Frequently Asked Questions

Cast & Catch is a free, comprehensive fishing companion app built for Australian anglers. It provides live weather, tides, UV, air quality, moon and solunar data, an A-Z species guide, a fish cookbook, community catch sharing, GPS speedometer, knot guide, depth finder, SOS emergency guides, and a private catch journal — all in one app. No account required.

Cast & Catch is free to download and the core app features are available to all users. An optional Premium subscription is available (weekly, monthly, and yearly plans) to unlock enhanced features and support ongoing Australian fishing app development. To access the subscription screen: open the Community tab, then tap the "Go Premium" button. Premium subscriptions are managed through Apple In-App Purchases and can be cancelled anytime in iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions.

The app covers fishing spots, species, and regulations across all Australian states and territories. The conditions screen supports any Australian coastal or inland location. Detailed QLD fishing regulations and Rainbow Beach-specific guides are included, with spot data covering QLD, SA, TAS, WA, and NT.

Most features work offline: the species guide, knot guide, bait guide, cookbook, SOS emergency guide, catch journal, GPS speedometer, and torch all work with no internet connection. Live weather, tide, UV and air quality data require an internet connection to fetch fresh data.

Air quality data is sourced from the Open-Meteo Air Quality API, which uses CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) data. It provides PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, UV index and pollen data for any Australian location.

Open the Guides tab and tap "Bait & Lure Guide". You'll find step-by-step visual instructions for prawns, pipis, garden worms, whole pilchards, and soft plastics — with rigging illustrations and voice narration for each bait type.

Open the Guides tab and tap "QLD Fishing Regulations" for Queensland size limits, bag limits, closed seasons and licence information. The Discover tab also shows a QLD Bag Limits quick-reference card. Always verify the latest rules at fisheries.qld.gov.au before fishing — regulations can change.

In Queensland tidal waters, the minimum size for Barramundi is 58 cm with a bag limit of 5 per person. A seasonal closure applies from 1 November to 31 January in tidal waters. Stocked impoundment rules differ — always check with Queensland Fisheries.

Yes. Open the Community tab and tap the "+" button to create a new catch post. You can add a photo from your camera or photo library, enter species, weight, length, location and a story. Posts are stored on your device only — the app has no server to share with other users. The community feed is a local personal log, not a live social network.

No. All community posts, catch journal entries, photos, and user profile data are stored exclusively on your device using on-device storage. Nothing is uploaded to any server. If you delete the app, your data is deleted with it.

Camera access is used for two purposes: (1) taking a photo to attach to a community catch post, and (2) photographing boat motor problems when using the emergency boat repair guide. The app does not access your camera at any other time.

The Conditions screen shows live weather, tides, UV index, air quality, solar activity, moon phase, and solunar feeding times for any Australian location. Select your location from the list at the top. Weather and tide data is fetched from Open-Meteo (a free public API). Moon and solunar calculations are done entirely on-device.

No. Cast & Catch collects zero personal data. There is no account system, no user database, and no analytics. Your catch logs, posts, profile details and settings are stored on your device only and are never transmitted to us. The app does contact public APIs for core features — see "What data leaves my device?" and the full Privacy Policy for details.

No. Cast & Catch requires no account, email address, or registration of any kind. The app works fully without any login.

The only data that leaves your device is: (1) a latitude/longitude coordinate sent to Open-Meteo to fetch weather and tide data, and (2) a request to NOAA SWPC for space-weather data (no coordinate sent). All images are bundled locally inside the app — no external image CDN is used. No catch records, account details, name, email, or device identifiers are included in any of these requests.

The Depth Finder is a simulated sonar display designed as an educational tool to help anglers understand how depth sounders work. It does not use real sonar hardware. To read actual water depths, you need a dedicated marine depth sounder or fish finder device paired with a transducer.

The SOS Emergency Guide (in the Guides tab) provides step-by-step procedures for on-water emergencies including capsizing, person overboard, engine fire, severe weather, and medical emergencies. It includes Australian emergency contact numbers (000, 112, Poisons Info 13 11 26) and is designed to work fully offline.

For all emergencies (police, fire, ambulance) dial 000. From a mobile, you can also dial 112. For poison emergencies: 13 11 26. For EPIRB marine distress: activate your EPIRB and contact AMSA on 1800 641 792.

The app has a built-in error recovery system. If you see an error screen, tap "Restart App" to recover. If the problem persists, close and reopen the app. If it continues, delete and reinstall the app from the App Store — your data is stored locally and will be lost on reinstall, so note down any important catch records first.

• Conditions — Live weather, tides, UV, air quality, solar, moon, solunar
• Species — A-Z Australian and ocean species guide with photos
• Discover — Fishing spots, boat ramps, knot guide, catch journal, depth finder, GPS speedometer, torch, WA hotspots, bait & coffee stops, solunar calendar, QLD bag limits, fishing forecast, Tasmania weather
• Guides — Fishing techniques, tackle index, cookbook, dangerous animals, SOS, first aid, boating safety, tide guide, bait guide, privacy policy, knots, night fishing, QLD regulations, sky view, torch
• Community — Local catch feed, leaderboard, daily tips
• My Waters — Favourite spots, catch log, stream flow gauges, weather summary

The app includes 16+ curated fishing spots across Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania, plus comprehensive spot data in the WA Hotspots and Bait & Coffee Stops features. The Explore screen lets you filter spots by type (river, estuary, lake, bay, offshore, coastal) and access (public/private/mixed).

The GPS Speedometer uses your device's GPS to display your current speed in km/h, knots, or mph. It's useful for monitoring boat trolling speeds and checking your travel speed on the water. Open the Discover tab and tap the Speedometer card to use it.

No. The GPS Speedometer uses your device's built-in GPS chip and works entirely offline. It only needs location permission to be enabled.

Two ways: (1) AI Fish Identifier — open the Species tab and tap "🔬 Fish ID". Take or upload a photo of the fish and the AI will identify the species with confidence %, size range, edibility, habitat, Australian bag-limit guidance, and a fun fact. This is a Premium feature and requires an internet connection. (2) Browse the Species guide — search by name or use the A-Z filter to browse Australian fish species and ocean creatures manually.

The AI Fish Identifier uses OpenAI's vision model to identify species from photos. Accuracy is highest when the fish is centred, well-lit, and the full body is visible. The result includes a confidence percentage — treat a confidence below 70% as a rough guide only and verify with the manual species browser or your state fisheries authority. Always verify size and bag limits with official sources before keeping a fish.

The Knot Guide is accessible from two places: the Guides tab (tap "Fishing Knots Guide") and the Discover tab (tap the Knots card). It includes 15 essential fishing knots with step-by-step instructions and voice narration. Search by knot name or strength to find the right knot for your situation.

Location permission is used for: (1) displaying your current position on the fishing spots map, (2) showing your speed in the GPS speedometer, and (3) pre-filling your location for weather and tide lookups. The app requests location only while it is open ("When In Use") — never in the background.

Yes. If you deny location permission, you can still manually select any location for weather data and manually browse all fishing spots. The GPS speedometer and live location on the map will not be available without location permission.

Solunar theory, developed by John Alden Knight in 1926, predicts fish feeding activity based on the relative position of the moon and sun. Major feeding periods occur when the moon is directly overhead or underfoot; minor periods occur at moonrise and moonset. The Conditions screen shows today's major and minor feeding windows, and a Solunar Calendar is available in the Discover tab.

Moon phase, rise/set times, and solunar calculations are computed entirely on-device using astronomical algorithms. No internet connection is required for moon or solunar features.

My Waters is your personalised fishing dashboard. It shows a live weather summary for Rainbow Beach, your saved favourite fishing spots, a personal catch log, and reference stream gauge data for QLD, SA and TAS waterways. Access it via the My Waters tab (hidden tab accessible from the Discover screen).

Yes. Open the Guides tab and tap "Night Fishing Guide". It covers lighting strategy, target species at night, best moon and tide combinations for night fishing, recommended QLD night spots, safety tips, and the use of submersible LED lights for attracting baitfish.

• Location (When In Use) — fishing spots map, GPS speedometer, weather pre-fill
• Camera — community post photos, boat repair guide photos
• Photo Library — attaching photos to catch posts
• Microphone — may be requested by iOS when recording video in the Catch Gallery

All permissions are optional — the app works with limited functionality if any are denied.

The full Privacy Policy is available at /api/privacy and also inside the app (Guides tab → Privacy & Data Policy).

Rainbow Beach in Queensland is the home location of the app's creator and a world-class fishing destination, offering access to the Great Sandy Strait, Double Island Point, Tin Can Bay, and Carlo Sandblow. The app is designed for all of Australia but features enhanced local content for the Rainbow Beach region.

The QLD regulations shown in the app are based on Queensland Fisheries data. Always verify current size limits, bag limits, and closed seasons directly with your state fisheries authority before fishing — regulations can be updated at any time. In QLD: fisheries.qld.gov.au

The Species tab includes the full Australian Fish guide (barramundi, snapper, flathead, coral trout and many more), an Ocean A-Z guide covering marine creatures from angelfish to whale sharks, and a dangerous Australian fish section. Combined, there are 50+ species entries with photos, facts and fishing tips.

Email us at support@castcatch.com.au or visit /api/support. We aim to respond within 2 business days.

Tide times are computed using M2 harmonic tide prediction with published Bureau of Meteorology port constants (lunitidal intervals and mean water levels) for each Australian location. The method is the same one BOM uses for its official tide tables. Predictions are ±15–30 minutes of actual tide times — accurate enough for fishing planning but not navigation. Always consult official BOM tide charts for navigation and safety. Times are shown in local time for the selected location.

The Torch feature turns on your device's rear LED flashlight for use when rigging tackle or landing fish in the dark. Access it from the Guides tab → Torch, or from the Discover tab. It includes a red-light mode to preserve night vision while fishing at night.

• Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com) — weather, tides, UV, air quality
• NOAA SWPC (services.swpc.noaa.gov) — space weather / Kp index

All in-app images are bundled locally — no external image CDN is used. No advertising, analytics, or tracking services are used.

The UV Index measures the intensity of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. For fishing: UV 0–2 (Low) — no protection needed; UV 3–5 (Moderate) — wear sunscreen; UV 6–7 (High) — hat and sunscreen required; UV 8–10 (Very High) — seek shade during midday; UV 11+ (Extreme) — common in Australian summer — full sun protection essential. The Conditions screen shows the current UV index with a colour-coded rating.

Voice search (speech-to-text) is planned for a future update and is not yet implemented. Tapping the microphone button will show a notification explaining this. In the meantime, use the text search boxes throughout the app to find species, guides, and fishing spots.

The speaker button (shown on species cards, guide pages, and conditions screens) activates text-to-speech — the app reads the content aloud using your device's built-in voice synthesis. This is useful hands-free when you're on the water. Tap the speaker again to stop playback.

Weather data comes from Open-Meteo, which uses the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) model alongside regional models. Accuracy is comparable to the Bureau of Meteorology for most locations. For critical safety decisions — especially on the water — always cross-check with the official BOM forecast at bom.gov.au and marine forecasts for your area.

Pull down to refresh on the Conditions screen. If data still looks incorrect, check your selected location at the top of the screen — make sure it matches your actual fishing destination. If the issue persists, email us at support@castcatch.com.au with the location name and the data that appears incorrect.