps you make the most of dusk too.

Verdict

The Coros Nomad earns its spot on the bank. Recording all the information that is useful to your decsion making when fishing or trying to replicate what works. The companion app is intuitive and well set out, using the camera on your phone to enhance the data collected further by adding images of fish captures, notable features, and fancied swims that can all be GPS marked.

The watch also doubles as a remote for GoPro and Insta360, so if your someone who likes to vlog or capture images of your session, you can start and stop recordings or grab stills from your wrist without breaking away from the fishing.

Health tracking covers heart rate, blood oxygen, stress and sleep, while the multi-sport modes and coaching are useful if you run, ride, swim or hit the gym when you're not on the bank. Everything syncs cleanly to the Coros app for reviewing progress and spotting trends, with easy links to the platforms you already use such as Strava. Battery life is the clincher, comfortably stretching to three or four weeks even with regular six-hour sessions, GPS logging and general day-to-day use.

At a little over £300 it's an investment, but for specimen anglers, river rovers and big-pit carpers who want to capture more data, and repeat what works, it delivers real value whilst sitting on your wrist.

Author Jonathan Longden, is an experienced angler. With over 20 years experience in the tackle trade specialising in match and coarse fishing he has an extensive practical knowledge of the latest equipment and the specific needs of anglers. He currently occupies the role of digital content writer at Angling Times.