FishingBC vs BetterFish

NEW & IMPROVED FOR SPRING 2026! FishingBC is the official app for tidal (saltwater) fishing in British Columbia, created by the Sport Fishing Institute of BC with support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation. Features: • Now the FishingBC app replaces the need to carry a paper licence! After linking it with your BC Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Licence, the FishingBC app allows you to permanently record, store, and display mandatory catch information including for Chinook salmon, halibut, and lingcod, as well as provide proof of your current, valid licence. • Up-to-date, easy-to-view official regulations including closures and contamination areas. • Updated catch log and species ID to identify and record your catch and access your historical catch data. • Certified Tidal Angling Guides (CTAG) can now easily complete DFO catch log requirements. • UBC Enhanced Catch Log provides additional Chinook and Coho catch log information to University of British Columbia researchers. • Current, location-based weather forecasts including marine synopsis.

Everything you need to fish in BC. BetterFish is your offline field guide to British Columbia fishing regulations. Tap any lake, river, creek or tidal area and read exactly what applies right there: seasons, catch and size limits, gear and bait rules, and the closures in force today. EVERY WATER'S RULES, ONE TAP AWAY 15,000+ lakes, rivers and creeks across all nine regions. Where a closure has a mapped boundary it is traced on the water itself, so you can see where it starts and ends. Where a closure exists only in writing, BetterFish says so rather than drawing a line it can't stand behind. BUILT FOR NO SIGNAL The regulations, the waters and the synopsis are bundled on your device, so the rules work in a canyon or in airplane mode. Download map imagery, including satellite, for the area you're headed before you leave. SALMON AND TIDAL, COVERED Non-tidal salmon rules from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, plus tidal regulations for all 48 Pacific fishery management areas, with tidal closures, rockfish conservation areas and other protected zones drawn on the map. THE OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS, BUILT IN The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis (2025-2027) ships inside the app as an offline reader. A water with its own listing in the book opens straight to that page; everywhere else opens the region's chapter. Either way you can check the printed source without a connection. REGULATIONS UPDATED MID-SEASON Openings, closures and variation orders change all season long. BetterFish updates its own regulation data over the air, signed and verified before it is trusted, so the app corrects itself without waiting on an app update. A What's New screen lists what moved, filtered by region or tidal area, by distance from you, or by searching for a water. TIDES AND RIVER FLOW See the seasonal flow pattern for a river and jump to the live gauge that covers it. Tidal waters hand off to official tide predictions, so you can time the trip as well as follow the rules. PUT A NAME TO YOUR CATCH Photograph a fish and an identifier that runs entirely on your phone suggests the species, with illustrated ID guides for the lookalikes. Suggestions, not verdicts: the guides show you what to check. TACTICS AND GEAR How to fish for 21 BC species by water type and season: proven setups, lures and presentations, plus knots and the basics of reading a river. PLAN THE WHOLE TRIP Map layers for stocked lakes, boat launches, campgrounds and provincial parks, and a private-land layer so you know what's off limits. Keep your licence details and documents on hand, and see what each water requires. YOUR SPOTS STAY YOURS Save spots with catch logs and photos. Your photos never leave the phone, and nothing else does either unless you choose to make an account and back it up. Share a spot with a friend as a file; nothing is shared unless you send it. COVERAGE All of British Columbia SUBSCRIPTION BetterFish is free to download. Full access is one annual subscription, CA$24.99 per year in Canada, and it starts with a 3-day free trial. The price for your country is shown on the purchase screen before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, and the subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://betterfish.ca/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://betterfish.ca/privacy/ BetterFish is an independent reference tool, not an official or legal source, and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Province of British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, or any government agency. It is not an official or legal source. Always confirm the current rules with the BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis and Fisheries and Oceans Canada before you fish. You need a valid licence, and any required stamps, to fish in BC; BetterFish does not sell them.