How many of you keep a fishing log??

[Waterfoul]

I never have... but this season I think I'm going to make an attempt to do so.  I have a few questions:

Do you keep it IN the boat?  My boat isn't that big and I worry that if I keep some sort of paper notebook in the boat it won't last long.  I'm thinking I might keep it in the truck and fill out the information immediatly after retrieving the boat.

What information do you keep?  Weather seems like a natural... ie:  temp, wind direction and speed, water clarity, skies, etc .... then there's time of day of course.  Lures used would also have to be included.  Where they were caught... depth... retrieve type, etc...

What do you guys do?  How do you keep this information?

[yukonjack2]

I do keep a log of just about every outing out. 

First things first - take a look at this website for a little waterproof notebook. I met them at the SHOT show a few years back, and the products are awesome.  ITs some type of plastic coated paper that you can write on with any ballpoint pen and not smear.  It will get wet - trust me. 

http://www.riteintherain.com/

I keep track or a few things - date, water temp, wind direction, and of course baits.  Sometimes draw a map of current, or which way the presentation worked best,...   shoreline structure of say flagpoles, or docks that were especially productive - especially on inland lakes to find that specific spot pretty quick without gps. 

The real key is not only recording the data, but being able to use it for future reference.  I plan on giving the anglers genie a try this year, and see if I can get the info out a little easier than it was to record.

[Waterfoul]

Yeah, getting wet is what I am worried about.  That Sportsmans Fishing Journal looks like a good idea for sure.  Only $7 too. 

[dashaver63]

I have done the same in the past, the only other thing I added was time of year... pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn, summer patterns and fall patterns. You can get a real good feel of migratory patterns after a couple years.

[dmills4124]

Hey there waterfowl we will be keeping an in-depth log this year. I found it on my boat insurance website. Kim and I had been keeping a kind of log.We put the info on the back of the pictures of the fish.
Take a look at the web addy which is, www.boatusangler.com/fishing_log.asp
 Yukonjack2 that is a fantastic product we will be buying for our log paper.
It has ganeral info for up to 5 fish per page and for each fish you can write in or check off what pertains to each catch plus an area for notes. Some topics are monn phase, water condition, methods used, bait used, presentation, location, structure, species and all have multiple ares to choose from. Take a look and see if this helps you to start your fishing log. Above all make it fun and not a chore and your years of fishing might just pay you back in what you forgot.
later
don and kim m

[TCook]

Last Year I printed 100 copies of a fishing log sheet I found on another site and put them in a plastic folder and the top closed using velcro. I had it on me every time I went out and it never got wet.

[skeeterman190]

 I keep one religously. I wouldnt sell it for a million dollars well maybe 2. Cause i got a great memory. Ive had it for about 4 years since i started this whole bass fishing thing and now i look back on it sometimes in the early years and wonder what the heck i was thinking. It helps me alot on places i dont fish much with anymore doesnt really come into play to often cause I stick to the same bodies of water.very good idea to have on.-skeeterman-

[HellaBass]

I kind of do online with my Bassin Blog...

[fiker]

When I'm working, I'm writing.  When I'm fishing I'm fishing.
We had an old small portable tape recorder around here.   
I used it in the boat.  Kept it up on the dash. 
Turn it on, record, turn it off. 
Never got wet enough to hurt anything.
Then after several trips, on a rainy day, I'd record the info on a home made spread sheet. 

I actually got this idea from Bill Dance.  Me and him's buddies ya know.

[dartag]

i have kept a log for almost 30 years.  now with bass fishing i keep 2 logs.  one for tournys where i write down as much as i can remember about the day, conditions and what it took to win.  the other log is for every time i fish,  what lake, conditons and how many fish i caught.  last year i fished 73 times some for only one hour on my lake. only takes a few minutes but it is great to look back on.  if you are ever having a bad day just re-live some old fishing trips and things seem better.

now if the ice would melt

[motocross269]

I pulled out my Walleye logs this weekend..Trying to see when we started fishing last year..Won't be long now..I am worried about how hard it is going to be this spring to get down river with 75 all tore up.

[Savage]

I kept one religiously for the first few years I fished.  I'd write the days events in a scrapbook style book I found, and maybe stick a picture or two in once in a while.  Then I'd enter all the data I could remember for each fish into an Excel spreadsheet I made.  After a while, the spreadsheet can really start to tell you some patterns.  It's awful fun to look back at my old log and see my and Blakstr1's first year of fishing trips.  Man, were we doofusses.

One unique tip I have is to make your own name for each spot that is productive for you, so it's easier to remember exactly where you got the fish.  I have spots like the "frigid flat" (it was frickin cold the day we were there!), the brown dock (pretty obvious) and the money cut (always "money" when I fish there!).  It always seems to help me remember that it's a good spot if I give it a name.....

I think I'll go dig out my old log....  nice topic W-foul!!