Fishing Ledger

[RHuff]

For the old heads… Do you still keep a log of every catch? Example of the data you record..  Is it beneficial? Do you see history repeat itself on a yearly basis? Does it clue you in on where to start each new trip?

[RipzLipz]

I used to keep a log on a small lake. Each entry was numbered & for each bass over X lbs, a number was placed on a satellite image of the lake copied from Google Maps. After so long, I  began to see where the larger fish were being caught, as clusters of numbers began to show up. I felt the odds were more favorable fishing those areas during certain times of the year. Those same places still produce today.

 

I am currently fishing a larger lake more than the one mentioned above. I plan on doing something similar. DNR fisheries biologists or equivalent for public lakes can also be willing to provide survey results should a lake be unknown to you in regards to species present (think prey species for bass). They often lack data from fishermen & both can benefit in some ways by sharing. Some survey results may be available online already.

[Tackleholic]

I'm OCD about keeping a log;  begin each new year with a new spiral notebook.  Date,  time, temp., wind, sun, cloud cover, moon, water temp., lures, where, depth, dock talk, what I'll do next time out, etc..  I fill it out as soon as I get home.  

[Jig Man]

I’ve been keeping one for years, with data similar to Tackleholic.  I keep mine in Excel.

[MickD]

5 hours ago, RHuff said:

For the old heads… Do you still keep a log of every catch? Example of the data you record..  Is it beneficial? Do you see history repeat itself on a yearly basis? Does it clue you in on where to start each new trip?

Yes yes yes yes.  I find it very helpful to have the history of how I did under the water temp, date, etc of the past, and yes it does repeat.  I don't record every fish, just a broad brush of how I did and any suggestions I might want to save. 

[A-Jay]

I kept fishing logs for years . . .

Can't say for sure if they ever helped me catch more or bigger fish because every day is different.

So old data seems less useful.

Despite that, I still keep a 'record' of my days on the water.

But it's in video form and far more accurate than I ever was.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

[gimruis]

I keep a record of how many times I went fishing in a season and where I went.  I don't believe it provides much for "data" purposes, I just want to know how much I was able to get out compared to previous seasons, and where I've been going.

 

I do not keep any records more specific than that.

[Bird]

Wife's FB keeps a not so detailed log as long as a photo has been provided and I definitely log water temps.

Talking about a coincidence,

I caught my biggest fish of the year 2 years in a row on the same date " April 2 " , at the same time " 10:30 am " on the same lake, same bank, throwing the same jig...... according to FB.

Heck, probably same fish 😂

 

 

[king fisher]

Over the years I have tried to keep logs of my fishing, but I always forget to write anything down when I am finished for the day.  Then like other chores, I keep putting it off until I eventually give up on recording anything.

      The main reason for the fishing logs is to save information I might forget.  In reality I always forget to fill out my logs, but I never forget anything about the fishing.  Every time I go out on the water, my memory kicks in. I can look at a laydown, and remember every bass I have caught off of it, the size of the bass, the wind direction, water temperature, time of year, time of day, what lure I caught it on, color of lure, lure retrieve, the other places I fished that day, if was I successful fishing other laydowns that day, have I ever lost a lure on that laydown, and why I decided to fish that particular laydown.  I can remember all of that, but can't remember to make a log of my fishing day.

[Bankc]

I just take a photo on my phone.  It tracks time, date, and location.  Get a picture of the lure in there too, and you have the lure and a good estimation of depth.  Plus a relative size.  If it's big enough, I'll get a picture of it on the scale too, but that's more for showing off than useful data.  

 

And to be honest, it's not that useful to me.  It might be more useful if I also kept track of weather patterns, water temperatures, air pressure, wind direction and speed, etc.  And you'd have to add to that that none of these lakes near me are natural lakes.  They're all either power plant lakes or water reservoirs.  And power plants around here will go active or inactive based on the current market prices of coal vs. natural gas, so you never know if one is going to run a lot one year, or hardly at all, and that will affect the water temperature and current speed outside of the weather.  And since we don't invest much in infrastructure around here, you never know if a water treatment plant will go down, and then they have to divert water from one lake to another while they save up the money to eventually fix it.  So water levels and temperatures aren't necessarily directly tied to the weather patterns and would need to be recorded as well.  And with climate change, no two years seem to be similar anymore, weatherwise.  In the last 15 years, we've had the hottest year on record, the coldest, the driest, and the wettest.  And a couple of those records have been broken more than once.  

 

Ultimately, I think it's more hassle than it's worth for me.  Plus, I'm an amateur doing it for fun.  I don't WANT to make it a job.  

[Bankbeater]

I've been keeping logs for years.  I record every trip even if I didn't get a bite.

[Tackleholic]

11 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I’ve been keeping one for years, with data similar to Tackleholic.  I keep mine in Excel.

Jig Man, you and I must be of different generations;  you are more tech savy than I.

[DaubsNU1]

I have been keeping a "fishing log" since the early 1990's. A co-worker's father had been logging his trips since the 1950's, and gave me a template.

 

It's fun reading old logs, remembering stories, fish, mishaps.

 

I don't know that it has helped me catch more fish, but sure is fun giving my brother and dad a hard time when they get "faced" (our lingo when a fish jumps, and spits the lure at you).

[steve carpenter]

Dont keep a log.  So many variables. Just go fishing when I can and rely on time of year, lake conditions, weather. Great thing about fishing is figuring out the mystery for that day and body of water.

[DogBone_384]

I've kept an Excel spreadsheet since 2014 and started using the ANGLR app in 2018.  I keep weather, water temp, fish size/weight, and what lures worked & didn't work on the spreadsheet.  The ANGLR app pins each catch I input on a map which really helps showing patterns.

[papajoe222]

I kept logs for each of the three lakes I frequent for years. Sometimes I would need to go back five years or more to find similar weed growth, the main form of cover, in an attempt to shorten my search.  What I found was the locations were almost the same weeds or not, so I just zeroed in on the general locations and adjusted my offerings based on the cover. Seasonal locations didn't change much over the years, so I stopped recording about ten years ago.

Were the logs helpful? Yes and No. Sometimes I'd waste fishing time and other times, I'd be on fish from the get go.  It was fun looking back over them during the winter, though.

[Catt]

Use to 😉

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

I'm paralleling what @Bankc does and use technology at hand. The phone is convenient and includes much of the data mentioned.

 

I admit it is a casual record for my reference. While I am diligent with details in my professional endeavors, this is recreation so a more relaxed approach is used.

 

Useful? Yes, it brings smiles when I have occasion to reflect or when I backup my phone files and look through them from time to time. Even more smiles when I show them to friends and family. It isn't bragging if there is evidence, right?

 

I am a recreational angler, so living in the minute is important. I keep that recreational perspective in that it is after all for fun. Minimal effort, maximum enjoyment, total success! Be well, and Cheers!

[txchaser]

The more time that goes by the more I regret not keeping logs, especially in unique situations where the fish were super picky. 

[Glenn]

https://www.bassresource.com/fish/fishing_log.html

^^  That is, quite literally, the same fishing log I created and started using in 1990 and still use today.  I originally printed it out on a dot-matrix printer. LOL

 

 

[Bankbeater]

I used to handwrite all of my logs then some years back I transferred them all to an Excel spreadsheet.  It was a little labor intensive, but once the spreadsheets were built it was smooth sailing.

[Susky River Rat]

I did this when i musky fished. 

[T-Billy]

I've never kept records. I just consider seasonal movements, and fish the conditions.

[Fishin Dad]

Every year I say I am going to keep a log of my season.   Then, every year I get so excited to get out fishing and getting my stuff ready and back in the boat, I never do it.  

 

After reading this post, I don’t know if I even need to think about it anymore.  Sounds like it hasn’t been a real big help.  Thanks.  

[WRB]

Being analytical to a fault and curious I did start a log in the 60’s to early 70’s until deciding to write my Cosmic Clock and Bass Calendar trying to put together what I observed about bass behavior.

Now I simply follow the seasonal periods and recall what and where I catch. Memory is getting old so my memory log book is sunsetting.

Tom