Who Counts?

[everythingthatswims]

I'm (trying to) keep track of every fish I catch this year. I did it once in 2013 and had over 3500 fish, I did a lot of multi species stuff then so it will be interesting to see how it compares with me mainly targeting brown ones and green ones this year. Who else has done this and what were your numbers like?

2013 Fish Count

2016 Fish Count

[A-Jay]

That's not for me, Impressive though.

On a couple of fronts.

Btw, how much did they all weigh, collectively ?

A-Jay

[ethan-333]

i was gonna try and take a pic and count every bass i caught this year. but the second one i caught i threw back without even thinking about it. on most days its too tough for me to count without losing focus of my fishing. 

the only time i have sucessfully counted was with my buddy on a small lake in late spring. we had 63. they were eating that day

[Dye99]

I do. I keep a calendar in my shop where I store my boats and tackle. When I get home I mark how many, what lake and what bait I was using.

[Gundog]

2 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

I'm (trying to) keep track of every fish I catch this year. I did it once in 2013 and had over 3500 fish, I did a lot of multi species stuff then so it will be interesting to see how it compares with me mainly targeting brown ones and green ones this year. Who else has done this and what were your numbers like?

2013 Fish Count

2016 Fish Count

I gotta say its impressive that you caught that many fish and that many species not to mention that you were able to remember and list them. Kudos.

[Oregon Native]

If that's what you like .... good for you.  I mean that seriously.  For me...just being able to get out and enjoy what our good Lord created is to me Awesome.  To many things going on around to enjoy as well as the catching.  Now come the tues and thurs nighters then I really focus and am to busy to get the next get cast in.  Love the water and outdoors.

Good luck this year

[Smokinal]

I keep a log of where I went, weather, water temp and clarity, baits used, structure type and yes, fish count. I do this, not to impress anyone with numbers but to learn from. If I used X bait on Y structure in M water temp and didn't catch anything, I better not do that again. On the other hand, if X bait worked on Y cover and I caught the bejeesus outta them, guess what I learned?

 

[soflabasser]

  I don't count every single fish I catch every year since they are far too many fish to write down one by one.

I sometimes write individual trips in my log book,such as days I catch +100 bass in a day,+25 pound 5 bass bag,Saltwater trips where I catch some decent fish,etc.

[Raul]

If you made that question 30 years ago I would have replied I did count, it seemed "important" back then, now, 30 years later I don't even bother to count the first one I catch on any day.

[RangerDanger]

I lose track after 2.

[WIGuide]

I did keep a log for a few years. I don't remember what my numbers were, but it was kind of cool to track and see what I caught them on. It let me look at water temps and what I succeeded with and what I failed with. Overall good stuff.  

[RichF]

My father and I have kept track of all (or most of) the bass we've caught for the past 7 or 8 years (weights, species, and what they were caught on).  He whipped up a pretty cool database to maintain the records. We've even provided our catch data to the New York State DEC for use in their creel studies of lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

[Choporoz]

34 minutes ago, RangerDanger said:

I lose track after 2.

Me, too. 

It probably has something to do with my counting skills....or that I'm focusing on fishing.  But, I have a sneaking suspicion that it is my subconscious fishermanbrain that screws up my ability to count.....thereby making a day of 8 or 9 turn into a couple dozen by the time I get home or to the bar.

[Hog Basser]

I keep a log for my pond since we have to cull a certain amount every year.  It also helps me keep track of overall fish health so I can make adjustments if needed.  I track species, weight, length, date, conditions, etc.  Everywhere else I just fish and enjoy it without counting.  It is interesting compiling all the data together.  

[Team9nine]

Being a numbers/data guy, I do it every so often these days, and usually for a specific reason. In another thread I had posted the basics of my 2011 record keeping which was for an In-Fisherman story. Last year I ended up doing it again for my own curiosity as to total number of fish of all species, similar to what you posted. Being landlocked and largely reservoir bound, the species diversity was much easier to handle  Ended 2015 with over 1500 largemouth, over 700 white bass, 500+ crappies, 100+ walleyes and a couple hundred misc fish which were largely various sunfish species along with a few cats and smallies thrown in. Total was a little over 3000 fish in 2015. No plans on doing it yet this year though. As mentioned, it's a lot of work.

-T9

[Jaderose]

Nope.  I just fish.

[ward131]

Yes, It is part of the game. How many and how big.  Add in where and on what and you have a way to measure what works and what doesn't.

  I am not a competitive person so I am not trying to beat anybody, I just like to have a measurement of how I'm doing.

[Phil_NH]

I keep a journal for the year. I record weather, location, catches and other details. It's great to look at for info .

[senile1]

The number of fish you caught is quite impressive and if you enjoy doing this, by all means, continue. I keep what I believe to be necessary information.  I am a stickler for research and being knowledgeable before I speak authoritatively on a subject, but filling my head and records with useless information can make it more difficult to locate the information I actually need.   I keep track of environmental conditions and what worked as well as the general size and numbers of fish caught. Rarely do I need exact numbers to learn what works and what doesn't for future reference.  

The exception would be those days when I catch over a 100 fish, or an extraordinary number of lunker fish.  I usually remember those numbers without even making note of them.  Personal bests are an exception as well.

 

[Catt]

I've kept detailed records for close to 50 yrs now but for largemouth bass only.

Here's a example 

April 27th-May 7th 1979

Depth: 8-12'

Cover: Hydrilla

Structure: Main Lake Points

Water Clarity: dingy to clear 

Water Temperature: upper 60s

Weather: southerly 5-15, gust to 30, cloudy thick mist to light rain

Time: 7:30-9:00 am 3:00-dark

Lure: Smithwick Rogue gold, black back, orange belly 

Total: 167 . Largest: 6.78 #

Tournament May 7th; 1st place, 15 bass 63.975# big bass 6.78#

[gim]

I did this once for my entire family (3) and myself one summer.  I kept a spread sheet of it in excel.  Bear in mind I live and fish in MN so the open water season is from May - Oct (about 5-6 months).  I only kept track of freshwater game fish, no panfish or rough fish.  I kept track of largemouth, smallmouth, walleye, pike, and muskie.  Two items stood out after I looked back at the numbers after the season ended.  1) the quantity of pike caught.  None of us 4 actually target them but we caught so many of them up here targeting bass, walleye, or muskie.  2) the total number of muskie caught combined from all 4 of us was ZERO.  Haha

[Junk Fisherman]

When I am having a good day, I always forget.  I usually make an estimate of what my top 5 would go for.  

[BaitMonkey1984]

I dont have the stamina to do this. I know it takes only a few seconds, but I tried and didn't have it in me. 

[Choporoz]

I don't even try when bass fishing.  However, I (and the rest of my family) do it during NW Ontario walleye trips.  Problem was that they fly into the boat so fast and furious that we had to improvise our tally process.  Settled on using a grease pencil and making tally marks on inside of the boat.  Wipe them each day and start over.  Almost got to 1500 last trip.

[Darren.]

I was keeping track of a lot of bass I caught
last year on my iPhone's Notes app. Just 
tracking weight, and what I caught them on,
and sometimes weather conditions...

But I eventually stopped to simply enjoy 
fishing and not worry about all the numbers.

Fine for others to do it, just not my thing.