My first review appeared to be portentous. The thing is a hassle to actually use. The updating regs/sync doesn’t update or sync in a timely manner- if at all. I’m a bit of a tech guy and frankly, deleting and reloading three times? No bueno. The thing doesn’t update 97% of the time. It just spins and spins. Not handy at the dock or at home.
I believe this app has promise ( hence two stars) given the menus and the map.
Fix the sync/update issues and this might be an okay product. Again, we paid for this (mightily if you look at your license fees) to Work.
Developer Response
Hi,
We appreciate you taking the time to submit a review. We are dedicated to improving the user experience and apologize for the issues you are experiencing. You are correct. There was a bug in the regulation sync process. I'm happy to report that we released a fix for it last night. Please update at your earliest convenience and confirm that the issue is resolved. You can either update your review or send us an email directly at mobileappdev@dfw.wa.gov. If, for some reason this does not fix the issue, we would like to set up a call, around your availability, to troubleshoot further.
Cheers,
Jake Shapley
Application Developer
Washington Department of Fish & WildlifeThe app wants to “update regs” every time you open it but it either takes 10 min to update or the app crashes. I’ve had to uninstall the app three times just to get it to update. Since it is the official WDFW APP and gives you up to date regs in your hand with a relatively user friendly interface it would be an amazing if this one problem could be fixed.
1st a question: does this app provide up to date salmon steelhead fishing regulations for rivers (Columbia river, Snake river, etc.)?
If I was able to get past the “Updating regs. This may take a minute..”, I would be able to answer this question myself.. However, the app downloads the regs fine, then stalls updating for 10+ minutes before I get frustrated and shut the app down. I’ve tried updating the app, re-installing the app, and waiting for much longer than the ‘minute’ of updating.. to no avail.
This is a great move forward with Washington fishing regs, especially for salmon/steelhead fisherman who have to dig through the abyss of emergency regs to find out if/when/where we can fish for these beasts.. I don’t understand why it has to be so difficult to determine if I can or cannot fish on a specific river. Idaho makes it infinitely easier to read regulations, maybe Washington can take a page from their book, or maybe the whole book...
First the good. I love the maps and boundaries. Very helpful when on the water. I also like the regs tab that provides species, seasons, and gear restrictions. Now the bad. It updates constantly. More often than not, the update fails. Even when connected to WiFi. Add a feature to disable updates until requested. Just put a disclaimer that your fishing spot may be subject to changes.
The app served me greatness the first week of having it but now all it does is when I open it asks me to sync it. Once it reaches 100% it stays there for 5 minutes and then fails. Major bug fixes needed! Maybe make it more compatible for all users? And make the regulations easier to understand for some people learning how to fish. Would save a lot of trouble in the future in case you run into a game warden.
Curious why the app has to download every time you open it?
If I just use the paper regs, it doesn’t “update” every time I open them.
How about you make a push or an alert when an emergency rule goes into effect vs having to wait for the entire book to redownload ever time you open it? Then those that want the update can hit refresh but you would still be able to use the app in real time.
It bounces around a lot. I understand there is a lot of info this needs to deliver but, it needs to be more stable. Great idea but, more work needs to be done on this. Get with some fishermen who like to fish different places. At its current state it’s a bit aggravating. I’m sure it’ll get better.
I was excited to get this app, but every time I open it, it gives me a message that says it failed to sync and the last time it synced was April 18, 2018. I have tried to get it to sync, but it won’t. Even with the last bug fixes, I am still having issues. How do I fix so I can use the app?
Updated review and changed from 3 stars to 4 stars. I deleted the app and re-installed it per Jake’s instructions. Took a few try’s to get the information updated from the Dept. site but it finally did update and it’s working fine so far. I just hope that I don’t have to uninstall/reinstall every time there is an update available. You might work on that for the next updates. Thanks.
Developer Response
Hello,
We apologize for the inconvenience. We definitely want everyone to be able to use the app and for the experience to be awesome. Our best guess is that the local database got corrupted. Please uninstall the app by long-pressing on it's icon, then re-install from the store. Please let us know if this resolves the issue. If it doesn't, please shoot us an email mobileappdev@dfw.wa.gov and we'll schedule a call to investigate further.
JakeI do wish there was more info on individual lakes and rivers ( pictures of the body of water, history, more info on the types of fish contained in the body of water. It would be great to have a comprehensive tips page(s) on techniques just like Oregon Fish and Wildlife.
More info on shore/bank fishing. The app is really interesting most states don’t have an app.
I’ve had this app for a few months and am looking forward to it being useful. It crashes often and doesn’t update very easily. The actual rules are confusing to read and seemingly not current. Last year’s rules are still there for example. I could never rely on this app to be sure about regulations for a given area without worrying that maybe it is not correct and risking a ticket. I’m sure they’ll get there at some point.
Developer Response
Hello,
First, thank you for taking the time to post a review. We appreciated the opportunity to improve the user experience and confidence level with this app.
Regarding the crash rate, we have been working to significantly reduce crashes, as we receive crash reports from users who have opted-in to automatically share those reports. As with any new application, it is extremely helpful to have users opt-in to share their crash data with developers, so we can identify and fix bugs. You can enable this on your iOS device by going to Settings > Privacy > Analytics, and enabling Share With App Developers.
Concerning the regulations for last year, we were specifically asked to provide an option to show all rules for the current season (July 1 - June 30), using the Pamphlet Mode functionality. Turning this off will show you rules for the current date, or the Trip Date(s) in the future you select in the Filters screen, accessed from the map menu (ellipsis icon, top right). With one caveat: because of how the rule-making and pamphlet release have been built on an annual process in the past, rules for the 2018-2019 season, that starts on July 1, have not yet been fully reviewed and approved for release. We will release these to the app as soon as they have been approved. We hope to automate and improve the process as we move forward.
Please feel free to ask questions or provide additional feedback, including about specific regulations you feel are inaccurate, confusing, etc. by updating this review, or emailing us directly mobileappdev@dfw.wa.gov
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Jake
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