June 13, 2012
By Sam Hudson
The Fish Rules App for your iphone provides up-to-date saltwater regulations from North Carolina to Florida to Texas.
Need an on-the-water fish regulations guide? The Fish Rules App provides instant access to state and federal saltwater fishing regulations from your iphone.
"And it updates new regulations almost instantly," says Rob Arrington, host of Respect Outdoors on the Sportsman Channel. "Whenever new updates from the FWC, SAFMC or Gulf Council go into effect, your phone app updates almost immediately."
Arrington is a die-hard angler from Southeast Florida. He also stopped by the Florida Sportsman offices recently, to tell us about the new App. With constant changes in Florida's fisheries, this app saves anglers the hassle of looking up regulations at home. When fishing on the water, look up if a fish is in-season, find out the bag limit, and check the slot limit. Color photographs also help identify species that are unfamiliar.
One specific feature that's important for offshore fishermen or backcountry anglers is that the app is GPS-controlled. Fish Rules uses your phone's GPS and calendar to show only the regulations you need. For example, let's say an angler is bottom fishing off Jacksonville and catches a red snapper. This app should be able to tell the angler if they're in state or federal waters, and if the fish is legal to keep--all based on the location of the boat and iphone. Out on the water without a signal? Anglers can still manually select their fishing location to get fish rules for that area.
Social aspects include updates to Facebook, where anglers can take a photo, log your fish, and post it to Facebook. For details, check out www.fishrulesapp.com or search for the Fish Rules 2012 Edition at the Apple Istore. FS
