I wanted to share something that I recently downloaded for my iPhone, the Hatch 2 app. The coolest thing about the iphone has to be the thousands and thousands of apps that you can get for it and The Hatch definitely belongs on any flyfisher's phone. The app is basically a giant hatch chart that covers over 300 rivers in 30 states with pictures, fly recipes, emergence dates, pattern recommendations, and more. It is impressive indeed. The interface and navigation is quite easy and fun to use on The Hatch. Basically, fire up the app and go to rivers, then you choose the month and state that you want. When you get to the state, a list of rivers pops up, then you choose the river and hit "Get Hatch Chart" on the bottom of the screen, and voila! A list of bugs comes up categorized by nymphs, emergers, and adults. Click on any bug and a new page comes up with a photo (for most bugs, more pics are being added with the updates), suggested sizes, and recommended patterns. Now for something with the scope of a nationwide hatch chart for so many rivers, there are bound to be a few patterns or hatch times that you may disagree with, but that's fishing. I did notice a few negative reviews in the app store from guys that were complaining about the completeness and accuracy of the info in the app, to them I say "then do it better" and you know what? I am sure they can't. The Hatch app will never replace a fly shop, or personal experience in a particular river but it doesn't claim to either. For someone that is traveling to a new state or is new to an area and is looking for a wealth of info in a cool, easy to use, one stop format, The Hatch is a wonderful app. The number of places, flies, and pictures included here is truly awesome and it is a constantly improving project. I have seen some significant additions to the app just since I got it this summer. To top it all off, the price is only $.99. It is available at the app store and you can get more info and see a demo at www.thehatchapp.com. Enjoy!
The Northern Angler
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