Fishing forecast apps compared: what each one actually scores

The three kinds of fishing forecast

Solunar tables are the oldest. They mark the hours when the moon is overhead, underfoot, rising or setting, and grade days by moon phase. They are free, they are everywhere, and the evidence that they predict catches is thin. Any app whose "bite times" come only from the moon is a solunar table with a nicer screen.

Daily ratings take the weather into account: pressure, wind, temperature, sometimes water temperature, usually blended with solunar timing, and hand you one grade for the day. They are a real step up, but a day is a long time: the same fish can be three times more active at dusk than at noon.

Hourly species scores rate each hour for a particular fish at a particular spot. That is harder to build, because every species has its own temperature band and feeding clock, but it matches how fishing actually works: a good day is mostly two or three good hours.

Side by side

? = not stated in the app's listing. Checked September 26, 2026 against each app's App Store listing.

App by app

BiteCast gives any spot a 0 to 100 Fish Score for every hour of the next eight days, for the species you target. In freshwater it is built on water temperature and its trend, pressure, wind, light and the species' feeding rhythm; on the coast, on tide, sea temperature, wind and waves. Each of today's hours lists what raised or lowered its score. How the Fish Score works.

Fishbrain has BiteTime, an hourly forecast in Pro built from sun and moon times, water and air temperature, pressure, wind, tide and the catches its community has logged in similar conditions, with the score broken down by factor. Its strength is that catch data, which is also why it is thinnest on water few people fish.

Fishbox gives bite-time predictions its listing describes as calibrated for each species from historical catch data and current conditions, with push alerts when conditions turn good, on maps of 50,000+ US waters.

BassForecast rates each day with its Bass Forecast Rating, built from weather, pressure, water temperature and solunar timing, with a 10-day outlook and bait picks by season and cover (the full 10 days and all bait picks need PRO). It is bass only.

Fishing Points shows hourly feeding times built on solunar periods and tides, with strong tide, marine and weather views. The free tier shows today; Premium extends the forecast up to three months ahead.

FishAngler gives a free fishing forecast built on solunar theory, shown as hourly percentages, with 7-day weather, tides and moon phases. VIP adds sharper hourly bite windows, a 14-day forecast and FINN, an AI guide that builds trip plans from your logged catches.

Fish AI gives personalized daily spot suggestions up to 10 days ahead from a questionnaire. Its listing does not say what the predictions are built from, and they need a subscription.

What to look for in a fishing forecast

• Water temperature, not just air temperature. It is the single biggest driver of how hard fish feed. See the water temperature chart.
• Pressure trend, not pressure level. The change over the last hours matters more than the reading. See barometric pressure and fishing.
• Your species. A forecast that gives bass and trout the same score is not modeling either.
• Hours, not just days. You fish a window, not a date.
• Tide on the coast. A saltwater forecast without tide stage is missing the main input.
• Reasons. If the app cannot tell you why a day is good, you cannot tell when to ignore it.

Common questions

Are fishing forecast apps accurate?

Fishing forecast apps can be accurate about conditions, not about catches. The good ones rate how favorable water temperature, pressure, wind, light and tide are for your species; whether you catch still depends on where you fish and what you throw. We know of no independent test that compares the apps head to head, so judge them by what they use and whether they explain themselves.

Do bite time apps work?

Bite time apps that only use the moon (solunar tables) are weak predictors on their own. Apps that build bite times from water temperature, pressure trend, light and tide give a much better read on when fish will feed.

What is the most accurate fishing forecast app?

The most trustworthy fishing forecast app is the one that models the drivers the evidence supports, water temperature, pressure trend, wind, light and tide, for your species, hour by hour, and shows its reasoning. BiteCast was built to do exactly that.

Is a fishing forecast worth paying for?

If it saves you one wasted trip a month, usually yes. The free alternative is reading a weather app, a tide chart and a water temperature gauge yourself and doing the arithmetic in your head.