Importance of Logs and Fishing

You know after years of being a Police Officer and then making Detective one thing I learned was "if it's not on paper, it did not happen." I took this to my fishing career and started making logs of every fishing trip. When I started I found I had tons of information that was just plain useless and some things I needed to add until I finally got it right and found what worked best for me. Now I'm not saying this is a perfect log but you can take this information and subtract or add to it to make a log that fits you the best.

First thing I started keeping up with was weather. Now that doesn't mean to just put sunny or cloudy on the log. I break it down into sections. I list each type of conditions under the weather section. Things like Barometric pressures(and if it is falling or rising as the day goes on), wind(both speed and direction throughout the day), cloud cover(or lack there of), sunny/rainy periods, and outside temps at the start and finish of the day.

Next I list water conditions. I list starting and finishing surface temps. numerous anglers pay attention to water temps but I take it one step further. I use not only my temp gauge on my boat but also one I picked up at a store in the cooking section. Most every person that cooks meat in a stove has one but I wouldn't suggest taking the one out of the kitchen, the person in charge of cooking might get a little upset. Once you place it in the water drop it down about 6 feet or so and you will get the "real" water temp. You will be surprised what the difference is between it and the surface temp. I also list water levels and if current is being pulled and pushed. What I mean by "pulled and Pushed" is if the water you are fishing has a dam on both ends. Check the times of running water on both ends. Sometimes dams will run water on the top end and not be pulling on the bottom. This is very key on some situations and tactics used to fish deeper water. Also always check the water levels at the start and end of the day. You can do this by calling the lower dam or just look at the pier when you launch and take out you boat. Anglers also want to pay close attention to the water color. Make sure to watch this in every area you go to and note any changes throughout the day. I have seen the water stained in one section of the lake and not at another or an area clear up as the day goes on. Last one thing that is over looked way to often, boat traffic. This can make an area non-productive fast especially shallow water fish.

Next I look at conditions when myself or a client hook a fish. I make a note of this and attach it to the picture of the fish along with the depth the fish was at when hooked. I also note what the bait was doing(ie.sitting still, moving, being pulled in and rate of speed). This can be VERY important when working the area days later with other conditions. To put this in simple terms if you find you are catching fish in an area when the clouds are heavy and presure is falling with a faster retrieve or "hopping" a bait on the bottom. Then you return to the same area when the sun is out on a high pressure day try slowing the bait down or keeping it on the bottom. This can sometimes get bites in the area that most anglers would just say the fish are there because of the conditions. EVERY TIME a fish is hooked on my boat I note each condition in the log on the picture. Once you do this for awhile you will start to see patterns form and you can hit areas at certain times during tournaments so you don't waste time on a spot that will not produce when the conditions don't match.`

The last thing in the log for the trip is one thing that seems obvious but often over looked. The baits you use during the day. I write down what works as well as what did not. The best way to keep up with the baits used during a day is don't put them back when you change them. Just toss them in the floor of the boat, put them in a tray, or in a box. This will not only help you keep track of what you use but also keep you tackle organized after you have time to place it in the right boxes at the end of the day and not be rushed. If I'm fishing soft plastics I always toss them in the floor. Main reason is I never want to litter the water with used plastics that take years to dissolve but I also to keep up with what color is working best. If I look down and see that there are 20 junebug worms in the floor and only 5 green pumpkin then chances are green pumpkin was not very productive that day. If a bite slows down in an area I either change the type of bait with the same color, the size of the exact same bait, or vary the color just a bit(ie change from plain junebug to junebug/red flake) to see if I can get a few more bites in the area before giving up on that spot.

I know from experience keeping logs are not easy and numbers of people do it for a month or so but if you stick to it you will be able to look back to years worth of information and see solid patterns for every condition and time of year before ever putting your boat in the water. This is a huge thing for anglers that don't get much time on the water and want to make the best of the time they have. Now like I said in the start of this article it's not the only way to make up a log but feel free to use all this information and build on it to fit your needs. With the age of computers you can use hundreds of programs loaded on your computer and build on them the way I did. I now can punch in conditions or times of year into my laptop and find areas of the lake to start out and build from for every trip. This information is time consuming but once you start it is easy and invaluable.