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Posted

How detailed of a log do you keep through the season?Do you just keep weight and length?Do you log the lure,how you presented it.Retrieve speed,twitch count,color?

Posted

Pretty detailed, and in spreadsheet form.  lake, date, time of day, daily hi/lo, weather details of the day, moon/solunar details and times of the day, water color/vis, water temp, fish caught and what on, total and special notes on big fish, structures fished, grass?, current?, sunrise/sunset times, I'm probably forgetting some things.  I'm not hung up on all of these data points, but it helps to have a lot when you go back and review, because sometimes there are trends in the little details.

Last year I made one of the biggest breakthoroughs of my fishing life, all because I had accurate records to go back and review to confirm a certain pattern re: light that I had suspected but never confirmed!

On a spreadsheet, when you go back and look at this stuff in rows and columns, I can't overstate how quickly the patterns start jumping off of the page!!

- Also, I have 1 or 2 lines of narrative for each day along with the spreadsheet data, just to make note of any general observations of the day.

It takes about 5 Minutes to fill this out after fishing, the sooner the better, because you will forget details the longer you wait. 

When I go back and look at my reports, even from the really good/memorable trips, it is amazing how bad my memory is compared to what I wrote down on THE day :):)

  • Like 2
Posted

I used to keep a detailed log back in the late '70s. Then I got lazy and quit writing stuff in a book. Thinking it will do me good to start a log book this year so I will know of any improvements

  • Like 2
Posted

Never kept a log but I am going to start keeping one this year. The one from here, bassresource.com., is the one I am going to use.

  • Like 1
Posted

I use a Google Sheet with columns for pretty much everything but lunar cycle.  I record about 90% of my catches, and try to record most of the information.  At the very least, basic observations and a quick note about my thoughts on the trip.  Just started my fourth year of this.

 

MFBAB is right about a couple things:

1) No matter how good/bad the trip was, you forget details quick!  Stay diligent

2) More data = greater insight

  • Like 2
  • Super User
Posted

I log the following information into Micro Soft Word date, time, weather, water clarity, depth, structure, cover, techniques, lure, total number caught, total keepers caught, & largest bass caught. At the first opportunity I transfer this data into Micro Soft Excel there by giving me a searchable log or I can sort by any parameter. 

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted

I record date, day, location, weather conditions, temp, wind speed and direction, type of fish caught, amount of fish caught on each bait, the largest fish caught on each bait, the type of bait, rig the fish was caught on, color of the bait, and type and color of the trailer I was using.  I also have a spot for notes.

Posted

seems like we all keep mental log. but if you are getting older like me. some times my brain just doesn't want to cooperate. might not be a bad idea. plus give you something to read in winter when you are bored.

Posted

I use Ifish Kentucky app for My IPhone. It keeps it petty basic but I really enjoy the app so I can reflect on where I was at the previous year.

 

  • Super User
Posted
10 hours ago, Catt said:

I log the following information into Micro Soft Word date, time, weather, water clarity, depth, structure, cover, techniques, lure, total number caught, total keepers caught, & largest bass caught. At the first opportunity I transfer this data into Micro Soft Excel there by giving me a searchable log or I can sort by any parameter. 

 

 

My log is very similar to Tom's, which is also compiled in MS Word

Nearly all the waters we fish are weedy, natural lakes, so I list the plant species found at every holding site.

In fertile waters like Kissimmee, the plant list at any given waypoint can be long-winded  :P

For example: "Spatterdock, Maidencane, Waterlilies, Hyacinths, Hydrilla, Coontail & Eelgrass"    All within a single cast

 

Roger

 

Posted

I used to keep a log back in the 80's and it is always funny to go back and read it. I bought a gopro this year and use it to keep a video log of my outings. It's fun.

  • Super User
Posted

I use to keep logs also. Than for some reason or another I stopped. Kept some decent info. I still have them. Maybe I'll bring it back this bass season.

  • Super User
Posted

I've kept... more of a journal... religiously since 1977. It's pretty much in narrative form describing the day. I started (and also keep up, for posterity) with handwritten in acid free sketch books, went to word processor, and started video journaling this past season. Some of my processor written journals have been shared on this site.

 

The "data" I log (conditions & circumstances):

-water body

-weather trend for previous week and current weather

-water temperatures; surface and profile.

-water clarity

-vegetation status

-fish observations

-other critter observations (relevant phenology)

-catches: size, tackle, location, position, ...

I may also do sketches, and I've always taken a lot of photos.

J5.jpg

 

J1.jpg

 

J4.jpg

 

J6.jpg

 

 

 

 

  • Like 2
Posted

Never kept a log before. Tried a couple years ago, but couldn't keep up with it. Its one of my goals for this season to create a log and keep up with it for a whole season.

 

For those that do keep a log, how often to you look back on it and for what information do you usually look for?

  • Super User
Posted

Option 1, take Catt's list and cut it in half and you'll have a working log that will answer some really practical questions for you. Option 2, Go the overly detailed picture route like Paul if you want to write a book or magazine article in the future (or just enjoy drawing), or option 3, just keep a written journal if you want something neat to read and reflect upon 25 years from now. Ultra detailed notes will, for most of us, only get you into trouble and lead to erroneous conclusions.

 

-T9

  • Like 2
  • Super User
Posted
5 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Ultra detailed notes will, for most of us, only get you into trouble and lead to erroneous conclusions.

 

KABOOM!  Big knowledge here.  I used to keep a journal, and have several salt and pepper composition books filled with interesting crap that I'll never use again.

  • Super User
Posted
23 minutes ago, J Francho said:

 

KABOOM!  Big knowledge here.  I used to keep a journal, and have several salt and pepper composition books filled with interesting crap that I'll never use again.

 

 

Sadly, I know exactly what you mean

 

 

  • Like 1
  • Super User
Posted

I shouldn't be so negative.  I suppose recounting the day was beneficial in my younger days.  Mainly to discover "my process" in starting out the day.  But as a tool to look back, and try to determine the future of an upcoming trip....meh.  Two or three successive days on the same body of water is far more beneficial to getting dialed in.

  • Like 1
  • BassResource.com Administrator
Posted

I found that keeping a log in my early years of serious tournament fishing really helped me with my observation skills.  Really made me focus on the right things.

 

Now I keep more of a "journal" than a log, and includes what the top teams were doing, what I did right/wrong, etc. along with conditions observed.

  • Super User
Posted

My work involves a lot of planning and record keeping, so my desire to do so in my free time is pretty much zero.  

 

However, this coming season I am going to start weighing the nicer looking ones to get an idea of what different weights look like, just for personal curiosity.  In addition to taking pictures of fish, I am going to start taking pictures of productive spots and lures.  All the photos on my phone get uploaded with a date/time stamp to cloud storage, so I can go back and look at what I was catching where and with what on any given day.  I ended up accidentally doing this over the summer and it helped me realize something about a spot I fish all the time, but never had consistent luck at.  Looking as some old pictures showed me a pattern that I had not noticed before.  

  • Super User
Posted

I used to keep a log in the early 80s.Found it recently.It brought back great memories.

I may do one this year.( already behind !)

Posted

I am starting my log this year. Never thought about a fishing log until last year. I have kept a hunting journal since 1998.

I don't use my journal to plan my hunting trips but I sure do enjoy reading what I wrote years later!

Gotta wonder sometimes what I was thinking when I wrote some of the things in the journal.

 

I plan on using of the examples that were shared on here for my fishing log.

 

 

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