Who keeps a fishing Journal?

[Kevin Evans - Kap]

I have tried but never catalog it consistently.


Kap

[texas john]

Try harder, it will improve your fishing and make you more aware of what worked when and where and why, which in the long run helps you to establish your best lure choices under the right circumstances.

[Oldschool]

Very good learning tool or if you are fishing several different lakes.
Once you determine what works for you; colors, seasonal locations, depth and lures selections, you tend to lose interest.
T

[some guy]

You got to if you want to be consistant.

[DeltaBound]

I use to keep a journal back in the 80's but with as Old School mentioned, I lost interest.

[MikeD]

/me raises hand

[N.A.R]

I only keep a journal of past derbies. What I did wrong and what I need to improve on...

Not having the net ready, taking 3 min to find a certain tungstun weight, not checking my line more often... (Broke 2 fish off) etc etc....

[bassindon69]

Not I

[Dom]

As mentioned if your fishing alot of different bodies of water then I would say yea but if you fish the same bodies all the time then really no need you will just know what works and what did not.

Back when I was fishing tournaments there was a program someone on this fourm was either selling or showed a link to it I bought it and used it for 2 years my computer crashed and I lost everything !!! That was the end of the log for me.

[BassManDan]

You just have to fish in the moment! Dont think about "This worked when I was here 2 years ago."

Honestly, I'm pretty bad about, "Hey, I caught fish here last time, so lets start here." but I try more and more to just assess a given type of area, and just pull up on it and start fishing because I think it MIGHT yield fish.

I think the idea of a journal is great, but being able to make decisions on the fly is probly a better skill than reviewing past information (not to say that it won't be helpful) but you can bet the farm that SOMETHING has changed since then.

[texas john]

The trick to keeping a log is not to rely on it for what worked this time last year or didnt work. IMO it is more to keep track of what worked under certain weather conditions/tides/water temps. Sometimes however it does not matter what you do or how much you prepair the fish just might not want to cooperate. I use my log for the above items as well as to note things I either did not try, did not do enough of or what I did wrong. All these things help me to understand where and when and why things happened the way they did.

Just my .02
Since is my second post I guess im in for .04 now.

[Gimpy]

raising my hand!
I haven't been fishing that long but have already found I have been using my journal to good effect.
I use a three ring binder with dividers for the different bodies of water I fish. Easy to keep organized and I can flip directly to the information I am looking for.

[Caudawg]

"Nostalgia Fishing" has been the demise of many of us over the years come tournament time. Me included.

I have found that "time on the water" develops your insticts better than the written words. It is really a matter of trusting your instincts...which can only be properly developed by time on the water. You will be sorely dissappointed if you think you can catch bass the same way you did the year before on a particular spot.

If you don't have the perverbial "time on the water" to draw from...you need to think in terms of slower baits first(worms, jigs etc) and see how active the bass are. And progress from there.

My goal each day is to push the bass to their limits. I am always testing their metabolism to see how fast or big of a bait I can get away with. Every day is different and I want to know how active the bass are before I assume they'll eat a "bubba bait".

Will I throw a bubba bait first thing in the morning? Sure!...but if I am not getting bit, I quickly revert to slower baits and re-start the process of testing their activity level...and progress to faster/bigger baits from there as the temperature warms and activity level warrants.

There is a whole lot more to this thought process, but this is as simple as I can make it in a post. I hope to put my whole thought process into an article for the BAG Magazine soon.

Do I keep a journal? No. I keep mental notes (and occasionally waypoints)and apply them to the day I am fishing. Ideally, my instincts will tell me what to do.

[texas john]

Im interested in the deffinition of "Nostalgia Fishing" ??? I guess guys like Rick Clunn, Kevin Van Dam, Mike Ike and most of there peers are "Nostalgia Fisherman" since they recommend keeping a journal or log of your fishing trips.

[Marc]

Dom, the one you are thinking of is at www.TaySys.com, the FishNLog Professional Suite. It is the brainchild of the original creator of this website, a close friend of mine named Bob Taylor.

Contact him and he can get you back up and running, though you will have to start over with data. Next time back up your work!!! I have mine backed up on multiple computers, and flash drives.

If you keep a log and capture the right kind of information, you would have no question in your mind about its value. You don't need it to remember "spots", heck, a gps takes care of that. I like the huge notes field in the FishNLog that allows me to capture information like what the bass were doing at that moment, and what the weather and water conditions were for the week(s) prior to the day of fishing. I also capture info about my game plan, and what worked and what didn't, and why I think that was the case.

Most importantly I play armchair quarterback and list what I should have done (that I did or didn't do). That bit of information is usually the clue that leads me to success in future trips.

I also capture tournament results for each season, so that when I fish a tourney in the future I can predict how much weight will be needed to make the top ten, or to win. You will be surprised how often you can predict this, and the information is priceless if you fish multi-day tournaments.

Lots of other reasons for a journal/log...but you get the idea.

ciao,
Marc
Prostaff for TaySys.com

[Melones_IS_Mine]

I....kinda keep a journal.

It's not too strict or consistent. I don't keep track of every fish I catch, nor am I interested in doing so. I just note things out of the ordinary or something I don't understand in the hopes that I can learn from the experience and will know what to do the next time it occurs.

I used to belong to a journal-based website that the public can view. So I would post my reports, past experiences, or questions requesting feedback from anyone who had similar experiences.

For myself, this is a more effective way to learn from a journal.

[mongo]

I keep one, not every trip is logged and I usually just hit the main details. Having a journal going back nearly 20 years has helped me prepare for trips / tournaments for sure.

[Morgan]

I've kept one since 2000. I go back and review what I did and should have done as well as any tips I may have picked up. I now have 353 fishing trips recorded. I've also recorded my results and have seen continuous improvement, whether it's time on the water or the log, I don't want to stop as long as I'm heading in the right direction.
Morgan

[Phil]

I KEPT ONE FOR OVER 25 YEARS WHEN I FISHED THE EEL RIVER FOR STEELHEAD, WHEN THERE WAS FISH !! IT HONESTLY HELPS. TIME OF YEAR, TEMP, WATER CLAIRITY, LURES USED, WEATHER ETC ETC ETC..............BUT FOR BASS, I NEVER DID.
LIKE BAIT SCENT >>>>
IT CAN'T HURT THATS FOR SURE .

[Glenn]

It's not a journal! It's a diary!



Me too.

[birdi23nls]

no but i'm going to start today.

[leachman90]

I think it is very hard to keep a journal on a regular basis. I have tried many time only to fail. I belive you fish your profection and the same with a journal. I think Teachers probibly make the best journals. I know at least 3 educators that keep very good log books including one friend that has done so for more than 30 yrs.He has cases upon cases of notes on EVERY fish ever caught on his boat.I told him it would make a NW best seller if he ever published it. I just don't think I will be able to ever keep log book.

[jamescaird]

If you fish alot (on the water 100-150+ days a year) and have a family and a job there is no time for real "journaling"... maybe some quick notes in a spreadsheet or something but the value of doing that will vary with the individual

If I did keep a journal it would just re-inforce that the fish do not have a calendar... fishing's all about conditions, weather, etc...

If a journal ever keeps you from getting some time on the water because you're predicting bad fishing or bad conditions, definitely throw your journal in the fire, ASAP!!!

Time/Date stamped photos and a brain are good enough if you fish alot

The less you fish the more important it may be to write things down, as there is not enough repetition to start observing or remembering the little things