I’m not exactly an iPhone lover (no, I don’t have one of my own) but there’s a new fishing app called First Mate, which my kids tell me people will be interested in. My kids? You bet – call it trickle-up intellegence if you like, but it’s my pre-teen daughter who usually gets me in the loop on this stuff. And evidently, many modern anglers make use of it.

So here’s the deal: the First Mate app is reminiscent of those saltwater fishing “computers” that fed you information about the fishing on any given day. It includes the best fishing times at any particular location, calculated according to variables like time of day, current, etc. Another page brings up sun and moon phase ; another has current weather conditions (including temperature, humidity, heat index, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction); another has local color weather radar with a 100 mile range, updated every 15 minutes; another gives you an extended forecast for your current location; and another has the latest news from the world of fishing, with items like tournament updates.

Along with these “real-time” types of data, there are pages of fishing tips, tackle information, and even recipes for cooking your catch. And then there’s a social media part to the app, with a “lunker” page you can post photos on. Plug in your GPS coordinates, and it’ll display your hotspot on Google Maps (if, that is, there’s an angler alive who would give away his actual hotspot on the ‘net.)

All fun stuff, for sure, but there’s a hitch: this app costs a whopping $40. Most of the apps the kids buy range from a buck to five bucks. Now, certainly adult apps should cost more, but c’mon guys, most of this is stuff we’ve seen before, or can get elsewhere. The most useful part of the app is the weather data, which you can get in a zillion more or less limited forms for as little as a dollar a month (www.bluewhalenews.com which is only good for one location; www.wxsys.com which covers all but costs $13/month, and so on.)

If you’ve got unlimited cash you might want to go to www.firstmate.com and check this one out, but if you have to tap out the bait fund for it… well, I’d say think twice.

Written by: Lenny Rudow
With over two decades of experience in marine journalism, Lenny Rudow has contributed to publications including YachtWorld, boats.com, Boating Magazine, Marlin Magazine, Boating World, Saltwater Sportsman, Texas Fish & Game, and many others. Lenny is a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and he has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.