Not everyone wants to keep track of how many fish they catch. That’s fine with me. I try to keep an accurate journal and would like to know exactly how many fish I catch during a particular day. I am considering buying a fish counter.
While the fishing ones are really cute … these do the same thing, only cost a lot less!! Top one … 4.99, bottom one 7.99. JoAnn’s Fabrics, knitting section, stitch counters.
My fishing vest weights about ninety pounds as it is. I really should leave the kitchen sink and my Portopotty at home. I don’t think a fish counter is ever going to happen for me. Just extra weight. 8T
We must be carrying the same vest. I actually carry a chest/backpack with all kinds of stuff including an electronic scale, rain jacket, sun tan lotion and a small kitchen sink in there.
The sink isn’t the issue, I want the dishwasher to come with. :rolleyes:
Betty, good ideas, thanks. I also pan fish and would love not to have to count them three times when I do decide to bring home some for dinner. The gills and crappies are just about ready in a few more degrees.
I only keep walleye (limit 6) and yellow perch (limit 30 per day). I can do both of those numbers w/o a counter, so there’s no need for something else to get in the way of fishing. I fish for enjoyment and realize I’ll have good days and not so good days, so no need for the counter. I have a friend who can tell you every fish caught on his last 10 trips (keeps a logbook), the length, weight and often the sex of the fish. He chastises me for not recording all of the vitals of each catch, and also gets upset if I sit under a tree and watch the water go by for lengthy periods of time. I guess that’s what makes us all different.
I’ve known guys who carried different kinds of mechanical tallying devices…the fish shaped ones are cute…the little metal ones like what you showed from BassPro have been around for years…and as Betty pointed out, you can buy all kinds of them that are intended for other purposes…stitch counters, stock counters, etc…
But, you still have to remember to click the buttons…on a ‘good’ day, that would be an issue for me, I’d be wondering if if I ‘remembered’ to click in that last fish? And that would distract me from fishing. On a slow day, it’s not hard to remember four or five fish…so for me, since it’s no more accurate than my memory anyways, I can’t see the point…Some folks are better at that kind of thing, but I’d think that if you were that kind of person, you’d be able to count them accurately in your head…
Still, if accurate records are your thing, and you need a device to keep up, then these are and easy and cheap way to go.
I knew one fellow that had a ‘routine’ every time he caught a fish…he’d land it, get out his tape and scale, weigh and measure the fish, take a photo, release the fish, pull out his notebook, write down the information, including the fly and presentation used, then go back to fishing. Way to anal for me, but his ‘notebook’ would make fascinating reading after a few years…
I guess I’m a bit anal then. I carry a notebook and generally, after I land a fish, I try and take a few moments to record it in a notebook. I try and include things like weight and length (if I measured them), species, fly, weather (sunny, overcast, etc), time of day in rought terms; ie dawn, morning, midday, afternoon, evening, dusk, and night), and the water conditions (clear, fast glide), and where I was. This allows me to keep track because I just like to know (I fish so many different fly patterns, I’m curious to see which ones I’ve actually caught fish on). It also forces me to sit back, slow down, and just try and enjoy my day out of the city and on the water. It helps to prevent me from getting too caught up in the “must catch more fish” way of thinking. It also helps to rest the water if the fish just disturbed a large area. Of course, quite often I forget to do this right away, and I’ll take a few moments later to write things down.
One of our friends from the Idaho Fish-In carries a clicker like the one from Bass Pro and a tape recorder to record weather conditions, location, fly and how the fly was fished. This is later transcribed to a fishing log, I believe. I might add that he is a very successful fisherman.
I guess I’m more like Buddy, I just like to fish. I have no need to count, especially if I’m not real hungry that day. lol lol
I usually only keep about two fish a month anyway. And than a 13" brown can often turn into 18" by the time you leave your local watering hole. lol lol Isn’t that legal, when talking fishing ??? lol lol
I don’t count, weigh, or measure individual fish. I do take a picture now and then when it suits me and I do keep a log of sorts. At the end of the day I try to write down things like the weather, water temp, stream flow, predominant hatch, aprox number of fish caught, and any significant events that occurred. Like how many times I went over my waders.
Doing this over a period of years has given me a pretty good base of knowledge to predict likely conditions on the next trip. Besides, I just enjoy it.
If you want to count em, thats fine with me. Use any method you like if its fun for you.
Myself I keep a journal of my fishing trips. I count fish somewhat. If I’m having a big number day I’ll list an entry like: Took 15 + fish or took a good number with 5-6 going over 12-14 inches. I’ll typically list the biggest I get by species. Since I don’t count actual numbers I don’t need a counter but if wanted to get one I’d take the advice of Betty Hiner & get what she listed & save few bucks.
Of course when I get skunked that’s easy: 0 !!
I need a counter! I loose count after like 10 haha. I never thought to keep a journal before. I was bout to start journaling but come to think of it I have my own fishing forum that I own and I post everything on! haha man I was actually keeping a journal without ever realizing it! duh…
I like to keep track for my journal but I have always done it by memory. If I’m off by one fish at the end of the day, big deal. I like my journal to be relatively accurate but other than that I don’t care. The people who don’t count or measure the occassional fish are the ones that tell you they caught twenty fourteen inch trout when in truth it was six or seven eleven inch fish. When I look back on my journal in my old age I don’t want reality to be clouded by wishful thinking.
Love that post. For me it is about integrity. I like to use my measure net, it gives me an accurate measurement. In my pack, I carry a digital scale and on what I consider to be big fish, I take a weight of the fish. Not it looks like it weighted a certain amount, but it actually weighted this on my scale. I try to put numbers in my journal, but sometimes I get lost in the excitement of the moment and wonder was that the 11th or 13th trout of the day.
My method might not be for everyone and I make not mystical claim as to my way is the only way and you SHOULD do it like me. I only say this is the way that I actually do it and it is right for me. It goes well with my personality type.
If you go and focus on things like, “this is not a numbers game, you are reducing the sport of fishing to some kind of perverted competition”, then by all means don’t count or measure or weight. That wouldn’t be right for YOU.
Again, this thread wasn’t about to count or not to count. This thread was about the decision has been MADE to count, now what is the most effective way to do it.
I did see once a series of beads on paracord that worked like an ancient abacus that still interests me, but I can’t find any info on that now. Oh well.
I used to count now, like Normand, why bother. I kept track by putting small marbles or stones in a pocket & for every 10 fish I would move the marble/stone from pocket A to pocket B. Might not have been totally accurate but close enough for government work.
Not a big counter of troutlings…I don’t keep them, so I doesn’t matter to me.
Blugills, I count if I’m keeping, because I seldom want to clean more than a dozen. Eighteen at the most.
I don’t pay much attention to anything else. I find that if I remember exact numbers of fish it was usually a fairly poor one. The the best ones are “caught a few”, “a lot”, “a bunch”, “a ton” or “a s&*t load” of fish…
