VFS — Verified Fishing Session
A VFS (Verified Fishing Session) is a timed, contextual window you open before you cast; any catch logged inside it is born inside the proof rather than stapled on afterward.
A Verified Fishing Session (VFS) is the container that makes a catch verifiable. You start the session before you fish. From that moment a clock runs and the context — time, place, conditions — is recorded as part of the record.
Because the session exists first, anything you log inside it is *born* inside the proof. There's no after-the-fact upload of yesterday's photo. The catch is anchored to a live window, which is exactly what makes it hard to fake and easy to trust.
In the DerbyFish app a VFS opens, runs while you fish, and closes when you're done; verified catches and their cost are summarized at the end. The session is the spine every verification standard hangs off.
Common questions
What starts a VFS?
You do — deliberately, before you cast. Starting the session is the act that puts the clock and context on record.
What happens to fish caught outside a session?
They can still be logged, but they aren't Verified Fishing — they're a Free Session catch: yours to keep, just without the proof. See VFS vs FS.
Does a session cost anything?
Logging is free. Verification is metered in BAIT; the exact pricing is set in the DerbyFish app and we don't restate numbers here that aren't pinned down.