ADFG vs River Rat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Digital licenses and permits
- Big game locking-tag records
- Hunting regulations
- Record harvests
- Sport fish identification guide
- Offline map and regulation downloads
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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.
River Rat
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Montana rivers don't wait. River Rat gives paddlers, fly fishers, and rafters a clean read on 39 rivers across Montana and Idaho – before you load the truck. Know if it's runnable, not just the CFS number. Live readings are automatically classified: too low, bony, ideal, pushy, too high. You see the verdict, not just the number. Plan a trip, not just a day. Save your rivers. Open the Trip Planner, pick a date, and see which runs will be in shape. The weekend digest gives you the one-line read before you open anything. Hatches: type, timing, and fly patterns. Active, approaching, and fading windows by species – salmonflies, PMDs, caddis, and more – with fly patterns and timing notes built around water temperature, not calendar guesses. What's in the detail view: • Real-time water temperature + fish thermal stress alerts (67°F stress, 70°F danger) • Water clarity signal with 24-hour trend • Gage height • Rapids and hazards with class ratings • 7-day weather: air temp highs/lows and precip probability Set alerts. Stop babysitting gauges. Set a threshold – "notify me when the Blackfoot hits ideal" – and let it fire when conditions land. No polling required. Everything saves locally. 39 rivers across Montana and Idaho. Built for the people who actually run them. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: River Rat at every 10 days against ADFG's every 5 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ADFG ships an update every 5 weeks, River Rat every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and August 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ADFG | River Rat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (97 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 23.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 97 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 161 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Department of Fish & Game | Evil Twin Enterprises, LLC |
Bugs and requests
ADFG
Reported bugs
27 issues- Login issues
- Sync errors
- App crashes
- Harvest report submission crashes
- Map crashes
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- 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
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- 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
River Rat
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ADFG
No in-app purchases
River Rat
No in-app purchases









