03-16-2003, 10:42 PM
[cool]Hey, Tommy. You have my email address. If you are interested, I have a simple form (Word doc.) I put together on my computer that I just print out a few pages at a time. There are two trips per page, and I just three hole punch them and then hand write them in after each trip. If you wanted, you could just eliminate the lines and make them computer fill-in and keep an ongoing record, keeping records by different waters, time of year, etc.
Just in case anyone wants to know the type of info I collect, the top line reads DAY (of week)________ DATE_________ FROM____ TO____ HOURS___
Then I continue with WHO (accomplices)_____________ LOCATION(S)_______ AREA(S)_____ WATER CLARITY__________ WATER TEMP_________(Range) WEATHER: SKY______ WIND_____ AIR TEMP______ (Range) GENERAL OBSERVATIONS (Post frontal, boat traffic, angling pressure, hatches, etc.)___ TACKLE
Type, rating, line test, etc.)__________ LURES/BAITS________ RESULTS_____________ (Two or three lines...for totals, sizes, released, etc.) I also record depths, when applicable, either under OBSERVATIONS or RESULTS.
Obviously, something like this is customizeable to fit with the type of fishing you do and the info you are able to retain, and what is most meaningful to you. I assure you that several years from now, when you are planning a trip to Deer Creek after iceout, and you review previously successful trips under the same circumstances, you are liable to find something in the past logs that will help you get into action quicker than if you tried to "reinvent the wheel".
Fishing logs also make great reading on those cold nasty midwinter nights when the wind is howling and the snow is piling up outside...ruining the trip you had planned the next day. It will either cheer you up or make you jump off your tackle box.
ADVICE: Keep your log in a protective binder or folder, and leave it on the seat of your vehicle when you head out to go fishing. Fill it in as soon as you get off the water. It is surprising how much of the detail we tune out if we leave it for a "more convenient time". Some guys like to keep a small notebook with them in the boat to make notes and then transfer them to a more formalized log later.
In the final analysis, it matters less what you write, than that you do write something that can be meaningful at a later date.
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Just in case anyone wants to know the type of info I collect, the top line reads DAY (of week)________ DATE_________ FROM____ TO____ HOURS___
Then I continue with WHO (accomplices)_____________ LOCATION(S)_______ AREA(S)_____ WATER CLARITY__________ WATER TEMP_________(Range) WEATHER: SKY______ WIND_____ AIR TEMP______ (Range) GENERAL OBSERVATIONS (Post frontal, boat traffic, angling pressure, hatches, etc.)___ TACKLE
Type, rating, line test, etc.)__________ LURES/BAITS________ RESULTS_____________ (Two or three lines...for totals, sizes, released, etc.) I also record depths, when applicable, either under OBSERVATIONS or RESULTS. Obviously, something like this is customizeable to fit with the type of fishing you do and the info you are able to retain, and what is most meaningful to you. I assure you that several years from now, when you are planning a trip to Deer Creek after iceout, and you review previously successful trips under the same circumstances, you are liable to find something in the past logs that will help you get into action quicker than if you tried to "reinvent the wheel".
Fishing logs also make great reading on those cold nasty midwinter nights when the wind is howling and the snow is piling up outside...ruining the trip you had planned the next day. It will either cheer you up or make you jump off your tackle box.
ADVICE: Keep your log in a protective binder or folder, and leave it on the seat of your vehicle when you head out to go fishing. Fill it in as soon as you get off the water. It is surprising how much of the detail we tune out if we leave it for a "more convenient time". Some guys like to keep a small notebook with them in the boat to make notes and then transfer them to a more formalized log later.
In the final analysis, it matters less what you write, than that you do write something that can be meaningful at a later date.
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