Fishing Log

[BASSPATROL247]

Do any of you guys keep logs? My grandpa started keeping one in 1968 and when i was about ten i started adding to his when i fished without him wich wasnt often up until he went to the big lake in the sky at wich i took his over... kinda cool to go back and read some old ones he and i wrote.. useful to sometimes..

[Bankbeater]

I have kept one for about 11 years now.  Before that I would write down on a calendar how many I caught on a trip.  Log is much better.

[Jig Man]

I keep one in an excel spreadsheet and have for several years.

[Senko lover]

I usually just summarize the baits and techniques that work for me for different seasons.

[Bluebasser86]

I kept track of how many bass I caught one year just out of curiosity. I've never had the patience to log every bass I catch other than clicking a counter. 

[Catt]

40 plus years

[Mike L]

Nope, never done it.

Honestly I never even thought about doing it until I started signing on here.

Mike

[MFBAB]

100%. 

I switched from Word to an Excel Spreadsheet this year, but keeping those logs has helped my fishing probably more than any other thing I've done. 

It makes you start paying attention to details a lot more, you will begin to recognize trends/patterns faster because you're thinking about more variables.   

If I want to know whether I catch more on a certain moon phase, or a certain time of year, time of day, water color, whatever, I can just look up my stats in the log and the numbers don't lie. 

[SirSnookalot]

Same answer I always give............No.

Logs only show performance for a given period based on the conditions of that time.  There are many variables that may not be consistent YOY, water temp, depth due to lack or gains in rain, water clarity, vegetation or lack of, wind both strength and direction.  

Where I fish bait is the catalyst, generally speaking there is a lot of bait this time of year, hardly any this year and the fishing has been dismal.  Fish don't look at a calendar, they react to what mother nature is giving them, I have to react to the conditions of the day.

[WIGuide]

I did for two years, but it seems like I spent a lot of times writing things down and fighting with the papers in the wind. I tried finding an app to make it easier, but the ones I tried didn't give me enough detail, or at least what I was looking for. 

[MFBAB]

Same answer I always give............No.

Logs only show performance for a given period based on the conditions of that time.  There are many variables that may not be consistent YOY, water temp, depth due to lack or gains in rain, water clarity, vegetation or lack of, wind both strength and direction.  

Where I fish bait is the catalyst, generally speaking there is a lot of bait this time of year, hardly any this year and the fishing has been dismal.  Fish don't look at a calendar, they react to what mother nature is giving them, I have to react to the conditions of the day.

 

This is actually WHY I use a log.

I can't remember every detail about every tripp on every different lake from year to year, but with a log, I can get a quick refresher when I see certain conditions and it can help to put you ahead of the trend instead of behind it. 

This works great for me, I fish for multiple species of fish on multiple lakes, I can't keep it all straight any other way  

[Shanes7614]

This is actually WHY I use a log.

I can't remember every detail about every tripp on every different lake from year to year, but with a log, I can get a quick refresher when I see certain conditions and it can help to put you ahead of the trend instead of behind it.

This works great for me, I fish for multiple species of fish on multiple lakes, I can't keep it all straight any other way

Great post and info. Sirsnookalot does WAY more saltwater fishing then fresh from what I've read so I'm sure it's harder to get things to line up like moons and tides. Wish I myself had the patience to do this as I'm sure the info would help to have.

[SirSnookalot]

Great post and info. Sirsnookalot does WAY more saltwater fishing then fresh from what I've read so I'm sure it's harder to get things to line up like moons and tides. Wish I myself had the patience to do this as I'm sure the info would help to have.

Yes I do more saltwater, just like people focus primarily on bass I focus on snook.  The knowledge isn't all that difficult, like anything doing it a lot the nuances become second nature.  I know what I need to catch snook, been doing it nearly 7 days a week year round for 10 years.  I should be killing them right now and I'm not.  Do I know why, believe I do. 

[Canyon explorer]

I keep a route list of all my structure, mostly deep brush piles, I then just add the keepers >(15") I catch from that location. Over time a cull or add specific spots from the list.

[scaleface]

I dont keep a log . Quite often fish are i  biting like mad  in one arm and not the others  when there is no discernible difference. I think if I kept a log it would just as likely lead me in the wrong direction other than help me .

[Shanes7614]

Same answer I always give............No.

Logs only show performance for a given period based on the conditions of that time. There are many variables that may not be consistent YOY, water temp, depth due to lack or gains in rain, water clarity, vegetation or lack of, wind both strength and direction.

Where I fish bait is the catalyst, generally speaking there is a lot of bait this time of year, hardly any this year and the fishing has been dismal. Fish don't look at a calendar, they react to what mother nature is giving them, I have to react to the conditions of the day.

In a saltwater application and from what I've read most of your fishing being done on foot then most likely not gonna be very helpful. A few of the variables you state actually don't change. Yes the water level can change but where the fish are locating may have not. Color paterns for baits used probably won't variate much either. Bass fishermen don't rely on bait coming and going whereas in the salt you do. It's either present in said waters orbits not. If there is no bait on a given bass waters then most likely the fishing is going to suffer especially size and health of caught fish. Which a lack of bait could force the bass themselves to become more aggressive when one of our imitations is presented. If you have a log bass fishing and year after year when the water temps are 85 degrees and you catch fish consistently at depths more then 8' then that would be a great place to start your search for fish. If you catch fish on a certain lake with a certain color. Knowing this will allow you you rule out using colors that you've previously had zero success and again a good place to start. I can almost assure you that a large amount of pros use some type of log to know which presentations may work the best for certain waters they may come across. Do I think it's the greatest tool a bank fishermen could have, NO. Access to deeper water most likely isn't an opportunity you will have and be able to change any of the variables associated with it. Although logging which lakes have been successful for you at different times of day could narrow down the waters you fish at that time of year. Yes a lot of us recreational guys enjoy just being out on the water but to some fish caught and performance as you call it is the marker for how much fun they are having.

[the reel ess]

I just started this season. I haven't been able to go for almost 5 weeks now. I go back and re-live the trips I wrote about. Even if you don't reread them at some point, it's very helpful writing down what happened, what worked and what didn't.

[CeeJay]

I started a new log this year.  I've always used just pencil and paper

 

I have several pages of my logs from up to 12 years ago, unfortunately the rest are lost.

It's kind of fun to read about my angling adventures from so long ago...good memories.  I still have one entry where I was basically ranting to myself about forgetting to bring any weights for my t-rig that day haha.  I remember seriously having considered tying on a little rock to the line that day

[SirSnookalot]

I did not reference saltwater for the year over year conditions, those are inconsistencies that I believe exist in fresh water canals and ponds here in South Florida.  I mentioned water depth, that can vary quite a bit.  Not only with the summer rainy period with tropical storms but even in winter when we get some heavy rainfall those ponds and canals fill up, when normally they are quite low.  Wasn't it a year ago Jan. I believe many areas around Delray had 20+" in a short period of time, ponds over flowed into the streets.  Vegetation quite often is controlled by the HOA and the county sprays many canals as well.  Sea lettuce is another issue making a canal extremely difficult to fish, 1 day the canal is clean the next day it's loaded with it.  Right now I have clear canals, mile a way another one is loaded with this stuff, no way to know when and where it appears.

 

I did elude to bait being important to where I fish, yes that is saltwater.  I did not mention the reasons I though bait was scarce this year, nor did I go into conditions that can be inconsistent YOY fishing in salt.

 

I do darn near as much bass and peacock fishing as I do salt, fished both today as I almost always do. I have never said anything about performance in bass fishing, I'm just as happy catching a 1# bass on a ul as I am catching a larger one with heavier gear.

[RoLo]

I have Saltwater Logs and Freshwater Logs that span over several decades and entail dozens of species.

Since moving to Florida, I only log largemouth bass weighing 6 pounds or more.

 

Roger

 

[Shanes7614]

I did not reference saltwater for the year over year conditions, those are inconsistencies that I believe exist in fresh water canals and ponds here in South Florida. I mentioned water depth, that can vary quite a bit. Not only with the summer rainy period with tropical storms but even in winter when we get some heavy rainfall those ponds and canals fill up, when normally they are quite low. Wasn't it a year ago Jan. I believe many areas around Delray had 20+" in a short period of time, ponds over flowed into the streets. Vegetation quite often is controlled by the HOA and the county sprays many canals as well. Sea lettuce is another issue making a canal extremely difficult to fish, 1 day the canal is clean the next day it's loaded with it. Right now I have clear canals, mile a way another one is loaded with this stuff, no way to know when and where it appears.

I did elude to bait being important to where I fish, yes that is saltwater. I did not mention the reasons I though bait was scarce this year, nor did I go into conditions that can be inconsistent YOY fishing in salt.

I do darn near as much bass and peacock fishing as I do salt, fished both today as I almost always do. I have never said anything about performance in bass fishing, I'm just as happy catching a 1# bass on a ul as I am catching a larger one with heavier gear.

Not everyone on here is fishing south Florida and the rain that you speak of. The heavy rain was in November. I remember specifically because it was right after I moved here. What do HOA's have anything to do with the general public? What I am saying is that you make it sound as if logging is a bad idea. With the amount of fishing you yourself is able to do which again is not the general public you should be able to find fish on a constant basis due to your time spent. Not everyone has the amount of time you do to spend on the water. So therefor anyone wanting to start a log should in no way be discouraged. Because it doesn't fit YOUR style or life habits doesn't mean it can't help others. With today's day and age and use of electronic devices this can be done much easier then in years past. You missed my point when it came to depth and having a starting point. Even here in Florida bass tend to stay at different water depths at different times of year. As much as the water drops or increases, if I had a log myself that told me I should be fishing in 8'+ of water when the water temps get over a certain temp then no matter where I can find that depth is where I would start my search. Again something easier to do from a boat and having electronics to tell you where you've reached your desired depth. Does it mean fish will automatically be there? NO. But again it's a good starting point for those guys that don't fish over 300 days a year. You say your happy about catching a 1lb bass day in and day out throughout the year may be considered good and fun for you. But to your average guy who may only get out 6-12 times a year would be a totally different story. I myself know I would not be happy catching 12 bass in a year. Anything guys can do to improve their catch numbers sounds like a great idea to me and if keeping a log is one of those ways then I'm all for it!!!

[Shanes7614]

The performance statement I was referring to is saying how logs just show performance for a certain time period. Is that NOT the main reason we as fishermen fish? It's to perform and to catch fish. A log showing what produces fish is a tool that can be used over and over throughout the years.

[SirSnookalot]

The question was do you keep a log, my response was no and said why. If some desire to keep a log, that's fine for them. No more to it than that.

[MFBAB]

 I remember seriously having considered tying on a little rock to the line that day

Sorry for the jack, but....

A couple of years ago there was actually a rock dropshot sinker on the market, I saw it featured on a Jimmy Houston Show one time. 

They drilled a hole and epoxied a swivel into real pebbles, then sold them as weights. The marketing hook was that they were supposed to click like a crawfish or something like that, it was pretty hilarious  

[Catt]

The question was do you keep a log, my response was no and said why. If some desire to keep a log, that's fine for them. No more to it than that.