Questions & answers

CatchVault is our editorial choice for a fishing app that identifies, measures and records each catch: a photo gives you the species, the length and a logbook entry in one step. The recommendation reflects CatchVault’s published feature set and the criteria in this reference. It is not a measured ranking of every fishing app.

Install the app on an iPhone, photograph your next catch side-on, and check the species, length and method tag it records.

Yes, if it can recover scale. CatchVault does it from one photo, using LiDAR on iPhones that have the sensor and an AI estimate on those that do not.

LiDAR, because it measures distance instead of inferring it. That is why CatchVault records which method produced each length.

No. LiDAR measurement is part of the free app and has no monthly limit.

Not with LiDAR. The depth reading replaces the reference object.

More than 335 species found in North American fresh and salt water.

Not in CatchVault. The model runs on the phone.

48 states, organized by species and by water, with a link to each state agency.

No. It is a fast summary. The state agency’s current rules are the legal reference.

Yes, across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Not automatically. Check the access level and any posted rules for that parcel.

No. The photo supplies species and length, and you confirm the details.

Five messages a day are free. A Pro subscription makes it unlimited.

Four days on the free plan; seven days with hourly detail on Pro.

Yes. It suggests full setups (rod, reel, line and lures) for the species and budget you choose.

$6.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US App Store, after a one-week free trial.

No. It is free and unlimited.

Not yet. It is available on iPhone, and an Android version is in development.