Fishing Logs and Diaries

[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850] While Scottieb and I were fishing Willard today, Scottie brought up the topic of fishing diaries or what he calls “captain’s log”. We got talking about the pros and cons of them and what we would put in them if we were to. I explained that, at one time, I had kept a log and am planning on starting it again. I told him that I wanted to keep track of all the times that fishing was good. He reminded me that it is just as important to track the bad days too.

So, when I got home, I looked up on my computer a Word document that I created and will start using again to aid me in my fishing log efforts. I am attaching it for your reading pleasure.

Today’s entry will show that we got skunked again and that it’s still early yet for wipers.

Here is a link to a similar discussion we had here on BFT a couple years ago.

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...3361#33361
[/#002850][/font][/size]
[signature]

[bkidder]

seems like we had a thread on this topic sometime last fall as well. i kept a pretty detailed journal last year. (for the first time ever) we also kept track, as best we could, of #'s of fish per day and i have that on a spreadsheet with species, location, and dates. hopefully these things will be handy while i plan my trips for this year.
[signature]

[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850] Anymore, I have less and less time to fish. I figure that I can maximize my catch rate by keeping a log. By the way, I never answer all of my questions on that log sheet. It is more of an “idea” sheet to help me keep track of the most important lessons learned. But the main reason behind it is just to help me have an idea of when and where I might want to fish (or to not fish) the following year around that same time. [/#002850][/font][/size]
[signature]

[bodine11]

Heres the one I use. Its kinda neat to be able to look back 6 years or so and see how things have changed.

Bodine
[signature]

[utwalleye]

My log is alot like bodine's straight and simple, but one thing you guys are fogetting. the last few days weather. you know how the weather affectes fish movment for at least 2 to 3 days. later chuck
[signature]

[WalleyeWiper]

Maybe think about transferring the log to an excel spreadsheet format. Then you can sort by location, dates, etc. I got a pocket log, but still find it hard to remember to write everything down. []
[signature]

[trollinfool]

[] yeah an excel spreadsheet would be good, you could also build charts on how well, or poorly your trips have been, hours fished (that way you can add them back in to your lifespan and show how much time youve wasted by workingLOL) even get creative with the bar graphs showing past years seasons to current season!!! Of course you may wanna just bag the whole thing and get in a few more casts!!! HEHE!!!! Actually the fish log is a great idea, i know my memory is not what it used to be, and for comparing with others and giving good tips of where to go and what to use, it would be a great tool.
[signature]

[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850] Excelent point there utwalleye! I had actually planned on having that in there but forgot. I have now included it and made a few other updatest too. See the attached new document.

WalleyeWiper ... Putting it in a spread sheed to sort later on is also a good idea. Thanks.[/#002850][/font][/size]
[signature]

[BrianID]

[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I’ve been recording all of my fishing trips for a few years. I have no doubt that keeping an extensive record of my fishing trips and other fishing information has increased my knowledge of the places I fish. [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]A spreadsheet like Excel would offer several advantages over a word processor like Word. Excel is mostly designed to record numbers so I don’t think it is perfect for recording fishing reports. A database like Access allows you to organize data in ways that you never could with Excel. With Access it only takes the click of a button to transfer data to Excel or Word. Learning to use Access requires a larger learning curve than it does to use Excel or Word. Using a database to record fishing trips isn’t for everyone but IMO is the best way to record fishing trips. The big divantage to a database is that it can take hours to design. In Excel you can set up a spreadsheet that would work in less than 5 minutes. You can also buy software that is designed to enter fishing reports.[/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"]With Access I made a database to record all of my fishing trips as well as other fishing information. It has around 120 fields in the main table as well as a couple smaller tables. Each time I enter a fishing report it probably costs me 15 minutes of time (sometimes more). It can be a pain to enter a report but IMO having all of the information recorded is worth it. Taking time to reflecting back on what I did right or wrong that day also helps me realize things that I would not have thought about. [/font][/size]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I find that the number of fish caught per hour and pounds of fish caught per hour are useful when comparing success of different trips. I also have a scale of 0-100 that I rate the overall experience. [/size][/font]
[size 3][font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/size]I attached a copy of a fishing log that I transferred to Word. I deleted a few things in but it is a good example of what my fishing logs look like. When it is transfered to Word it looses some of the Check Boxes that I have in Access. I didn’t design it to be in viewed like this in Word. My reports are easier to read when they are in my Access database. I would have left it in Access but I think more people have Word on their computer and Access can be difficult to navigate if you have never used it.
[signature]

[Old_Coot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2][#002850]Brian,

I hadn’t thought of a database for mine. I think rather than doing it in Word or Excel, I think I just might jump right to Access. I can see some real benefits to that.
[/#002850][/font][/size]
[signature]

[BrianID]

If you would like a copy of my Access database let me know. It might give you some ideas. It just won't include all of the fishing reports. []
[signature]

[scottieb]

I have read some good Ideas but for me along with the fish cought, where, bait, as a reminder of what to do and what does not work i want to tell a story so my kids will read it and enjoy after my memory has gone[]. Maybe learn a little about their old man and teach them a llittle about fishing.
[signature]