Reel in proven technique, species behavior, and regulations from a verified expert library, sourced and checked before it's handed to you.
Now testing with real anglers
A real spot, a real time window, and a real technique to try today — based on your actual gear and today's conditions.
Most fishing advice is generic — a regulations page, a weather app, a forum post from three years ago. Post a real question in a Facebook group or on Reddit and you'll get twenty replies: half sarcastic, half contradicting each other, none of it knowing your gear, your spot, or what's happening on the water today.
So you guess. You fish the same spot out of habit. You throw the lure you always throw. And too often, you go home without a bite and no idea why.
Same coach, same process: read today's conditions, match them to your actual gear, tell you where and what to throw.
"I'm in Tampa tomorrow morning, saltwater shore fishing. I've got a 7' medium-heavy spinning rod, 3000-size reel, 20lb braid, mono and fluoro leader. I've got frozen bait, topwater lures, jig head swimbaits, and shrimp imitation lures. I don't know how to catch my own bait."
Skip the exposed spots tomorrow — wind's out of the WSW at 16–21 mph, gusting to 28, with storms likely through the afternoon. Fish Ballast Point Park or Fort De Soto Bay Pier instead — both are wind-protected. Get there for the falling tide starting first light through about 8:30am. Leave the topwater at home; wind-chopped water kills its visibility. Use your shrimp-imitation lures and jig head swimbaits instead. Upgrade to 30lb fluorocarbon over mono — you'll want the abrasion resistance in that chop. Realistic targets today: snook and mangrove snapper, not redfish or trout.
"I've got a tackle box full of bass lures of every type. Where should I go shore fishing near Dallas tomorrow, and what should I actually throw?"
With triple digits forecast, your window is dawn to about 8:30am — that's it before the heat pushes bass deep. Fish White Rock Lake, working the riprap along Lawther Drive or the shaded banks near Mockingbird Point; the shade and structure hold fish longer as the sun climbs. Start with a topwater walker or popper along the seawalls while it's still cool, or a buzzbait if you're near grass. Once the sun's up, switch to a Texas-rigged worm in green pumpkin or black/blue and pitch it into shaded pockets under the trees. If you're still out past 10:30, slow all the way down — a Ned rig or drop-shot worked off deep ledges is your only real shot once the water's pushing 90°F. Bring 12–15lb fluorocarbon for the plastics, heavier braid if you're throwing topwater through cover, and pack double the water you think you need.
Real recommendations, built from real conditions data. What happens next is still up to you — where exactly you cast, how you work the lure, how much noise you make on the water. CastSense can put you in the right position. It can't make the fish bite.
Every answer runs through two checks before it reaches you: proven knowledge, and live conditions.
Reel in proven technique, species behavior, and regulations from a verified expert library, sourced and checked before it's handed to you.
Every answer is checked against real, live water conditions: tide, weather, buoy temps, sun and moon. Pulled fresh, not guessed.
Both working together: proven knowledge, anchored in what's actually happening on the water right now.
Ask what to tie on and CastSense matches today's date, water temperature and weather to the hatches and baitfish that are actually active in that part of the state.
Trout and salmon live where the water stays cold and clean: mountain freestone streams, spring creeks, tailwaters below dams, and cold lakes. The insects they eat follow the same geography and the same temperatures. So a hatch chart for "the state" is wrong half the time. We build one region at a time, starting where wild and self-sustaining trout and salmon populations are and where most fly anglers fish.
Each hatch entry needs at least two agreeing sources, such as state wildlife agencies, fly shops and guides. We keep only the facts: the insect, the date window, flies, sizes and stages. Fall runs, smelt and egg patterns are included, not just mayflies. Then your live conditions pick what to lead with, like BWOs on an overcast day or terrestrials on a hot, windy one.
Hatch dates are regional and approximate, often a week or two either way. Small, high-elevation and spring-fed waters can run well off them. Water temperature and flow decide the real timing, so match what you see on the water. Regulations and seasonal closures change: confirm them with your state before you fish.
Alaska, Arizona and California are next. Their data is not complete enough to publish yet. Coverage in each state is strongest around its best-known trout waters and thinner elsewhere.
CastSense is in early testing right now. Drop your email and you'll be first in line when we open up new spots — plus you'll get the actual recommendations we're building, sent straight to your inbox, before this ever becomes an app.
No spam. No selling your info. Just fishing.