Just curious how many keep logs of their softwater fishing adventures and what are the data points you use:
We religiously keep and document a logbook have been since 2006.
Some basic data points we capture are: Water temp & clarity, location, depth, lure, casting/trolling, line out (trolling), time of day.
Just started doing the solunar phases last year and also going to do better at keeping track of total fishing time on the water including barometric pressure readings and overall weather conditions (windy, calm, cloud coverage) for S&Gs.
I can tell you for a hands down documented fact taking the time to annotate and maintain a logbook has really paid off for us as we have learned so much from the database created with this information.
So just curious how others approach this and if others maintain logbooks and if so have you found it beneficial.
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No offense k2, but when I go out fishing, it is to get away from the hustle and bustle of the world, and to relax and enjoy nature, the serenity and the beauty of just slowing life down, enjoying the company I am with, and hopefully catch a few fish to take home and enjoy a great meal.
Im sure keeping all that data helps you very much, and if it was your profession it would be that much more important, but as for me I get enough of that at work, turning a great hobby like fishing into work makes it work!
Every time I launch my boat on the Berry, or Scofeild or where ever, I rejuvenate my spirit and relieve all the tension and stress from the "real" world. When fishing gets so competitive and so detailed then for me it would be time to find a new hobby.
There is so much pressure anymore to Have to catch fish and to catch the biggest and the best. I think the internet has really brought out so much competition and "fame" seekers.
I hope we all take a look at why we fish, i still remember the day when my dad took me out for the first time, I have no memory if we caught a fish, but I have great memories of fishing. today my dad is getting to the age that he wont be with me much longer, So to just spend time on the water with him and talk and enjoy each other is priceless. If I had to mess that up with all the technical jargin and data keeping then wow! it would be a tragedy
I didn't mean to beat you up for what you do. I think its great for you and I can tell you love to do it. That is the beauty of fishing, we can all do it the way we love it. But for me. I would rather just enjoy the moment, enjoy the company, and keep it my hobby.
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I don't keep a formal log, but I always keep notes on anything new I've done whether it's a new water, lure, tactic, weather condition, etc...
It has come in handy on more than one occasion when I need to lose a skunk. I will probably start a more formal logging pretty soon because it has been able to help me catch more fish.
Matt
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KC5 no offense taking by me 'tat' all [
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Like any other 'hobby' restoring vehicles, hunting/guns/reloading ammo, gardening, woodworking, stained glass, photography, bird watching, remodeling homes, making ones own home brew barley and hops (beer)... and the list goes on...one learns by reading and employing what they as a student of a hobby feels important for their desired hobby.
For us its absoultely no stress taking a minute or so to make a note in a little book we like you are getting away from the day-n-day-out grindes every day life. Keeping a log book is part of the hobby for us and doesn't add anymore stress or distraction to our hobby and love for fishing. It's just part of the hobby we like to do.
No matter what one does in life be it w-o-r-k or a loved hobby you always have data points to go by...be it written ROEs or just lifes mental filed away lessons in the ole grey matter.
So again appreciate your prespective and how you approach your hobby.[
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I keep a log as well, some are the same as what you do but color lure type, size of fish, numbers I release and if I can what they have eaten...
It all makes for a better next trip...
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I just try to remember the details for future reference. I do find myself looking at mine and occasional other BFT posts from years past if I'm a little hazy on the exact dates of past experiences.
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[cool][#0000ff]While I am definitely one who has come to appreciate the "esoterics" of angling more than the science, I still maintain fishing logs. In addition to helping formulate plans for upcoming trips these logs also provide hours of wistful reminiscences on those cold winter nights when that's the closest I get to doing anything related to fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I may take it even further than you ladies. I have 3 separate logs...trips, waters and species. The first one is all the stuff you mentioned...plus notes and observations outside of the standard headings. The second is all the waters I fish during the year, with dates, weather, temps and species caught for each water. The third is obvious...a list of the species and the waters, dates and other pertinent info for each trip that produced the fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A bit of extra work after each trip, but over the years it allows a lot of interactive codgertation and remindercatin'. Can't tell ya how many times I have gone back and read about how I was catching fish on a certain lure...or technique...and then smack myself upside the haid when I realized I wasn't doing that no more nohow. Duh.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am all about learning new things and improving my technique and results. But it never hurts to go back and remind yourself that some things are proven effective and you shouldn't abandon them for something with more sparkle and hype. Or, as I have heard it said "Dance with the girl ya brung to the dance."[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I do not take it to the extreme. I do not carry a notebook and take notes on the water. I have a pretty good memory for details and I do try to get the specifics down as quickly as possible after the trip is over. And the longer you wait to make the notes the easier it is to fudge a little and to "enhance" your log entries. Then, five years from now, when you read about that banner day on Pineview, who knows and who cares that it was only a semi-banner day? I won't tell if you won't.[/#0000ff]
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My friend and I started logging dates, type of lures, sometime the moon phase, what we caught on what lure..
I try to keep my our door adventures as easy and enjoyable as possible but just decided to try this log book thing for fun..
Fish on my friends
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The only log I've kept is the mental log. Sadly - tends to be akin to an etc-a-sketch, and subject to a quick turn and shake for a reset....
BUT - I do have some posts, and photos to go back to that store what elements of lures, weather, offerings that lead to success.
I can see the benefit to tracking the temp, clarity, moon-phase etc. But like others - my angling adventures are fairly random. Both in regard to location, lure offering, etc... I wing it. I was a home-brewer, and then did track my recipies - almost never went back to repeat a previous concoction, so much are recalling the core of what I liked about a given attempt.
Don't know how folks track 100 fish days, short of having a clicker. If it's over a dozen it becomes "lots" in my book. I do like the "lots" days. Always a kick to remember.
Jan-ice fish Pineview
Feb-Ice fish East Canyon Echo Rockport Lost Creek
March- Ogden River
April- Flaming gorge
May-Willard Bay
June- Mantua
July -Uintas
August- Uintas
Sept-Uintas
Oct-Weber
Nov- Community ponds
Dec -ice fish Mantua or Causey
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I have a pretty cool app for my phone that is a fishing log. I has blank fields for all the important stuff and a comments section you can add whatever you feel is important. You can also add photos you took on your phone. It's worked for me. I have several entries that I will for sure try to repeat.
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What's the ape name?
Thanks
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I started a log book back in 1994 and keep track of all my walleye fishing. I kept pretty much the same info as you. I make sure I put the weather of the day and the day before, also the moon phase.
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I also have an app on my iphone called Fishing Times by iSolunar...provides a note page and can insert pic. Shows weather, barometric pressure, moon phases, major and minor times etc.
However we just jot down info in a little book manually.
Link may get deleted but here's the link to iSolunar.
[url "http://i-solunar.com/"]http://i-solunar.com/[/url]
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Quote:Don't know how folks track 100 fish days, short of having a clicker.
I actually started using a clicker this year. No 100+ days yet this year though [
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I keep a casual log. My blog is actually my log. It's a lot more wordy and rambling than a log would typically be, but it helps me remember the experience as well as some useful tidbits. I haven't gotten quite so nitpicky on details, water temp is a big one though, clarity, time of day, weather conditions, mood of the fish, what they hit, cadence. Granted every year is so different here, it doesn't always give me a clear picture of what things should be like going off of how it was this time last year, but logs are definitely useful to me.
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I started fishing in 2004. In 2005 (my 2nd year) I was trying to remember all the details of my 2004 trips for the same body of water at the same time of year...so I started keeping a log. I think it's a great idea. Mine is a spreadsheet. I keep track of each trip, with the date, and number of species and count of each species caught. I then do a writeup, with all the pertinent details (temp, conditions, what worked, what didn't, motels we stayed at, etc.) and it is saved as a "note" attached to the cell for that trip in the spreadsheet. Another tab keeps track of each species I've caught that year, and what my largest caught specimen was. Sounds more complicated than it is.
I've been mocked before for keeping a detailed log like I do, but even those that do the mocking eventually have to ask me to look up a trip that we've done in the past for details on what worked, etc.!
Plus, I'm a little OCD and can't help it. I've actually tried...and failed...NOT counting fish I've caught.
Randy
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To add my own 2 cents. I have kept a log book forever, Mid. 80's? Anyway, I keep a log by species and try to cover what I caught, when, weather conditions, flow rates. dates and unusual experiences, but early on, detailed info. is limited. Most times, I have don't have a way to take water temps.,etc. unless I make a special effort. Usually I supplement my info with my web. sites of the area that may indicate water temps flow rates, etc..
It would be much, much better if I would read it more often before going on a trip.[frown] This also helps when I'm trying to find out info. on a particular pic. for my pic. files. Anytime anyone need old time pic.s I may have em. [
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P.S. Am a tuber w/o much tech, stuff. Just notes.
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Sub- my app is called WFN (world fishing network) Fishing Log. It's worth looking at.
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I almost partially agree with everything you said, I read your original post and not the rest. Technology has integrated every part of life that getting away means no technology-the electric leash. That doesn't really happen for city folk like me, lol.
Slide the bow mount on, grab the HDS for the console-GPS, sidescan, sonar, downscan, etc, grab the front one too (I forgot it once and had to use my memory for water depths and point locations while I was running the bow mount-wow), throw in the molded plastic tackle boxes filled with computer made plastics and hard plastic baits, grab the plastics assorted in various types of plastic bags with ziplocks, sure-seal and other trademarked items, start the 6.6 litre 1 ton, chipped, exhaust, sticky fingered EGR, no kitty, turbo whirls like a whistle and I love it, stop and get some coffee at the gas station and throw some petro in the boat,fuel in the el trucko and pay $4+ for a gallon because I have to [:/], drive to the lake to go fishing, maybe see some deer in the canyon next to the major freeway through the canyon aaaah, the great outdoors, show my serial numbered state park pass to the good lookin' gal at the gate and launch the boat.
Once I'm on the water and I start fishing I forget all about all that other stuff, all about work, focused on that next bite, that next brush pile I think I see under the water over there, reel in quick and pitch to the brush pile and wrestle that big ol' bass to the floating money pit a.k.a. boat.
I think keeping a log book, man diary lol, journal, whatever-is pretty tame compared to what some of us go through to go fishing to "get away from it all".
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Thanks, I'll take a look at it
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