Will Mobile Apps Finally Be the Driver for Current Fishing Data?

October 1, 2010 By: Marshall Cutchin

Yesterday Fishhound.com announced the release of an Android app (iPhone and Blackberry to come) that will enable guides, outfitters and others to provide “live” fishing reports (you can sign up for a free trial at their site).
As resistant as much of the outdoors community is to electronics, there’s no doubt that mobile devices will end up redefining the notion of “current information” — they go almost anywhere, they do cool stuff, and they’re increasingly able to capture and deliver information with just a few thumb taps.
Will fishing guides stop in the middle of a brown drake hatch to notify the world of where it is and how it’s fishing? Doubtful. Will networked reporting feed the desire of anglers to be in touch with localized info?
The answer may not be if, but when. Do we really expect — or want — the average fly shop employee to spend their time Tweeting what might be really good advice into “the cloud?” (Personally, I’d rather see them field-testing gear and learning the local waters.) For many of us, reporting gathered live from the location and delivered via the Internet and echoed in other media is already ruling our lives, whether we know it or not.