FAQ
What is BiteWatch?
A fishing bite-time forecast. It blends solunar theory (feeding windows driven by the sun and
moon), live weather, and water temperature into an hourly “bite score,” tuned to the species you pick.
It’s a planning aid to help you choose when to fish — not a guarantee.
How does the bite score work?
Each hour gets a 0–100 score from: dawn & dusk light, darkness (for night feeders), the four
solunar windows (moon overhead/underfoot, moonrise/moonset, boosted near a new or full moon), plus
adjustments for barometric pressure, cloud, wind, and water temperature versus your species’ ideal
range. Tap “Why this score?” on the forecast to see the exact breakdown for the current hour.
Where does the data come from?
Weather from Open-Meteo, water temperature from the USGS water-data API, your county
(for regulations) from the FCC area API, and New York fishing rules from NYSDEC. Sun
and moon positions are computed on your device. Everything uses free, keyless sources — no login,
no server.
Is my data private?
Yes. Your catch log, saved spots, and settings live only on this device (browser storage) —
they’re never uploaded, and there’s no account or tracking. Export/Import (JSON) is how you move
them. If cloud sync is ever added it’ll be opt-in, and any shared data will fuzz your exact location.
Why should I log catches (and “skunks”)?
Logging is one tap and builds your own dataset. After a handful of entries, BiteWatch gently nudges
the score toward the conditions that actually produce for you. Logging blank trips
(“No catch”) matters just as much — it’s how the app tells a hot window from one you just fish a lot.
How accurate is it? (honest limits)
It’s a planning aid. Solunar theory has mixed real-world evidence, and the species weights are
informed guesses, not lab-validated — your log is what calibrates them. Water temp is often the
nearest gauge (which can be far) or an estimate from air temp, labeled as such. The water always
gets the final say.
How do the regulations work?
Size limits, seasons, and creel limits are mirrored from official NYSDEC pages (New York
only, for now) and shown for your county — with water-specific overrides where they exist. It’s a
convenience copy that can go out of date, so always confirm at the DEC link before keeping fish.
Can I support BiteWatch?