Most anglers these days carry a smartphone to check the time, call a mate on the other bank or to snap a catch shot. Fewer use it to catch more fish. The right apps turn guesswork into clear decisions, from picking a weather window to reading river levels, checking tides, finding legal access on maps, and keeping a log you can learn from.
This guide rounds up the best fishing apps in the UK. Weather and wind are important for fish location and behaviours. Tides and river levels will influence how you approach a session, while mapping and access information is a useful tool for planning ahead. Booking venues will help avoid disappointment when hitting the bank for a session and private logbooks help record success and failure, these simple tools will help to save a blank.
If you want faster planning, safer sessions and rigs placed where the fish are feeding, start right here. These are the 10 best fishing apps for UK anglers, and they will make your time on the bank count and put more fish on the bank.
All these apps are available on Apple IOS or Android, and you can download from the relevant app store.
Tight Lines (Subscription)
If you like keeping a log, the Tight Lines app does the heavy lifting for you. Snap a catch and the app auto records the where and when, then pulls in moon phase, tide, air pressure and weather to build a full picture of the capture. No signal on the bank? It reads the photo timestamp later and fills the gaps. Your data stays private to you. As the log builds, the app suggests windows that match your past success, so you can plan sessions around the right conditions. It will not put fish on the bank for you, but it will help you make better calls with the time you have.
Monthly subscription is £3.99 or an annual fee of £29.99.
Met Office Weather (Free)
Hourly forecasts, gusts, rain radar, air pressure and weather warnings you can trust. Data direct from the UK Meteorological Office. Use it to pick your window, choose the best gear for the wind you’ll face, and time those pressure dips that often switch fish on. Check sunrise and sunset to get the most out of dawn and dusk.
THE BEST FISHING UMBRELLA WILL KEEP THE RAIN OFF YOUR HEAD.
Catch (Free)
The Catch app is another booking platform with a built-in log. Reserve pegs, then record what happened with weather and moon data pulled in. Access lake maps, see peg locations and over time with the log function you can spot patterns by venue and conditions, which means less experimenting and more repeating what works, by design and not just luck.
Choose from free, Catch Lite (£1.99 /mo) and Catch Pro (£3.00 /mo or £30.00 /year).
IF YOU ARE JUST STARTING, CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE TO STARTING FISHING.
UniFishPro (Subscription)
A fishing focussed weather app built by anglers who want the best bits of multiple forecasts in one place. You get clear daily and hourly forecasts, a two-hour high-precision rain radar across much of Europe, wind direction with a simple animation, and quick moon-phase lookups. It also pulls live data for rivers, drains, tides and water temperature, so planning isn’t guesswork. There is a limited free version available with ads too.
Subscription costs 0.99p per month or £9.99 per year.
Absolute Tides (Subscription)
The tide height and stage will make or break sea, estuary and tidal river trips. The app costs £2.99 per year and gives precise tables and works offline once downloaded handy if signal can be hit and miss. Use it to plan slack-water windows, know when the river is running in or running out and keep clear of areas that have tidal access windows. Note your best fish sessions against height and stage of tide in order to replicate it.
Subscription £2.99 per year
River App (Free)
Live Environment Agency levels directly on your phone with simple graphs and alerts. Designed for Kayaking this apps enables you to study trends, not just a single reading, certain features are paid like historical data but worth the cost of 0.99p per month, £6.99 per year or £24.99 for lifetime access. Rising and coloured river may mean feeder for barbel. Whereas a dropping and clearing river can be perfect for trotting a float. Set alerts within the app for your preferred condition so you always have a plan based off the river condition and not just guessing and hoping.
LEARN HOW TO FISH THE RIVER TRENT IN THIS EXPERT GUIDE.
OS Maps (Free)
If you’re a river explorer, knowing the rights of way, land contours and finding legal paths to pegs so you don’t end up trespassing is crucial. With Ordinance Survey (OS) maps find suitable parking, and safe routes when out in low light is simple. Download maps for offline use, plot a route to the swim, and mark snags and features, or use to map safe wading routes. It will even help avoid fences and barriers when travelling over fields to get to the river.
What3Words (Free)
Pin an exact peg location with three words and share it if you want to, or keep a record for yourself. What3Words is ideal in case of emergencies, to share the location of a hotspot or a new fishery with friends simply with just three words. Save car parks, gates and swims as worded locations that can be entered back into the app to relocate or share with a mate to find you so he can come take pictures of the big un you just caught.
Fish Deeper (Free)
This app accompanies the Deeper castable sonar which is a useful fishing gadget for mapping a swim, finding features and fish, this app is the control room. Live sonar feed, shoreline mapping and a useful logbook. Visiting a new water? Map depth, weed and hard patches, then drop your rigs on the right ground first cast thanks to the data in the app. Pin your catches to your map so you build a picture that is full of useful information for further visits.
Swimbooker (Free)
Unsure of where your next session is going to be? Swimbooker allows you to browse venues, check peg availability, and book a peg. No more turning up to venues hoping to get a peg or guessing the fishery rules. Use the app to secure swims that suit your tactics, check the facilities and day ticket prices. Plan you fishing trips and avoid venues when they’re busy. A handy feature is keeping a short list of your regularly visited venues and rebook in seconds.
FIND THE BEST VENUE TO CATCH A NETFUL IN OUR WHERE TO FISH GUIDE.
