The best mobile phone fishing games!
LOOKING for an angling fix during lockdown? You could do a lot worse than download one of the many mobile phone fishing games. These range from swipe like crazy arcade titles, to some that are just as serious as the real thing - you think we are kidding!
To give you a flavour of what kind of games are out there, we sent our News Reporters into the App Store to investigate. Here are their findings…
(The below are the opinions of Angling Times staff and no paid promotion has gone into this article. The images are simply cropped screenshots from in the games themselves.)
Fishing Clash: Tap to Fish!
Price: Free but in-app purchases
App Store Rating: 4.8 stars
Our Rating: 3 stars
AS the name suggests this game requires some pretty frantic finger action at times. It is very simple to play and actually can be quite addictive. You basically tap on the screen to cast and then within seconds of your bait hitting the water, a little bit like a summer commercial, you have to strike, which is also done by a simple tap on the screen.
The interesting and entertaining bit comes once the fish is hooked. You then have to tap as fast as you can to keep your tension bar in the ‘hot zone’, which in turn will stop you losing the fish, by it either breaking your line or just dropping off.
Now, it does start off pretty easy, admittedly, but you will soon be getting frustrated as the boss fish will have you smashing your screen protector to bits trying to catch up. Unfortunately, we failed to land one!
The fish are cool and look awesome with the smooth graphics. There are also a lot of different species and some new venues to unlock, which does give it a bit of playability.
For us, although it is fishing, it hasn’t really got enough decision making to keep us hooked. After all, it would be called ‘catching’ if we could get a bite every chuck, wouldn’t it?
Ultimate Fishing Simulator
Price: Free but in-app purchases
App Store Rating: 3.7 stars
Our Rating: 3 stars
THIS offering is a bit more suited to the coarse anglers and has a host of our favourite species to target, from shy biting crucians to monster predatory pike.
There is a lot of freedom with this game, as you can go for a wander and cast to likely looking spots, as well as explore a host of tackle and bait options.
The casting mechanic is a simple touch on the screen, as long as you are in range of the target. Once the float is out there, initially, you will get bites pretty much instantly, and there is a lovely mini-screen, where you can watch the float shoot under.
The striking mechanic is a swipe backwards and you can actually get it wrong and miss them sometimes, which gives you a skill to master. Reeling is then done by a circular motion on the screen to resemble the feeling of actually reeling in - ah the good old days!
Once a fish is caught, you can place it in your keepnet and at the end of the session, sell your catch for coins. These can then be used to purchase new tackle, baits and venues. This gives the game plenty of depth and it certainly is one we will be spending a bit more time progressing on.
Graphically, the game looks great and the fish look spot on too. We do think it would be nice to see some movement of the fish in the water, as you are casting a bit blind at times. We are also hopeful to hook something that pulls back soon, but it looks like that will take some game hours!
Carpcraft
Price: Free but in-app purchases
App Store Rating: 4.5 stars
Our Rating: 5 stars
THIS game doesn't look much but it goes deeper than a 5G Twitter thread. You start with your awesome little lego type character, sat by a lily fringed pond, armed only with a float rod.
Clicking on the hook next to the character, brings up all kind of customisation options. You can change your rod, reel, line, hooks, floats and baits.
Once you have selected the right kit, you are ready to make the cast. Now, unlike some of the other games we have mentioned, this takes a bit more skill if you want to get it bang on the money. In the initial action, you have to time a moving cursor to get the direction right, then again for the distance and a final time for accuracy. This makes it a bit more interesting than just chuck it and chance it, as you can aim to get it slam tight to the pads - just where those virtual carp will be!
If you mess it up, you lose your bait and have to start again too, but the frustration doesn’t stop there. Once it has popped up on your screen that you have had a bite, you can swipe up to strike. This is where we went wrong, initially losing fish after fish - doh!
A virtual reel pops up on screen and you can use your finger to wind in the fish, playing it off the back wind when the tension gets too high. Make sure you don’t rush it too - they do come off!
When you have banked a fish, you get coins as a reward, which similar to the other games mentioned, will unlock you all kinds of extras. It doesn’t take you too long to catch enough fish to earn your second rod, a leger rod, which can then be used to target the bigger carp. You can even unlock all the favourite carp rigs, to fool the really wise ‘Most Wanted’ fish in the lake.
Give this game a chance and we think you could easily get hooked!
Fly Fishing Simulator
Price: Free but in-app purchases
App Store Rating: 4.3 stars
Our Rating: 4.5 stars
AS the name suggests, this is one for the fluff chucking fraternity. It is, however, actually a great offering for all angling enthusiasts, as it is very simple to control and strangely addictive.
In the traditional fly fishing manner, you let out more line to be able to cast further distances, which is done by a simple on-screen rotational reel.
The fun bit comes with the shadows of fish in the water, indicating where you need to be placing the fly. There are loads of flies to choose from too and a really nice touch is the ‘match the hatch’ button. This tells you what is hatching and allows you to match a pattern from your box, thus increasing your chances of that virtual strike.
Once you get a bite the rod arches over and it’s then about taking your time reeling in, so they don’t come off. It is actually quite exciting when you latch into those bigger fish.
There are lots of different species to target and venues to unlock as you progress through the game. The second venue is a particular favourite of ours, as you watch flies land on the water in a wild chalk stream, quickly getting engulfed by trout.
Graphically, the game uses real world images. If you focus in too hard, you may even begin to believe you are there!
Certainly worth a download.
I Fishing Lite
Price: Free but in-app purchases
App Store Rating: 4.6 stars
Our Rating: 3 stars
FANCY chancing your arm at becoming a bass fishing pro? If so, this is probably the game for you. Initially, it is all about boat work and using your sonar to find groups of big fish. Then you simply ping out your chosen lure to catch them.
Casting requires you to flick your phone forward, similar to the actual casting action we are all missing, but it does feel like your lure should go further than it does! You can then reel in at different speeds, depending on your target species and if you are on them, it doesn’t take too long to get a bite.
The striking mechanic is different to other games and can provide some comical results. Forcing you to smash your phone back towards your face as fast as possible to set the hook. This is not one you want to be playing if you are trying to be discreet whilst your partner is watching Eastenders!
In game fish fights are great and with a fair balance between the chance of landing or losing the fish. Once beaten, your catch sort of dangles awkwardly in the air for a while, at which point you can brag on social media or release it.
A really nice one to beat the lockdown blues, is the ‘Fish a Photo’ feature. This lets you pick a shot from your photo album and fish it. Missing that regular spot? You can fish it on your phone, albeit, you might find a few different species are in the digital version!
Our main issue with this game is the constant adverts. If you can get past this without breaking your phone, however, the game is thoroughly enjoyable.
Carp Fishing Simulator
Price: £2.99 with in-app purchases
App Store Rating: 3.6 stars
Our Rating: 5 stars
WANT a fishing game that is almost identical to the real thing? Then Carp Fishing Simulator is definitely one you are going to want to download.
There is so much to this game, we could probably write endless pages on it. Funnily enough, however, we haven’t actually caught a fish on it yet!
You start armed with just a rod and seemingly, only bread as bait. With two lakes to choose from initially, you can wander round both, looking for visible signs of fish, all with very simple to use controls.
Now our initial problem came with actually casting out for these virtual cyprinids. For whatever reason, our hair-rigged bread was not a suitable choice and thus the game would not let us cast it in. Completely unsure how to conquer this problem, we caved and spent £2 of our hard earned Bauer Media wages on buying all sorts of extra bait, rigs and kit.
Now it has to be said, the carp angler in you will want to buy every option available - and we can’t blame you, as this game is pretty addictive. But these extra rigs, baits and tackle items like bait boats and bivvies, can be earned by just catching fish in game - if you are skilled enough.
Casting is simple but can be done accurately, to put the bait in certain hotspots on the lake. Once cast out, it is then a case of kicking back with a cup of tea and waiting for the buzzer to sound. If it ain’t happening, you can grab your virtual binnoculars and scan the lake for signs of carp - you do see some too!
A move is always a good idea in any fishing you do and Carp Fishing Simulator is no different. As you wander round the lake you will see all kinds of characters, some of which look straight from an 80’s disco or an episode of Baywatch. We aren’t sure what the thinking was here but it does cause some brief amusement in amongst the painful blanking.
The next part of the game, we too are yet to find out, but it does look exciting. As you conquer each lake by catching all the target fish, you can unlock new waters, some with very familiar titles like the historic ‘Bluemire Pool’ or the popular ‘St Dons Lake’.
We are probably going to be on this game for some time!
