Fishing Journals

[booboo]

Just interested to know how many people actually use a fishing journal. I have tried in the past but haven't been able to keep it up to date.

 

Three optional questions for those that do: (this is starting to look like an exam )

 

1. What type of info do you record?

2. What info do you find most important?

3. Do you find yourself referring to it before an outing?

[rhuseby]

I have used the TU pocket logs that they distributed for a while and now make up my own. By carrying it with you, you can fill it out as you go. I record date, location, time of day and hours fishing, species and size distribution, unusual water conditions, hatches, and successful flies. Other notes can be made as you see fit. Some of the info, mainly the species stuff, has been passed on to Fish and Wildlife biologists looking for data on waterbodies they don't survey regularly. Hatch dates are always useful in future trip planning, as are fly patterns. Best of all is just reading the thing when the weather is -40 and you can only dream about going out. A diary is just a great thing and I wish I would have started keeping on a long time ago.

[Jeremy]

I use google earth to keep notes on a trip. I will place a bookmark at the place I was fishing and then make a small note with the date, the conditions, what I caught and what flies I was using. I can save the "my places" file in google earth and import it to again if I need to reinstall the program.

[dAm]

I always start one each year but tend to stop adding to it towards the end of May. A few things I always include are barometric pressure, wind direction and water temp. If the wind changes direction during the day and it affects the bite I always include that also. When I think about it I will also include the phase of the moon. If you forget that part and look back at your log and wonder what phase it was in you can go here.

[Brownstone]

always start off the season with a log but seem to fall behind every time, I write in location, insect activity, patterns, weather/water conditions.etc For me its easier to keep it well up to date in the early season for some reason, but about the 40-50th entry it gets sloppy and find myself going back days maybe even weeks to try and replay from memory..then abandon it..when your out fishing every hour your not working and tying whenever time frees up I think a log is pretty far down on the list unless you have lots of time...

[admin]

I use the creel we made on Flyangler.ca. It tracks species, caught and relesed, dates waters etc.. I put in notes about the conditions and flies used and refference it when I go back. It's handy and I can access it from anywhere. If you have GPS co-ords, you can add them to track it on the google map as well.

 

http://flyangler.ca/index.php?option=com_creel&Itemid=39

[Guest bigbadbrent]

i use the creel on flyangler as well, the only thing i don't enjoy about that creel is that when you put a different category for a day (say you caught a rainbow and brown, you have to do 2 different inputs for the different species) but then it counts it as 2 trips

[lonefisher]

I don't use one....... when I go fishing I just plan on figuring out what is happening that day and I carry lots of flies in order to always be prepared...... often I'm not the rest of the time I have an unbelievably good nack for losing the most important fly box...... This year I have lost 3 one I found but I am still short 1 from the upper k and one from friday on the north ram...... pretty clever about 50 bucks worth of flies down the drain already....... I also lose forceps on a weekly basis..... so for me I figure a log book won't help me much....... but it might come in really useful for the guy who finds it.

[cdock]

I was using one. Included temp, water temp, pressure, weather, hatch, what flies were working, etc. But I quickly realized I didn't care about my log and where I was fishing and conditions on that day. I simply love to fish and I don't care about the conditions. Yeah it's interesting to look back and reflect and learn what to fish on what days but I find the simpler my day can be the better so I quit using one. It hasn't affected my fishing at all and for looking back I look at my pictures. One thing I still keep note of is water levels in the smaller creeks and streams at different times of the year. Also I found the rest of the information (water temp, hatch charts, etc.) has already been done by others. I still check the water temp. but only to see if I'm in a good section. There are sections that do get too warm.

[pigl]

I use google earth to keep notes on a trip. I will place a bookmark at the place I was fishing and then make a small note with the date, the conditions, what I caught and what flies I was using. I can save the "my places" file in google earth and import it to again if I need to reinstall the program.

 

This is a very interesting idea - I hadn't thought of this. To add to this, I was fishing on Saturday with a friend who got one of those Blackberry 8800s. It actually has a gps system in it and shows you on a satellite map exactly where you are at any given moment. Some of the resolution downstream of the city or in more remote areas is not that great, but you can still track where you are and you could keep all of your fishing notes on it with bookmarks to the precise locations where you were fishing on the fly and have it with you everywhere you go.

 

Now that I realize it could have application to fishing, I think I might get one!

[SilverDoctor]

I just keep a small notebook. I usually only enter if it's something worth while. Nice to refer back to previous years and see when the various hatches are and what worked.

[wongrs]

i've been using a notepad file and inserting that into a folder with the pictures from that particular day. usually record bug activity, weather, strikes on what flies, and weather conditions on the day before and after.

 

i will be converting this into an excel format to make it sortable by river system and date and it's going to be totally awesome.