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Here's a different kind of review for the technology era of fly fishing. We reviewed the Fishing Flies Encyclopedia iPhone app by Collins & Trellisys.net http://www.fishingfliesencyclopedia.com/. The app is available from the itunes store here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id447037826?mt=8 and is on sale right now for $2.99. Right up front, I'm going to say that if you're reading this now, you should take advantage of the $2.99 deal because the app is definitely worth it!
To be honest, I was a little unsure how a fly fishing flies encyclopedia would be beneficial when I first saw the app, but after playing around with it for a while, I think it makes an excellent tool while you're at the bench or even bored at a restaurant while waiting for food. The app is very well designed and has a great look and feel. You can tell a lot of time went into the UI design and the graphics used in the application. The app comes with a ton of useful information and photos but the interesting thing is that with the iPhone platform, the developer could push updates to add more patterns/photos and information. Unlike buying a book with similar content, the Fishing Flies Encyclopedia app can expand for the same price you pay up front. I don't have an iPad to test the app with, but I would imagine it would be even better on a larger screen. The great thing about the app is that it caters to both novice and advanced fly fishermen/women.
From a novice standpoint, there is a wealth of easy to navigate information on everything from the history of fly tying to techniques for tying different patterns. The gallery is sure to be a huge educational tool for someone who is just getting into fly fishing. Since it's available on your phone, you can leaf through flies whenever you have time regardless of where you are to get familiar with the flies and their useage. Again, the fact that the information is available at your fingertips on a device you likely have in your pocket all the time is a very attractive feature for someone who wants to learn about fly fishing.
From an advanced fly fisherman's point of view, the great thing about the app is you can have it beside you at your tying bench for reference and inspiration. I spend a lot of time crafting flies that are slight modifications on existing patterns based on techniques I'm into at that particular time. For example, I've found that larvae lace can be used in a number of patterns for abdomen representation and I will go on a spree of modifying existing patterns to include the larvae lace design. So for me, It's very convenient to be able to pick up my phone and browse the gallery on the app to find a pattern I want to modify. It's also always fun to go through the basics again to remind you of things or to re-learn something you might have overlooked back when you started. Beyond the useful information and beautiful pictures, it's just plain fun to look through the app.
I highly recommend the Fishing Flies Encyclopedia app. The price is right, the features are great, the look and feel are awesome and the convenience factor is something that makes picking up the app a no brain-er. My only request is that they develop the app for the Android market. I've switched over to the Android platform and have no intention on going back to iPhone. I keep my old iPhone around for my kids to play games on and I still download apps and use it like an ipod for fun but my phone is now an Android. I would buy the Fishing Flies Encyclopedia for android in a heartbeat if it were available.
Great Job guys!
