ReelTrack User Guide

Everything you need to know — from your first catch to running a live tournament.

🎣 Every Angler 👥 Friend Tournaments 🏆 Tournament Directors

Getting Started

Everything You Need to Know as an Angler

📱
Download & Create Account
Download the app, sign up, set up your profile
▼
🍎 iPhone
Download on App Store
🤖 Android
Get it on Google Play

Create Your Account

  1. Open ReelTrack and tap Sign Up
  2. Enter your email address and choose a password (8+ characters)
  3. Tap Create Account
  4. Check your email for a confirmation link and tap it

Set Up Your Profile

  1. Tap your name or avatar at the top of the Home screen
  2. Add your name, home lake, and state (you can tap Skip and do this later)
  3. Optional: add school, grade, coach name (for high school anglers)
  4. Add your phone number so a tournament director can text you your boat draw
  5. Tap Save
💡 Tip: Your home lake is what the Plan for today card and the AI Tacklebox use first, even before you've logged a catch.
🏠
Home Screen Dashboard
Conditions, quick actions, and Quick Shop at a glance
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The home screen is your fishing dashboard — everything you need before you launch.

🧭 Plan for Today / Tomorrow

The top card. Pick a lake with the chip on the right and ReelTrack writes a short plan: the day's forecast and feeding windows for that lake, then Start here with this bait, Then there, Skip that — built from your own catches and stops. After about 4 PM it switches to tomorrow. Tap Update to rebuild it. If it says "nothing recorded to skip yet" or "log a few stops," that's honest: it only knows what you've logged.

🌙 Solunar Activity Card

Shows today's major and minor feeding windows, moon phase, and star rating (1–5 stars). 4–5 stars = exceptional day on the water.

🌅 Light

Dawn, Sunrise, Sunset and Dusk for your location. Dawn and dusk are civil twilight — the same times legal shooting light is built on. Dawn and dusk are your prime fishing times.

⚡ Quick Actions

Three big buttons — Log a Catch (green), Start Tournament (gold), AI Tacklebox (blue). One tap to the most-used features.

🛒 Quick Shop

Fast Amazon gear searches with your affiliate link — Lures, Rods, Reels, Line, Tackle Boxes, Rain Gear. Tap Ask AI for Gear Advice to get personalized gear recommendations from the AI Tacklebox.

🐟
Logging a Catch
Photo, weight, lure, conditions — all in one tap
▼
  1. Tap Log in the bottom menu
  2. At the ramp, tap 🎯 Start trip and set the lake, water and current once — every catch that day inherits it, and the trip is saved (see Trips & Stops below)
  3. Make sure Tournament Mode is OFF (unless you're in a tournament)
  4. Tap Take Photo or Choose Photo to add a fish photo
  5. Enter the weight (lbs / oz or decimal); length is optional
  6. Select your lure and rig
  7. Select species, water depth, and structure type
  8. Lake, water and conditions are already filled from Start trip; adjust if they changed
  9. Add any notes and tap Save Catch
📍 GPS: ReelTrack records your phone's location when you save the catch — no photo needed. Your spots are private; nobody else can see your coordinates.
🏆 Personal Best: If it's your biggest fish of that species, ReelTrack celebrates it automatically and generates a shareable card!
✅ Required: Species · Weight
⭐ Makes AI smarter: Lure · Structure · Depth · Conditions
📍
Trips & Stops
Log where you fished — including the stops that produced nothing
▼

A catch log remembers the fish. A trip log remembers the day: where you stopped, what you threw, and whether anything happened. The stops that produced nothing are the ones that make the advice sharp.

  1. At the ramp, tap 🎯 Start trip on the Log tab. Set the lake and water once, and tap the Current chip (None / Light / Good) if you can feel it
  2. When you pull up somewhere, tap 📍 Add stop. Your spots are listed nearest first with what happened there last time. Tap one, or type a name to pin a new spot where you're sitting
  3. Fish. Catches you log while a stop is open are linked to it automatically
  4. When you move, tap Leave: pick the result (No bites, Bites, no fish, Caught), whether you saw fish on sonar, and the lures you threw — your most-used are listed first. Everything is optional; saving records the time either way
  5. Repeat for each stop. At the ramp, tap End trip
💡 One true line: After each Leave, ReelTrack shows one sentence from that spot's own history — "Junebug has now gone 3 stops here without a fish." That's your data talking, not a guess.
📖 See it later: History → 🎣 Trips lists every trip and every stop, newest first. Tap a spot name to open its page.
📶 Signal: Adding a stop needs a signal; name new spots on the spot, not from the ramp, because the pin goes where you're standing.
🗺️
Your Spots
Private pins with a memory — on the map, with every visit
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A spot is a named pin that belongs to you. Nobody else ever sees your spots — not by name, not by location.

  1. History → 🗺 Map: your spots are the yellow diamonds beside your catch dots. Tap one for its name, lake, visit count and last result; tap the bubble to open the spot page
  2. The spot page shows every visit by date — what you threw, the result, the catches — and your best fish there with its photo
  3. Rename spots there. Name them the way you'd say them to a friend: "Nuke ledge" beats "b41"
  4. Delete a spot you don't want. Your stops and catches are kept; they just lose the name
📡 Waypoints from your graph: Your Humminbird, Lowrance or Garmin waypoints can come into ReelTrack as spots. Export them to a card and send us the file (support@reeltrack.app); they're in your account the same day. In-app import is coming in the next store update.
💡 Sweet spots on a flat: If several pins mark the spots that produce on one flat or ledge, keep them separate and give them a common prefix — "Mullens flat · ditch", "Mullens flat · stump row" — so they search and read together.
📤
Trip Summary & Share Card
Share your day on social media with a pro-looking catch card
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At the end of your trip, ReelTrack generates a shareable catch card with your photo, fish count, total weight, big fish, top lure, and top structure.

  1. Tap Today in the bottom menu
  2. Tap the Share button at the top of your trip summary
  3. ReelTrack generates a branded catch card with your stats
  4. Share to Facebook, Instagram, text, or save to your camera roll
📸 Personal Best shares: When you break a personal best, ReelTrack highlights it on the share card automatically — perfect for bragging rights!
🤖
AI Tacklebox
Your personal fishing advisor powered by your catch history
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The AI Tacklebox reads your own catches, trips and stops — including the stops that produced nothing — and answers by spot name. Name a lake and a day and it uses that lake's forecast and feeding windows. Works for bass, crappie, or whatever you're after.

  1. Tap AI Tac... in the bottom menu
  2. Choose My History or Community mode
  3. Type your question or tap one of the suggested questions
  4. Tap send and wait a few seconds for your answer

Example Questions

"What works at Green Buoy Ledge?"
"What didn't work last time at Kitchen Ledge?"
"Crappie on Nickajack tomorrow — where do I start?"
"What depth have I been catching bass in summer?"
"Will the fish bite better morning or afternoon?"
"Best crappie setup for stained water?"
👤 My History

Your catches, your trips and stops, your spots by name — plus the forecast and feeding windows for the lake you ask about.

🌊 Community

AI uses anonymous data from other anglers on your lakes — what's biting this week.

💡 New user? Even without catch history, the AI uses your home lake, the forecast and feeding windows to give you useful advice right away. The more you log — stops especially — the more it knows.
🤝 Honest by design: It only cites what you've recorded. Ask about a species you've never logged and it says so, then gives general guidance. Ask about something the app doesn't track (retrieve speed, line, rod) and it tells you that's not something ReelTrack records.
🏆 Pro Patterns: The AI also reads Pro Patterns — winning setups pulled from pro anglers' tournament breakdown videos and reviewed before they're published. Find the tab in My Gear.
🌙
Solunar & Fishing Light Windows
Know the best times to be on the water
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Major Windows

2-hour peak feeding times — the best times to be fishing. Plan your day around these.

Minor Windows

Shorter feeding bursts — still good, just not as strong as majors.

⚡ Lightning Bolt

A solunar peak during daylight (dawn to dusk) — double fish bonus!

⭐ Star Rating: 1–5 stars shows how strong today's overall solunar activity is. 4–5 stars = exceptional day to be on the water.
📅
Today Tab — Trip Summary
See everything about your fishing day at a glance
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  1. Tap Today in the bottom menu
  2. Your catches for today are automatically organized by species and weight
  3. Tap the calendar at the top to view any past day — days with catches show a 🐟 icon
  4. Use the ◀ ▶ arrows to navigate months
  5. Tap Map to see where all your catches are plotted
📊 Best 5 Fish: The Today tab shows your Best 5 by weight every day. In a tournament, that's your bag — perfect for tracking where you stand during the day.
📖
History & Records
Search and filter all your past catches
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  1. Tap History in the bottom menu
  2. Use the filter chips at the top to narrow by species, structure, lure, or lake
  3. Tap any catch to see the full details including photo
  4. Tap 🎣 Trips to see every trip and every stop — date, hours, conditions, what you threw, the result, and how many catches
  5. Tap Records to see your personal bests for every species
🗺️ Map View: Catches as coloured dots, your spots as yellow diamonds. Tap a diamond, then its bubble, to open the spot page.
🕒 Time of day: Tap any catch for its details, including the time it was logged.
🎣
My Gear — Rig Builder
Save your setups and reference knots on the water
▼
  1. Tap My Gear in the bottom menu
  2. Tap + New Rig to build a setup (rod, reel, line, lure, hook)
  3. Name your rig and tap Save
  4. When logging a catch, tap Select Rig to auto-fill your gear info
🪢 Knot Library: Tap the Knots tab in My Gear for step-by-step guides to 10 essential fishing knots — perfect for tying on a new lure on the water.
🏆 Pro Patterns: Tap the Pro Patterns tab for winning setups from pro anglers' tournament breakdowns — rod, reel, line, lure, technique and depth, with a link to the video. Each one is reviewed before it's published. Filter by lake or technique.
📋
My Documents
Fishing license, boat registration, and more — always on you
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Keep your important documents on your phone so you always have them on the water.

Fishing License
Boat Registration
Boater ID
State ID
Boat Insurance
  1. Go to your Profile and scroll down to My Documents
  2. Tap any slot to add a photo of your document
  3. Tap it again anytime to view it
🔒 Privacy: Documents are stored only on your device — they are never uploaded to any server.
💻
Using ReelTrack on a Laptop
Same account, bigger screen — for rosters and director work
▼
  1. In a browser, go to reeltrack.app/login (or tap Sign in on the website)
  2. Sign in with the same email and password as the app
  3. Everything you see is your account: Home, History, Trips, the Club Roster, the director screens
📋 Best for: entering a club roster with a keyboard, reviewing trips and spots on a big map, and running director screens from a laptop at the ramp.
📱 Phone only: logging on the water — Start trip, Add stop, photos — belongs on the phone.
💡
Tips in the App
One-line hints the first time you see a screen
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New screens show a short blue hint once. Got it dismisses that one; Hide tips turns them all off.

⚙️ Turn them back on: Edit Profile → Show tips, or Show all tips again to start over.
🏅
Joining a Tournament
How to get in and get fishing
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  1. Tap Tournament in the bottom menu
  2. Tap Join Tournament
  3. Enter your Team Number provided by the tournament director
  4. Read and sign the digital waiver — check the box and tap Sign
  5. You're in! The tournament appears on your Home screen as Active Tournament
📱 QR Check-In: Your tournament QR code is in the Tournament tab. Show it to the check-in volunteer at the ramp — they'll scan it to record your launch time.
🏆 Tournament Mode: Once you join, Tournament Mode turns ON automatically when you tap Log. Your catches go straight to the live leaderboard.
👁️
Watching the Live Leaderboard
Follow any tournament live — no account needed
▼

Family, friends, and fans can watch any ReelTrack tournament live from any device — phone, tablet, or computer. No app or account required.

  1. Go to reeltrack.app on any browser
  2. Tap View Live Leaderboard
  3. Watch catches come in and standings update in real time
📺 Live Stream: If the director set up a YouTube livestream, it plays directly on the leaderboard page — watch the weigh-in live from anywhere in the world.
📲 Share: In the Tournament tab, tap Share Leaderboard and post the link in your club Facebook group. Anyone who gets the link can watch instantly.

👥 Run a Friend Tournament Anywhere, Anytime

Fish any lake, any time — create a casual tournament with your buddies in under 2 minutes. No club required.

❓
What Is a Friend Tournament?
Casual competition with anyone, anywhere
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A Friend Tournament is a casual, informal competition you create for any group of anglers — no club, no official director required. You pick the lake, the rules, and invite friends by sharing a team number.

✅ Perfect For

Weekend trips · Office pools · Family outings · Buddy bets · Kayak groups

🚫 Not Designed For

Large club tournaments · Multi-flight events · Official BASS Nation events

➕
Creating a Friend Tournament
Set it up in under 2 minutes
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  1. Tap Tournament in the bottom menu
  2. Tap Create Tournament
  3. Choose Friend Tournament
  4. Fill in: Name, Lake, Date, Fish Limit, Min Length
  5. Choose Scoring Type — Weight (lbs) or Length (inches, for CPR/kayak events)
  6. Tap Create Tournament
  7. Share the team numbers with your friends by text
💡 Angler Pro Feature: Creating a Friend Tournament requires an Angler Pro subscription. Joining one is always free.
🐠
During the Tournament
Log fish and watch the leaderboard update live
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  1. Tap Log — Tournament Mode should be ON
  2. Take a photo of your fish
  3. Enter the weight (or length for CPR events)
  4. Tap Save — it goes to the leaderboard immediately
🔄 Smart Cull: When your livewell is full, ReelTrack tracks your best bag automatically. If you catch a bigger fish, it tells you which one to cull.
📏
CPR / Length Tournaments
Catch, photo, release — perfect for kayak events
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CPR tournaments score by total inches instead of weight — great for kayak events and conservation-focused competitions.

  1. When creating, set Scoring Type: Length
  2. Anglers photograph each fish next to a ruler or bump board
  3. Enter the length in inches when logging
  4. ReelTrack calculates the best fish automatically
  5. Release the fish — no livewell required!
Kayak tournaments
Conservation events
Night tournaments

🏆 Run a Paperless Tournament From Your Phone

From setup to weigh-in, ReelTrack handles the whole tournament — boat draw, check-in, live leaderboard, and results.

⚙️
Setting Up a Tournament
Everything a director needs to configure before the big day
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  1. Tap Tournament → Create Tournament
  2. Choose Club Tournament for a formal event with roster verification
  3. Fill in: Tournament Name, Lake, Date, Check-in Time, Take-off Time
  4. Set Fish Limit and Minimum Length per species
  5. Choose Scoring Type — Weight or Length (CPR)
  6. Set your Director PIN — you'll use this to access director features
  7. Optional: set Dead Fish Penalty and Short Fish Penalty
  8. Tap Create Tournament
💡 Tip: Create the tournament at least a day before so anglers can join and you can run the boat draw ahead of time.
📋
Club Roster Management
Build your team list once, use it all season
▼
  1. Go to Tournament → Club Roster (on a laptop: reeltrack.app/login, then Club Roster — easier with a keyboard)
  2. Tap + Add for one team, or New Club — add several teams to enter a whole club with the club name filled in
  3. Enter the Team Number, the boat captain's first and last name, email and phone, then each angler's first and last name
  4. Tap Save & Add Another or Done
  5. Repeat for all teams. Team numbers must be unique across your roster
🗑️ Delete: Deleting a team warns you if it's in an active tournament; the tournament keeps its entry, the roster drops it.
📥 Import from CSV: If you have a spreadsheet of anglers, tap Import CSV and paste your data. ReelTrack recognizes the columns and adds all teams automatically.
🏫 Add Clubs: When you add roster teams to a tournament, you can pick which club(s) to bring in if your roster has more than one.
📧 Invite Emails: Tap Send Invites to automatically email every club member their team number, tournament details, and a link to join.
🎲
Boat Draw & SMS Notifications
Random draw + instant text to every angler
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  1. Go to Tournament → Director → Boat Draw
  2. Enter your Director PIN
  3. Choose Single Flight or Flight A / Flight B
  4. Tap Run Draw — ReelTrack randomly assigns boat numbers
  5. Review the draw, then tap Confirm & Send SMS
📱 Each angler gets a text with: Their boat number · Flight assignment · Check-in time · Tournament name and lake
✅
Tournament Day — Check-In
QR scanning at the ramp, mandatory meeting, late return alerts
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Volunteer Roles

🏆 Director
📱 Scanner
🐟 Fish Checker
⚖️ Weigh Master
📋 Registration

Every boat is scanned four times on tournament day. Each angler's QR code is in the app (Home tab) once they've joined the tournament; printed boat tags are the backup.

  1. Registration — morning, at the ramp: the Registration volunteer (Registration PIN) scans each boat in as it arrives
  2. Launch — as each boat leaves the dock, the Scanner (Scanner PIN, Tournament → Director → Check-In Station) scans it out. The timestamp is recorded automatically
  3. Return — as boats come back to the ramp, the Scanner scans them in. Boats still out past the deadline turn red on the director dashboard
  4. Fish check — at the fish check station, the angler shows their QR code so the Fish Checker records the fish against the right boat
🖨️ Printed Boat Tags: Tap Print Boat Tags to generate QR tags for every boat. Print and laminate them — easier to scan than a phone screen in bright sunlight.
⏰ Late Return Alerts: The director dashboard shows which boats have not been scanned back in past the deadline — alerts turn red automatically.
⚖️
Director Weigh-In
On Stage Now, Up Next, live leaderboard updates
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🔒 Blackout Mode: Before weigh-in, the leaderboard automatically hides weights from spectators to build suspense. The director controls when to reveal results.
  1. Tap Tournament → Director → Weigh-In
  2. Enter your Director PIN
  3. Tap a boat to set them as On Stage Now
  4. Enter each fish weight as it's weighed — tap Add Fish
  5. The leaderboard updates live as you enter weights
  6. When done, tap Submit Bag and move to the next boat
⚖️ Lbs / Oz

Enter pounds and ounces separately — e.g., 3 lbs 5 oz

📊 Decimal Lbs

Enter as a decimal — e.g., 3.31 lbs (great for digital scales)

📺
Live Leaderboard & YouTube Stream
Big screen display + embedded live stream
▼

TV / Big Screen Display

  1. Open a browser on your laptop or display device
  2. Go to reeltrack.app and tap View Live Leaderboard
  3. The leaderboard auto-scrolls and updates in real time
  4. Connect to a TV via HDMI for a professional weigh-in display

Embedding a YouTube Live Stream

  1. Start your YouTube Live stream from YouTube Studio
  2. Copy the YouTube stream URL
  3. In your tournament settings, paste it in the Live Stream URL field
  4. The stream appears automatically on the public leaderboard page
💡 Tip: Use a laptop connected to a hotspot for the most reliable stream. Test the connection before the event starts.
🚫
No Shows & DNS Handling
Mark anglers who didn't fish or didn't weigh in
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No Show

Angler registered but never launched. Does not appear in final results.

DNS

Did Not Scale — fished but brought no fish to scales. Appears with 0 lbs, ranked last.

  1. In Director Weigh-In, find the boat
  2. Tap No Show or DNS as appropriate
  3. The leaderboard updates automatically
🏁
Wrapping Up the Tournament
Final results, archive, and what happens after
▼
  1. Once all boats have weighed in, the leaderboard shows final standings
  2. Share the leaderboard link with the club so everyone can see results
  3. In Director settings, tap Close Tournament to mark it complete
  4. The tournament is saved in Tournament History permanently
📊 Results are permanent: Every tournament result is saved in ReelTrack. Directors can view past tournaments anytime under Tournament History.