Does anyone keep a fishing log ?

[SenkoSam]

For over 30 years I kept a log of my outings:
date
weather - air temperature, clouds, rain, bright sun
water quality - clarity, color and temperature, high or low
weed growth early on
lures used
numbers and species of fish caught on specific lures
where in the lake or river fish were caught
rating the outing good or bad

Now it's just a matter of reviewing it which should be the reason for keeping it. But now I no longer write in a book but keep a photo log which though not as detailed does draw a picture of the outing.

The reasons I keep a log:
Memory is faulty and much of the time lacking in information or to avoid distorting events - especially how big fish were.

Bodies of water each have their own unique characteristics. Some days fishing is excellent - numbers or size or both, some days not so productive.

Knowledge is built on experience. Record keeping is a way of supporting that knowledge base and reminds me of what was and could be - especially waters that haven't been fished in years.

Lures used are important as a reminder of what caught fish more often than those that didn't. Colors used that caught fish support the fact that lures don't need to represent anything in particular and that unnatural colors work much of the time as natural colors.

Keeping a photo log is limited to shots of the sonar screen, shorelines fish were caught near, lure in a fish's mouth, lures near a ruler and weather changes. The lures I've shown in many posts are from log entries. They give me ideas for future soft plastic design and different rigs and presentations that worked well using certain lure/jig combinations.
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[Kent]

I kept a log for several years and stored it on a removable storage disk. Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to make a backup of the disk and it crashed one day and everything was lost. I was so discouraged that I didn't keep a log for a couple years, but I started keeping one again just this year.
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[SenkoSam]

My written log looked like this with shorthand entries - some of which I can't figure out:



Once digital cameras made logs much easier, I rarely skip days of significant discoveries :
lake folder:


day folder of the lake with date and number of fish caught:


photo album of lures/fish, sonar shots, shoreline waypoints, scenic shots, etc.:


Some days, the photos add up.

Scenery shots can't be forgotten (unless a backup isn't made lol):



Three years of drought:


Note: click any photo to enlarge
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[Kent]

[quote SenkoSam]

My written log looked like this with shorthand entries - some of which I can't figure out:
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That is funny. I used to work with a guy who had atrocious handwriting. I would often ask him to come and interpret for me what he had written and he would often say (after looking at what he had written), "I can't read it either.".
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[SenkoSam]

Funny as hell !!
Course I wish I could though - who knows what wisdom lies in those hieroglyphics.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I used to keep one religiously, but it became tedious to do when many of the trips were very similar and I had several years of data to look back on.. So I made a switch to electronic "Day One" app made it quick and easy to get a partial log with pictures, but I soon found my phone data filled up so I fell out of the habit.... I need to get back into it, I liked some of the forgotten techniques that bringing back in certain situations can make a lot of difference... It's sure my memory isn't what it used to be, so I need to give me the crutch to help as I get older... Nice topic to discuss... Later J
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