Does anyone keep a fishing journal?

[s1rGr1nG0]

I just bought a small notebook to use a journal to record info regarding my fishing. Things like date, location, conditions, flies/lures that produced, (or did NOT produce), etc...
I've only got one entry so far but was wondering who, if anyone, else keeps a fishing journal and what kind of information do you inclued in your entries?

[pszy22]

I've been keeping a fishing log for about the past 20 years or so. I pretty much keep track of the items you listed, in addition to specie, number and size of fish caught. I'm not sure I've ever analyzed the data contained to draw any hard and fast conclusions, but it is fun to review how fishing was back in the day.

p.s. I also keep track of my fishing companions on each trip as well as notes regarding any new of special equipment I might have used.

[FishnDave]

Years ago I kept hand-written fishing logs, but have been keeping electronic fishing logs using MS Excel since mid-October 2005.
Over the years I've changed some of the details I track. I track date, location fished, # of fish, species, lenght or wt. of the biggest of each species/trip, what flies or lures (and colors) caught the most or biggest fish, who I fished with, what times I started and stopped fishing (and total time fished), monthly fish totals, yearly species totals. I used to track water temps, wind speed and direction, water levels/flow rates...thought about tracking moon phases and barometric pressure, but haven't done that. I've learned a great deal about seasonal trends, and it helps me decide what species of fish, and what locations I want to fish throughout the year.

Anyway, track the things that are of interest to you. The cool thing about Excel, is you can "insert comments" into the spreadsheet cells. I can add written observations about the fishing, or about what wild animals I may have seen, or silly humans. And I also add all of my fishing pictures into these "comments", which makes it fun to look through and also keeps all your fishing pictures in one place and organized. Just drag your cursor over a cell to see the pictures pop up for that trip. I love it!

[KeatonsDad]

Like Dave I keep one using Excel. I probably over analyze the log sometimes, but I find it fun tracking some of this stuff. Some things I track:

date, location, start and end time on the water, air temp, water temp, water clarity, river levels, precipitation, wind, cloud cover, patterns used, barometer, moon phase, was I wearing my lucky socks (just seeing if your paying attention), patterns that worked, patterns that didn't, and then the fun stats regarding numbers of fish caught, size, and species.

[pspaint]

I'm old school, I use a notebook and a pen. lol. I've been keeping journals for a number of years. I started doing it, so I could learn the hatches better (type of bugs, emergence times, etc.,) and it really helped. There also fun to look back on. I always include; The date, stream, areas I fished, weather and stream conditions, hatches and patterns that worked. I use to write down the flies that failed too but that list got too long. lol. I also make notes detailing aspects of the day.

[Derik]

I keep a log that has the dates and times, fish sizes, lures/baits/flies used, temp if i remember, weather, etc. I also use the book for my hunting outings and just keep a general record of places where I have some luck.

[ohiotuber]

I have tried different logs, but not for long as you end up spending so much time reading & comparing current trip info to what is written.
I use Excel at work & am soon to get it for my home PC. I agree that it's the way to go...You can change the sort, be it by date, temp, location, species, etc, etc. In other words, a log that can be customized each & every trip depending upon where you go & what you want to do.
Mike

[HCR]

Kept one on and off over last 35 years and always regret not being consistent w/entries because it is a delight to look back over the years and have those days, places and friends magically reappear before my eyes.

Fish Pond has an exquisite journal that comes in a zippered case. Pricy, but the sort of extravagance I like to treat myself to from time to time.

[lastchance]

I've been keeping a journal since 1999 and I wish I would started sooner. It serves as a reminder as to what flies worked at a particular time and place in the past and it's nice to look back at the fun you've had on the stream. My journal is a hard back book.
Bruce

[MontanaMoose]

I kept a handwritten notebook that fit in the shirt pocket and it's really interesting to read them once in a while because i always put events of the day in there ... along with the time of day and if it was overcast/hot/cold when i caught each decent trout plus the pattern.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose