I'm sure some other people log their trips, what kind of information do you keep, I'm thinking of including:

Size (marked guessed or weighed)

lure/bait

time of day

water clarity

pictures if possible

location

depth (approximate)

please provide you input if you have any, THANKS!

There is a very good fishing log available here on the site just go to the top of your screen and look under tackle box.

                         

I keep a journal that I set up in FileMaker Pro. It's an electronic form that I fill out after every fishing trip and includes a space for comments, where I include whatever additional details I want to record.

In addition to the criteria you listed, my journal form includes date, fishing partners, air temp, surface water temp, cover and structure fished, tackle used, moon phase, and water level (normal, below normal, above normal). It also includes boxes to check off for different species of fish caught. Because FileMaker is a database, I've set it up to tally total number of fish caught for each species during any time range I specifiy, and because the program is searchable, I can easily find out how many fish I caught in May during a full moon, for example, or any other combination of criteria from the checklist.

I know not many people use FileMaker, but if anyone does and wants this journal, just PM me.

Kewl idea

There was an old man who used to live here on the lake I fish . He carried a tablet and wrote down time and size of fish caught . he logged over 10.000 bass out of this 22 acre lake

I made around 50 copies of the one here, and wrote about 8 or 10 times in it.  That's been about two years ago.

I'm just not that dedicated to write in it like I should.  I wonder if I'd do better keeping track of it on a computer?  

Hey, nboucher. . . I think I'm going to PM you and give it a try.  Thanks for sharing!

-Fisher

www.blaziksfishing.8m.com

PLooking over what i wrote last year and how much it actuyally helped me I AM NOT KEEPING A LOG THIS YEAR  this aint rocket science and sometimes i make more out of fishing thAN I NEED TO

I keep a log, including a map of the lake I fished and I mark it up where I caught the fish.  It makes for a useful tool.

I printed out copies of the fishing log in the tacklebox and 8X11 copies of my lake map.  I fill them out on each trip and then slide them into a sheet protector.  I store the sheet protectors in a 3 ring binder.  I write down all the information about conditions and fish caught and then I mark the locations that I caught each fish on the map.  The number of the fish in the log matches the number of the fish location on the map.  I have been doing it for 4 years.  The last two years I fished alot more.  I noted that I caught fish on 26 outings last year.

For me, a log is productive for a few reasons:

Most important, is to see what worked that shouldn't have or that worked for the first time in a certain location, time of day, season, etc. I don't need to post entries when fishing is predictable because why would I want to include boasts and read about it later? (Of course, lunkers are always posted!)

Primarily, I want to document lures and presentations that worked well consistently and why and wherethey worked in order to build a data base that could help me be more versatile on the same or new body of water. We read and watch fishing media for that reason and I'm disappointed when a pro catches fish but gives no clue of what he used, why and where he used it. I'd rather watch my partner catch fish! I'd learn more.

Taking this into consideration, I include the following:

Fish related:

species - size (length and wt.)

lure-size-color-modification (if any) - presentation (speed, pauses)

where caught: depth - structure (rock flat, wetland weeds, docks, points, hump) - area of water (n/s/e/w/ne/nw/sw/se cove, corner, stretch, shoreline)

time of day

tide (if applicable)

general environmental conditions:

water temp/ clarity/ height as compared to seasonal height or flow

air temp or range

wind speed and direction

clouds/clear/raining/sunny etc.

post front/prefront

unusual season info

the water and date

photos to take:

fish with lure visible and in it's mouth

lures-that-worked shots

location caught (don't aim the camera directly towards the water LOL)

unusual or scenic shots

I also include lures that didn't work the whole day and on future trips.

Fishing is a puzzle and the pieces we discover help make finding and catching a little more predicable. If I had to name my journal, it would be the journal of the unusual; believe it or not!

I use a fishing journal worksheet in the boat. When I get home, I transfer all of the info into a fishing journal that I purchased from sportslogbooks.com. Here is the worksheet I use in the boat.

                                      Lake: __________________________

Day/Date: __________________________ Start: __________ Finish: __________

Weather: __________________________ Air Temp: ________  Wind: __________

Water Clarity: _________________________________  Water Temp: __________

People Fishing: ______________________________ Bar Press: ______________

                                                                     Morning

         Qty/Fish                                  Bait                                          Map Location

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

Notes: ____________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

                                                           Afternoon

                                                                                                     Air                     Water

Weather: ____________________ Wind: _________ Temp: ______ Temp: ______

         Qty/Fish                                  Bait                                          Map Location

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

________________  _______________________  __________________________

Notes: ____________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

Look for "The Anglers Genie" very good on keeping all the info you want to keep.

More info here:

www.btillc.net/Forum

Contact Doug Maurer, he is the designer of the website and Anglers Genie.

[move]The Angler's Genie[/move]

Wish you could pattern fish better?

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The Angler's Genie was designed to be a tool to help anyone become a better angler. From one place, you'll be able to track your time on the water, Manage Your Money, organize your Tasks, track your Tournaments, and even organize the Waypoints from your GPS unit. With Genie, you are able to track every day on the water. You are able to organize and categorize your tournaments as well as track associated expenses. The system allows for integration with the most popular GPS units so you can now track all your waypoints in one system. Money management lets you see exactly how much your angling life consumes by allowing you to organize income/expenses into categories and items for easy breakdown at the end of the year. The Angler's Genie will even organize your To-Do list so nothing gets missed so you maximize your time on the water.

Logbook information:

Generic information - Waypoints tied to a specific logbook entry as an individual location or series of organized waypoints

Tournament information tied to specific tournament

Notes about trip and general area of interest

Fish information - Species, Life stage, Quantity, Size and Weight

Structure information - Structure type and Vegetation type, depth and size

Weather information - Sky conditions, wind and direction, season, temperature and barometric pressure

Tackle information - Specific lure, line type and size

Style information - Fishing style and various attributes of the fishing style

Water information - Location, pH, temp, depth, bottom composition, current, level, color and clarity as well as draw-down information for reservoir systems

Completely searchable history for planning your next trip

Money Management that can track:

Income, Expenses, Profit/Loss reports for Accounting

Connection to Tournament Income and Expense

Create categories for tracking income/expense by groups

Customizable amounts for mileage calculation rates

Tournament Management that can track:

Organize by tournament series with different graphical representation for each - Use different shapes: Use different colors, Easily recognize calendar

Tournaments - Track results, track Income and Expenses, and mileage; Track points so series standings can be tracked

Money Management Rules can be defined to quickly transfer money information to Money Management.

Waypoint Management:

Works with the most popular electronics - Garmin and Lowrance (Humminbird is coming soon)

Import/Export data - You can import data and attach to a Body of Water; You can export all data or data for a specific Body of Water

Convert data to CSV flat file for use in multiple programs

You can organize Waypoints - Connect them to specific logbook entries; Connect them to specific Bodies of Water; Assign a prefix to the name to help organize the names better

Underwater video - Associate video recordings with each waypoint.

Task Management that can organize:

Task items, with status and grouping

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