Frequently asked questions
Global Fishing League is a fish identification, measurement and catch-logging app for iOS and Android, and the competitive fishing league it is built for. It is free to download and free to identify fish, measure them and keep a logbook. Membership costs $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year and adds the full weather and water data on every catch, Trips, and pattern analysis. Your catch locations are never shared.
Last updated
What is Global Fishing League?
Global Fishing League is a fish identification, measurement and catch-logging app for iOS and Android, and the competitive fishing league it is built for. You photograph a fish, the app names the species and measures it, and it files the catch in your logbook with the weather and water conditions recorded automatically at that spot and moment. That identification and measurement is also what the league runs on: an entry verifies itself as it is logged.
How does the fish identification work?
You take a photo of the fish and the app identifies it, returning both the common name and the scientific name. You can override the result with your own label if you disagree with it or want a local name on the record.
Does the app measure the fish as well as identify it?
Yes. The length is measured from the catch photograph rather than typed in by hand, so it is recorded on the same photo that identifies the species. That matters beyond convenience: a length the app measured is a different kind of record from a length the angler entered themselves.
Why does it matter that the app measures the fish instead of me entering the length?
Because it is what lets a league verify entries at scale. Competitive fishing platforms normally ask you to photograph the fish on a measuring board, type the length, and wait for a human moderator to approve it. That works, but every entry costs the organiser moderator time. When the measurement, the species, the GPS position, the timestamp and the water conditions are all captured by the act of logging, an entry arrives carrying its own proof and costs nothing to check.
Is Global Fishing League free?
Yes. Fish identification, the length measured from your catch photo, your catch location, the automatic date and time stamp, and weather and water conditions forecasting are all free, with no membership required. Membership adds the full per-catch data, Trips and pattern analysis.
How much does membership cost?
Membership is $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year, and the first 90 days are free. It unlocks the complete weather and water readings on every catch, Trips, and deeper patterns across your catch history.
What data is recorded with each catch?
Global Fishing League records 25 fields per catch: 7 catch record fields, 10 weather readings and 8 water readings. These include tide, barometric pressure, water temperature, wind, moon phase, swell, ocean currents, salinity, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll.
Are my fishing spots shared with other anglers?
No. Your catch locations are stored to your account and are never shared with other anglers, never pooled into a community hot-spot map, and never sold on. There are no heat maps and no nearby-catch feed. That holds when you compete: entering a fish in a league is your choice, and the entry carries the species, the measurement and the verification — never the mark it came from.
Is Global Fishing League a competition or a logbook?
Both. It is a fish identification, measurement and catch-logging app that you can use entirely on its own, and it is the foundation of the Global Fishing League, which is coming soon. The identification and measurement are what make the league work, so the app came first. Nothing about competing is required to use it, and nothing about the league changes how the app works for you.
When does the league launch, and what are the formats?
The league is coming soon. No launch date is published yet — when there is one it will appear here first. The formats are not published yet either — scoring, seasons, entry terms, eligibility and whether anything is won are all still being settled, and none of it will be stated as a guess. When it is decided it will be published in full before it applies to anyone. In the meantime, catches you log now are recorded exactly the way league entries will be recorded then, so nothing is lost by fishing while you wait.
How will I know when the league goes live?
Download the app and create an account. That account is how you will be told when the league goes live — there is no separate waitlist to join. There is no early-access tier and nothing to pay for now. The app is free, the logbook is free, and catches you log now are recorded exactly the way league entries will be — identified, measured, positioned, timestamped and stamped with the conditions. Anglers who have been logging a season already have a record the day it opens.
If I enter a league, does that reveal my fishing spots?
No. Entering a fish is a deliberate act, one fish at a time, and the entry carries the species, the measurement and the verification — never the position it came from. Your logbook and your marks stay private, exactly as they are now. There is no public feed, no community map and no heat zones, and competing does not create one.
What is Fish Print?
Fish Print flags whether an individual fish is new to your logbook or one you have recorded before. It means a recaptured fish is not quietly counted twice in your totals, which matters if you fish the same water repeatedly.
Does the app work without a phone signal?
Yes. You can log catches with no reception and everything syncs automatically once you are back in range, which is the normal case on open water and in the backcountry.
Which devices does Global Fishing League run on?
It runs on iPhone and on Android, and is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.
Can I export my catch history?
Yes. Your full history is exportable, timestamped and GPS-stamped, which is what you need for tournament paperwork or a record claim.
What are Trips?
Trips group each fishing outing into its own log, named and counted automatically, rather than leaving every catch in one long list. Trips are a membership feature.
Where does the weather and water data come from?
Weather, tide and water readings are pulled from weather, tide and oceanographic feeds, including satellite sources for water chemistry such as chlorophyll and phytoplankton. They are captured at your GPS mark at the moment you log the catch.
Which fish species can the app identify?
Global Fishing League identifies 297 fish species from a photograph, across freshwater, inshore and offshore saltwater, returning a common and a scientific name, with a manual override if you disagree. The full list is published on the site, along with written identification pages for 124 of the species anglers most often mix up.
See every species the app identifies
How do I tell a largemouth bass from a smallmouth bass?
Look at the jaw. On a largemouth the upper jaw reaches back past the rear edge of the eye; on a smallmouth it stops level with the eye. A largemouth is green with a dark horizontal stripe along the flank, a smallmouth is bronze with dark vertical bars.
Largemouth Bass identification
Does Global Fishing League show fishing size limits and regulations?
No, and that is deliberate. Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by each state wildlife agency, frequently differ by water body within a state, and change between seasons — a figure that is a season out of date is worse than none. Check your state agency for the water you are fishing. What the app does is make your own record accurate: every catch carries a length, a GPS position and a timestamp.
Does it work for freshwater as well as saltwater?
Fish identification and the logbook work wherever you fish. The tide, swell, current and salinity readings are inherently coastal and estuarine measurements, so they carry the most meaning on saltwater and in tidal water.
How do I cancel my membership?
Membership is billed through the App Store or Google Play, so you cancel it in your Apple or Google account subscription settings. Cancelling leaves your logbook and your catch history in place on the free tier.
How do I delete my account and data?
Email admin@globalfishingleague.com from the address on your account and ask for deletion. Your rights over your data, including access and deletion, are set out in the privacy policy.
Still stuck? Get support, or email admin@globalfishingleague.com.