Journals: Do You Keep One?

[johnk]

Ever since my first year at Tunkwa, 1999, I've kept a journal and was wondering who else keeps a journal and how often you make entries and what those entries consist of, e.g. water temp, time of year, barometer status, hatches, fish condition?

It is a great way to keep updated on status, trends and conditions as your favourite water body progresses through it's cyclic periods. It was new member, LBoyle, that got me thinking merely by mentioning Harmon Lake. When I first fished Harmon in the mid 80's it was a lake worthy of trophy status with regular takings of 7-8 lb. fish and then in the mid 90's Harmon was on a downward spiral with a 3 lb. fish being a "topdog" and now it seems to be rebounding over the past five years. What observations have you made?

[nebc]

While working for Fish and Wildlife from 1970 to 2003 I always kept notes on all aspects of any field work done. Interestingly since being a wildlife biolgist, I also kept notes on all hunting as well as fishing that I did, including helping some of our fisheries staff on occasions. Since retiring I now see that I have kept notes on only the lakes and rivers that were challenging, or on those that I had done so in past and not so much the new ones. I should likely try to be more consistent once again.

Since it is relatively new to me, I also have been far more consistent in taking notes on those waters where I used chironomids, since I am finding that fishing them well is a more of a challenge as well as requiring an organized approach to tying the various color and size combinations observed when sampling fish for the different lakes, to understand the timing, conditions and so on.

[btree]

I used to, but now I just keep things in my head. Things change so much from year to year, I just try to remember what to look for and where to go rather than anything exact.

[11th Warrior]

I keep one of those waterproof notebooks in my chestpack and write the date, approx time (morning, mid-day, etc), air temp, water color and area fished (ie: below the highway bridge, above the train tressle, etc). If I catch fish, I'll also note what fly I was using, the exact time (so I can check the barometer later), water color and depth, how big the fish was and my presentation type. When I get home, I transpose all that info into my e-log and also add the moon phase and barometer (based on the time).

I don't know if any of this is necessary, but it seems to help my OCD

[CameronT120]

I always carry a small moleskine book with me for sketching or notes. When I fished the interior, I never took notes at all. Now that I'm here on the coast, I think I'll carry one that will be just for fishing notes. I suppose if one had one of those hand help GPS thingies, you could even record the exact location you caught your fish.

[btree]

If you had a PDA conbined with your GPS, and the right GIS or mapping program, you could create quite the data base! Might be interesting to see if Google Earth could add a "fishing" layer, if there isnt already one.

[Mr T(rout bum)]

I found a really useful journal at a local used book store. It is basically a fill in the blanks type that includes: water temp, air temp, wind, sky, precipitation, barometer, humidity, water clarity etc. It also has a large notes and sketches section on each page for random info. On the back side of each entry page there is a spot to record hatches and fish caught. The journal also includes a small guide to aquatic insects at the back. The journal is put out by Frank Amato Publications in Portland Oregon, (or it was anyways, im not sure if it is still in print) Anyways, I'm sure there are many similar journals available. Now I just need to remember to use it more!!!

[fishmong]

I try to keep a log of gps location, general weather, time, lure and size of fish when I go out although I haven't been too consistant. I always manage to convince myself I'll be able to accurately fill in all the details at the end of the day in order to get the line back in the water as soon as possible. I've started taking note of water depth , aprox lure depth and retrieve style and line type.

I use my iphone to log everything since it has some handy apps for between free and around $10. I haven't been able to find any one app that does it all but I personally use a mix of the following:

Iphone Note Pad (Free) - general notes and comments
Tide App (Free) - Tides timetable, sun and moon set/rise timetable
Navionics Canadian Lakes Charts ($9.99) - GPS tracking, maps and coordinates, depth charts, tracking trolling routes
Iphone Camera (Free) - Pictures for location eference, fish, lures and good times

One thing I recommend to anyone else using their phone out on the water...invest in a water proof pouch. I keep mine around my neck at all times since sliipped and took a bath in the river last year. My old phoen which i kept in my chest pocket was dead before I knew it.

[professori]

I used to, but now I just keep things in my head. Things change so much from year to year, I just try to remember what to look for and where to go rather than anything exact.

I just started keeping a journal 2 years ago. I am not as consistent as I should be, buI still get 75-80% of my trips down. btree, I am sayiing this in all seriousness, your head is one of the most unreliable storage places. In 30 years time, you will remember the most wonderful fish, trips and places, but you will not remeber exactly where or when these wonderful events and beasties occured! It is only then that you will wish you had a better record, to fill in the many blanks that will be there. I adapted a template I found here http://onlinefishinglog.com/fishing-log-template.html I keep it in a 3 ring binder that comes on all my trips . I also have bathymetric maps of the lakes (thanks FishWizard) I have fished and mark the areas I have been luck at and the dates I have fished there. I am also going to try to do the same with rivers aqnd streams.

[professori]

I try to keep a log of gps location, general weather, time, lure and size of fish when I go out although I haven't been too consistant. I always manage to convince myself I'll be able to accurately fill in all the details at the end of the day in order to get the line back in the water as soon as possible. I've started taking note of water depth , aprox lure depth and retrieve style and line type.

I use my iphone to log everything since it has some handy apps for between free and around $10. I haven't been able to find any one app that does it all but I personally use a mix of the following:

Iphone Note Pad (Free) - general notes and comments
Tide App (Free) - Tides timetable, sun and moon set/rise timetable
Navionics Canadian Lakes Charts ($9.99) - GPS tracking, maps and coordinates, depth charts, tracking trolling routes
Iphone Camera (Free) - Pictures for location eference, fish, lures and good times

One thing I recommend to anyone else using their phone out on the water...invest in a water proof pouch. I keep mine around my neck at all times since sliipped and took a bath in the river last year. My old phoen which i kept in my chest pocket was dead before I knew it.

ErictheRed had a great app for his iPhone out a Roche last year. He has all the bathymetric maps for Canada. PM him for details.