Comparison

Fish Washington vs ADFG

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Fish Washington

Access current Washington sport fishing rules and emergency changes for all state waters. Log catches offline, check license privileges, and find fishing spots with interactive maps. Includes NOAA tidal predictions and harvest limits.

Highlights
  • Current sport fishing rules
  • Emergency regulation updates
  • Offline catch logging
  • License privilege display
  • Interactive fishing maps
  • NOAA tidal predictions
  • Harvest limits and gear details
Features
Read full description

Sport Fishing Regulations The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is excited to announce a new sport fishing regulations mobile application for Washington state! Use this mobile app to access current Washington Sport Fishing Rules and emergency fishing rule changes. This free app is designed to convey up-to-the-minute fishing regulations for every lake, river, stream and marine area in the state. New features for 2026 include:  Log your catches—even off the grid Track your salmon, steelhead, halibut, sturgeon, and crab catches—online or offline. Check and display your license privileges Secure your licenses and know exactly what you're eligible for—anytime, anywhere. Fish Washington also now includes: Emergency regulation delivery. Map upgrades: New iconography for restrictions and water body features. New base maps to improve the user experience. Interactive mapping to help anglers find fishing opportunities near them. Location-enabled United States Geological Service (USGS) river gauges. Full water body name and description or portion to emergency regulation cards. NOAA tidal predictions for marine water bodies and lower Columbia River. Details on harvest limits and allowable gear for fishable species in each body of water. Access to the WDFW website and instructional videos designed to convey when, where, and how to fish in Washington. Locations of boat launches and other fishing access points. Ability to add waypoints on maps, and report poaching in progress. Downloadable updates and offline capacity designed for those who may not have cell service in remote areas or on the water. Washington state offers anglers some of the most diverse fishing opportunities available anywhere in the world. In a single weekend, you can dig for clams, troll for salmon, drop a pot for Dungeness crab, fly fish for steelhead, trout or bass, jig for halibut or rockfish, and bait fish for catfish, tuna, lingcod, or sturgeon. Maintaining this variety of fishing opportunities necessitates correspondingly diverse ― and sometimes complex ― fishing regulations. To make these regulations easier to understand, WDFW developed the Fish Washington mobile app. Refer to our website for more information.

About

ADFG

This app provides Alaska hunters and anglers with essential information and services for planning trips and managing their activities. Access licenses, permits, and big game tags digitally, view regulations, and record harvests directly from your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Digital licenses and permits
  • Big game locking-tag records
  • Hunting regulations
  • Record harvests
  • Sport fish identification guide
  • Offline map and regulation downloads
Features
Read full description

The Alaska Department of Fish & Game realizes that people are now accustomed to carrying a lot of information and credentials on their mobile device. This mobile app is designed for anglers and hunters in Alaska and designed to enhance pre-trip planning and in-field experience. It provides access to the information and services needed to follow applicable hunting and fishing regulations. Currently, that includes the following: • Display licenses, permits and big game locking-tag records – The mobile app allows you to purchase and view your hunting, fishing, trapping, and most combination licenses. You can also obtain big game locking-tag records, commercial crewmember licenses, hunting permits, harvest tickets, and some personal use fishing permits. All licenses, permits, and big game locking-tag records are valid to carry and display to enforcement in the field on your mobile device. • View Hunting and sport fishing regulations – The mobile app allows you to view all current hunting regulations (including some personal use regulations) for the entire state. Additionally, you can view hunting regulations based on your physical location, search locations statewide, and download maps and regulations for offline use. In the future, the mobile app will include support for sport fishing regulations. • Record Harvest – The mobile app allows you to record hunting and fishing harvests in the field and report some personal use fishing harvests. • Sport fish species identification – Additional features include separate sections for a species identification guide complete with images and text descriptions of commonly targeted sport fish species; definitions, regional and statewide methods and means, prohibited acts and other necessary regulatory content that is not displayed at site specific or sub-levels.

Screenshots

Fish Washington4 screens
ADFG4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Fish Washington at 4.3 against ADFG's 2.5. Fish Washington also leads on ratings volume (7K vs 100). ADFG's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Fish Washington holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fish Washington has 7K ratings behind it against 100, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Fish Washington's written reviews are positive against 23% of ADFG's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fish Washington ships an update every 3 weeks, ADFG every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Fish Washington versus ADFG: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFish WashingtonADFG
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (7K ratings) — better2.5 (100 ratings)
Positive reviews25.5% of reviews — better23.2% of reviews
Number of ratings7K — better100
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size341 MB140 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWashington Department of Fish & WildlifeDepartment of Fish & Game

Customer experience

Fish Washington

All ratings6,958 ratings
Positive82.9%
Neutral6.2%
Negative11.0%
Written reviews145 reviews
Positive25.5%
Neutral15.2%
Negative59.3%

ADFG

All ratings100 ratings
Positive34.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative61.0%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive23.2%
Neutral7.1%
Negative69.6%

User reviews

Fish Washington

From 7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗺️ Helpful map and boundary information
  • 📋 Detailed regulations and catch information
  • 🔍 Ability to search and view regulations for specific water bodies

Room to improve

  • 🐢 Slow and unreliable update/sync process
  • 🔄 Constant need to re-download/re-install app to get it working
  • 🤯 Confusing and overwhelming regulations
  • 🚫 Inability to access app features when offline

ADFG

From 100 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to navigate regulations
  • 👍 Digital licenses accepted
  • 👍 Useful for sport fishermen
  • 👍 Can report results offline
  • 👍 Good idea for an app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent login issues
  • 🐛 App crashes often
  • 🐛 Sync errors
  • 🐛 Long load times
  • 🐛 Error messages

Bugs and requests

Fish Washington

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to access map or view regulations
  • Search functionality not working as expected
  • Sync/update process frequently failing or taking too long

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to purchase fishing licenses directly in the app
  • Inclusion of fish identification and stocking information
  • Easier navigation and filtering of regulations
  • Offline mode to view regulations without internet connection
  • Integration of emergency regulation updates without full sync

ADFG

Reported bugs

27 issues
  • Login issues
  • Sync errors
  • App crashes
  • Harvest report submission crashes
  • Map crashes
Show 22 more
  • Identity provider sign-in failure
  • Login with Google fails
  • Can't create account
  • MyAlaska login issues
  • Support link not working
  • Can't change address
  • Harvest not properly recorded
  • Can't download maps
  • Regs require WiFi
  • Clunky and glitchy
  • Login with Facebook issues
  • Spinning wheel of death on login
  • Google login button disappears
  • Can't upload permanent licenses
  • App doesn't open
  • Login adds @myalaskaprod.local to username
  • Email confirmation not received
  • Randomly logs out and can't log back in
  • MyAlaska login adds @myalaskaprod.local
  • Doesn't show current license
  • Login unavailable for Google
  • App won't download/load

Requested features

13 requests
  • More push notifications for dates
  • Push notifications for emergency orders
  • Commercial announcements and regs
  • Permit card digital storage
  • Separate app for commercial fishing
Show 8 more
  • Hunting draw tag information import
  • Tide charts
  • Option to skip login for regs access
  • Add hunting permits picked up locally
  • Auto-populate permits
  • Link online purchases to app
  • Mapping function in fishing
  • Emergency Orders and updates via app

In-app purchases

None

Fish Washington

No in-app purchases

None

ADFG

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fish Washington free?
Fish Washington is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ADFG free?
ADFG is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Fish Washington or ADFG?
Fish Washington is rated higher. Fish Washington averages 4.3 out of 5 from 7K ratings, while ADFG averages 2.5 from 100 ratings.
Do Fish Washington or ADFG have ads?
Neither Fish Washington nor ADFG shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fish Washington or ADFG?
Fish Washington ships an update every 3 weeks, and ADFG every 5 weeks. Most recently, Fish Washington was updated on October 29, 2026 and ADFG on October 24, 2026.

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