Fishing Journals

[cptpronin]

Anybody keep fishing journals? What kind of information do you record?

I started one last summer to track trends like bite vs. weather, time of day, etc. Anybody go as far as building a spreadsheet?

 

[balt0]

I do.
For each outing I record: date, start time, end time, start location, weather and gear setup (if it's not changing).
For each, hook up I recoard: Species X if caught else unknown fish X, time, estimated size, latitude and longitude, bait, technique and other notes.
I use google docs forum to fill out the information and then I create a markdown file with the information.

 

[tcp]

I was thinking of building a webapp to do this stuff. Use it for myself for a while then maybe open it up to public registration once I have it working the way I like. I know there are already a few services out there like this though. I may or may not still do it. A good winter project, but alas, now its spring/summer

 

[flowerjohn]

Try using an app called fishbrain. If you spend a few bucks or refer enough people to the site you get analysis for not only your fish caught but others who use the app who fish the area. It builds the database for you in real time noting weather by gps. You must record your fish when you catch it though for that info to be accurate. Hope this helps.

 

[fishfearme]

I've kept a journal for the majority of my fishing life. It's written just like a diary would be, the idea being that when my kids grow up and look through them it's actually interesting to read, not just a bunch of spreadsheets and statistics. That being said all entries include important factors like the days weather; temps; water temps; number of fish caught; areas those fish were caught; what caught those fish (including type of bait and color); water clarity, the list could go on. Basically I record everything down to the color of socks I was wearing that day. There is no doubt that keeping a journal has made me a much better fisherman and I recommend it to anyone.

 

[Knuguy]

If I had a journal I think it would be mostly blank pages!

 

[Xca]

Google earth for me.
Categorized with colored lines: good (green), average (orange) or bad (red).
I add pins for spots to park, and pins for holes i catch fish. Different pins = different fish.
In the pins description i record the pattern I used (if I can recall ) and the date

 

[bullshark]

Only for steelhead. Actually I make a spreadsheet for one particular creek every year. Other than that I just keep a tally of all the steelhead I catch.
On the spreadsheet I record:
-dates of all my fish caught
-what I caught them on
-where on the river I caught them
-how far up the river they are at certain time
-water temp

 

[BERRRG]

I keep a journal in handwritten format that mainly just records the outing and the basics. Usually one page per outing. I've been fishing so much this spring I'm about 5-10 days behind and counting... I really like the idea of recording everything, especially in spreadsheet form, but I've found it difficult enough to just jot down a few notes after an exhausting fishing day let alone a stats log... Would come in handy for sure. I doubt I'd ever seriously look back to analyze the notes I keep, it's more for remembering the great fishing moments when I'm older.