How FISH works
How FISH builds your outlook, step by step
FISH turns a date, a time and a beach into a clear plan: a verdict, a 0 to 10 outlook, the fish you are likely to see, and what to throw. Here is how the numbers are made and where each one comes from.
You choose the trip
Tell FISH when you want to fish: today, tomorrow, or any date, and a time such as first light, morning, midday, afternoon, the hour before sunset, night, or an exact hour. Pick a session length so the plan covers how long you are on the beach.
Choose your method: lures, bait, or either. Pick where you will fish: surf, pier, jetty or inlet, or nearshore. Pick a target fish or let FISH tell you what is best. Tell it whether the water looks clear, stained or muddy.
The verdict and the 0 to 10 outlook
FISH shows the chance of catching fish (high, good, fair or low) and a 0 to 10 outlook. It also shows the time to leave for your travel time, first light, sunrise and sunset, the best 90 minute window today and the next day, the top fish ranked 0 to 100, and the conditions at that time.
You see every factor that built each score, with its value and its source.
How a fish is scored
Each fish starts with its season for that exact date, month by month, blended gradually between months so a fish that peaks in late summer does not drop off a cliff on September 1.
Live water temperature can shift the season earlier or later. If the water is warmer than average for the date, a fish that arrives in May may show up in April. If it is cooler, it may show up later.
Then FISH weighs time of day and light, tide stage and how hard the water is moving, surf height and water clarity, whether your method (lures or bait) suits the fish, and whether the fish uses that kind of water (surf, pier, jetty). Barometric pressure and moon phase are shown but not scored, because no solid evidence was found that they predict surf catches.
See why, down to each factor
Every score on FISH comes with the pieces that built it. Each factor shows its value, where the information came from, and anything that could not be scored.
Information is labeled Official source (state and federal agencies such as SC DNR, NOAA and the National Weather Service), Angler knowledge (local reports and common practice), Our inference (our own reasoning, shown as such), or Unknown (left blank rather than guessed).
The best window and comparing two times
FISH finds the best 90 minute window today and the next day for the fish you are after. It also lets you compare two times, for example tomorrow at 6:30 AM against tomorrow at 5:30 PM, judged on the same criteria.
This makes it easy to choose between an early walk and a session before sunset, or between a weekend morning and a weeknight evening.
Weather built in
National Weather Service alerts, the chance of thunder and the rip current forecast for your window are one tap away on the right edge of the screen. They are shown as reports and do not change the score or the best window.
A 10 ft rod on an open beach is not the place to be in a storm, so the plan will not send you there.
Plan your next trip
Create an account with your email and open the planner for today, tomorrow or any date.
Create your account