Fishing journal layout

[Philip]

I write up all my sessions, depending on how often you go it can actually get to be a bit of a chore especially if you do lots of short sessions like I do.

One big change I made was to move from a paper based diary to an electronic one...basically I do it on the computer now either as a word doc or just a rolling email that you keep sending to yourself and adding to it. You can obviously print it out if you want a hard copy as well. This was allot quicker and easier than the old paper diaries that I used to keep.

In terms of headings..date, venue, time from & to fished, quick note of weather conditions and then an anecdotal description of the session which can be very short ...one line if there is nothing really to report to much longer if there is lots to report. Its in the anecdotal bit that I describe the tackle & tactics, anything caught and basically anything of note.

The other thing I do is if I catch something and take photos I make a note in the diary that I took a photo and then I make sure my photo has a date on it so I can refer to the diary for the details of how I caught it and what it weighed etc.

This sounds like small point but believe after a while it can become very difficult to remember what a fish weighed or how you caught it just by looking at a photo so I always make sure I can match it to a diary entry for the details.

 

[joshua]

I think I'm going to do it electronically. I think you've inspired me to use excel Mark, so thanks for that. Personally, I would like to include as many variables as possible just to make some pretty fun graphs at the end of the year (never thought I'd say that lol). I'm going to have to research into excel to try and figure out all the things I can do. Definitely will use a paper draft on the bank though, I'd only drop my tablet in the water.

 

[thames mudlarker]

Just to give you an idea Joshua, my headings are day, month, year (do them in separate columns!), wind dir, wind speed, weather(which I convert into a number, 1 for sunny, 2 for overcast etc), air temp, water temp, pressure, water colour, moon phase (1,2,3 and 4!), notes, bait, venue, species caught in separate columns, carp, tench etc., size roughly.
Once you have built up a few records you can produce graphs on excel as well. Say a tench graph for venue X per month/temperatures, weather etc or carp different boilies, roach and air pressure ranges or whatever you want really, no end of permutations you can play with..
You don't have to do the same as me, just to give you some ideas, as you say tailor it to what you want. the thing is get it right because 5 years down the line you don't want to be thinking wish I had included/done that. I remember I thought after a couple of years of doing it I should have included moon phase, would be interesting just to see if it means anything, fortunately in this instance I found a table online and just used my dates to go back and enter them in a column. However, I wish I had been a bit more specific in the baits I used and I couldn't do that with memory.
And I think your right, keep a more personal dairy type and an excel information data one separately, I wish I had done that come to think of it. But the excel option does become interesting once you have built it up, so much you can do with data on excel. Written in a diary it can be just a blur as Artist said but excel can specifically define any data any way you want.
It takes a bit of getting used to but its a lifelong project and gives you plenty to do on a cold wet afternoon in winter and anything that makes life/fishing more interesting is worth having a go at-good luck..

PS-just another tip, when I started I thought I do not want to just enter 5 roach when they could be 5 1lb+ roach or 5 4oz roach. Then I thought I don't want to be weighing all the fish, I would have to shoot myself. So, I used a simple scoring system, in my notes I would mention 2 very good roach, 1 average roach and 2 small roach. but, in my roach column I would score 15 for each of the very good roach, 10 for the average roach and 5 for each small roach giving a total of 60 points. This would be dependent on the average size of fish for the venue. So, you have a general score for how good the roach fishing was for that day at that venue. I do the same for all species. Not to be pedantic about it, if I caught 40 roach I would just get it roughly based on my memory on the day. You may have your own ideas, something better even but just a suggestion if you go down this route because sometime you may want a score of some sort to be able to define your days fishing and make it excel comparable for other days and different venues/conditions ect for each species, memory fades.

And if all this sounds a bit convoluted and hard, its not once you get going, takes me 5 minutes; once you get your system sorted out; no hardship at all.

Tis all very good in having all of these files but me personally don't want them because it makes an interesting read, I can pick up a book if I want that
The whole purpose of the files is purely for info,
The idea of having such info is that when one does decide to go over the files, over time in some of the more regular fisheries that are fished it should by rights start to form a pattern, IE similar weather patterns, at night in certain swims, at certain times and baits etc

Reading through loads of average files, especially years worth can actually become quite tedious but is good knowledge put to use,

We can all go on and on and add other bits of info to the files like moon phases and point systems etc but where does it stop and if we start adding to much info are we likely to put this all down on paper on every single capture.......probably not

By drawing up a set std info page of just the main important factors of the day's catch this should be sufficient and by doing this one can then easily remember what details are put down onto paper for each session that is worthy of a mention :thumbs:

Incidentally I'm also a fanatical specialist Bass angler that fishes the Thames estuary which is literally on me door ( within walking distance ) and have all Bass capture records of all Bass over 2 lb.
I've got records dating back to the last 18 years, literally hundreds of records and could clearly show people the particular patterns of the Bass that are logged down :thumbs:

In situations like this with experience one can sometimes predict certain fishing sessions

Be lucky

 

[Philip]

Incidentally I'm also a fanatical specialist Bass angler that fishes the Thames estuary which is literally on me door ( within walking distance ) and have all Bass capture records of all Bass over 2 lb.
I've got records dating back to the last 18 years, literally hundreds of records and could clearly show people the particular patterns of the Bass that are logged down

In situations like this with experience one can sometimes predict certain fishing sessions

Probably the subject of a separate thread (or even an article) but I would be very interested to hear your views on estuary Bass fishing. What tactics are you using and so on. Not too many people writing about that and I think its a great cross over species for freshwater anglers who want to dip their toes into saltwater fishing to target.

 

[thames mudlarker]

I write up all my sessions, depending on how often you go it can actually get to be a bit of a chore especially if you do lots of short sessions like I do.

One big change I made was to move from a paper based diary to an electronic one...basically I do it on the computer now either as a word doc or just a rolling email that you keep sending to yourself and adding to it. You can obviously print it out if you want a hard copy as well. This was allot quicker and easier than the old paper diaries that I used to keep.

In terms of headings..date, venue, time from & to fished, quick note of weather conditions and then an anecdotal description of the session which can be very short ...one line if there is nothing really to report to much longer if there is lots to report. Its in the anecdotal bit that I describe the tackle & tactics, anything caught and basically anything of note.

The other thing I do is if I catch something and take photos I make a note in the diary that I took a photo and then I make sure my photo has a date on it so I can refer to the diary for the details of how I caught it and what it weighed etc.

This sounds like small point but believe after a while it can become very difficult to remember what a fish weighed or how you caught it just by looking at a photo so I always make sure I can match it to a diary entry for the details.

Yep I agree Philip, very true and wise words :thumbs:

---------- Post added at 15:30 ---------- Previous post was at 15:20 ----------

Probably the subject of a separate thread (or even an article) but I would be very interested to hear your views on estuary Bass fishing. What tactics are you using and so on. Not too many people writing about that and I think its a great cross over species for freshwater anglers who want to dip their toes into saltwater fishing to target.

Not a problem Philip :thumbs:

By all means I can give info to anyone who is interested as regards to Thames bass fishing, when I sea fish although I've dabbled with other fish it's the bass that I've studied for the last 18 years or so,

The main preferred way that I fish for em is fishing light tackle IE 10 lb Fluoro mainline, 3 oz in line leads, 10 ft spinning rods for lightness whilst I'm bait fishing and most importantly I'll always be fishing over low water holding the rod touch ledgering with big baits :thumbs:

That is just quick basic info of what I do,

Incidentally I'm also on WSF ( World sea fishing ) forum under " STUART WHITING " and have put up a lot of bass info on there over the last couple of years mainly on the southeast section
I'm also on the coarse and carp section of the same forum

 

[no-one in particular]

I think I'm going to do it electronically. I think you've inspired me to use excel Mark, so thanks for that. Personally, I would like to include as many variables as possible just to make some pretty fun graphs at the end of the year (never thought I'd say that lol). I'm going to have to research into excel to try and figure out all the things I can do. Definitely will use a paper draft on the bank though, I'd only drop my tablet in the water.

I am sure you wont regret it in years to come, make it as comprehensive as you want. I didn't want it too convoluted myself and become a chore and detract from my pleasure fishing but I didn't want it to be sloppy or too vague either. So its right for me. I would just get a excel worksheet open on your computer, list your headings along the top row that you think you want and save it. Then start filling it in as you go along. You can always alter it as and when, tailor it for yourself. Anyway best of luck with it.

 

[binka]

I attempted something along the lines of record keeping a few years ago using Microsoft Word and Excel but it reminded me too much of work, I really hate Excel despite having to be reasonably competent with it.

In the end I decided on the 'happy go lucky' approach and use my experience on the day, I don't deny that it is fascinating to look back in detail but I believe information in the context of which we want to use it can be as misleading as it is helpful.

There are just too many variables imo.

All I can see that record keeping in any form has to offer is historical information which, without being exhaustive in the depth of detail which would include the preceding days weather, predation factors etc. is just information which without a programme is just that...

Information.

In the absence of any computer generated programme it is still left to our own brains to interpret this information and apply it to any degree where it may affect our catches so I guess I'm saying that I can see the benefit in using it as an electronic diary but doubt the effectiveness of it to put any more fish on the bank.

Either way I'm 'out' long before on the basis that it seems way too much work not only in inputting it either manually or electronically but also in analysing such detailed data, as to be effective, to any possible benefit considering the multitude of variables which may still not have been considered outside of the data being used.

I find something refreshingly reassuring about that

 

[no-one in particular]

Reading through loads of average files, especially years worth can actually become quite tedious but is good knowledge put to use,

We can all go on and on and add other bits of info to the files like moon phases and point systems etc but where does it stop and if we start adding to much info are we likely to put this all down on paper on every single capture.......probably not

I don't actually use paper at all, I will take a compass reading for wind, judge the wind speed, check a thermometer for air temperature, chuck it in the water for 5 mins. I memorize this along with a weather reading. When I get home after a cup of tea I just enter the relevant on the excel which is all set up. Air pressure and moon phase I just look up on saved book marks on the computer. It doesn't really take up any time. it just depends on want you want really.
The main benefit is 15 years later I can sort column B into April along with column S for tench and column T for lake green and immediately I can see how lake green has fished for tench in April compared to say lake yellow or add weather or anything else to it. That's the beauty of it, no need to wade through hundreds of records to try to get an idea of anything I want to know really.
Its not for everyone I appreciate that but I have found it very useful.

---------- Post added at 18:22 ---------- Previous post was at 18:12 ----------

I attempted something along the lines of record keeping a few years ago using Microsoft Word and Excel but it reminded me too much of work, I really hate Excel despite having to be reasonably competent with it.

In the end I decided on the 'happy go lucky' approach and use my experience on the day, I don't deny that it is fascinating to look back in detail but I believe information in the context of which we want to use it can be as misleading as it is helpful.

There are just too many variables imo.

its not for everyone Binka but I find to record blank sessions just as important. I have seen anglers have one good catch on a particular day in one swim forgetting how many times they blanked there. I have a good built up knowledge of most fishing, months swims conditions etc in my mind. Or I think I have but sometimes its nice to be able to look back in a more defined way re records. And I am not quite yet in the forgetting were I live stage but its coming so, I may need a little help soon in remembering where I last caught a fish

Also I do have a program, I can enter all the known conditions before I go fishing, wind, weather, temperature, colour, pressure ect and it sorts through my records and tells me the most likely species to fish for given the entered data and the best place to fish for that species. Took me a while to set up but it works to a good degree, I am not setting off blind or just relying on my hunch for the day, something that was never very good anyway.

 

[joshua]

Also I do have a program, I can enter all the known conditions before I go fishing, wind, weather, temperature, colour, pressure ect and it sorts through my records and tells me the most likely species to fish for given the entered data and the best place to fish for that species. Took me a while to set up but it works to a good degree, I am not setting off blind or just relying on my hunch for the day, something that was never very good anyway.

Is that a program you have made yourself, presumably, it incorporates your data that is recorded in Excel?

 

[Philip]

I attempted something along the lines of record keeping a few years ago using Microsoft Word and Excel but it reminded me too much of work, I really hate Excel despite having to be reasonably competent with it.

In the end I decided on the 'happy go lucky' approach and use my experience on the day, I don't deny that it is fascinating to look back in detail but I believe information in the context of which we want to use it can be as misleading as it is helpful.

There are just too many variables imo.

All I can see that record keeping in any form has to offer is historical information which, without being exhaustive in the depth of detail which would include the preceding days weather, predation factors etc. is just information which without a programme is just that...

Information.

In the absence of any computer generated programme it is still left to our own brains to interpret this information and apply it to any degree where it may affect our catches so I guess I'm saying that I can see the benefit in using it as an electronic diary but doubt the effectiveness of it to put any more fish on the bank.

Either way I'm 'out' long before on the basis that it seems way too much work not only in inputting it either manually or electronically but also in analysing such detailed data, as to be effective, to any possible benefit considering the multitude of variables which may still not have been considered in the data being used.

I find something refreshingly reassuring about that

Maybe we are missing the point a little here ? Isnt the main point of a diary to simply be a souvenir to remind you of the day ...you know, look back with fondness at a happy event and smile ?!?!?

Strewth you make it sound like a bad day at work ! mg:

Mind you I agree on the analysis bit..I dont think the records actually help me catch any more fish although it can be fun to look for trends if your so inclined.

 

[binka]

Maybe we are missing the point a little here ? Isnt the main point of a diary to simply be a souvenir to remind you of the day ...you know, look back with fondness at a happy event and smile ?!?!?

Strewth you make it sound like a bad day at work ! mg:

Mind you I agree on the analysis bit..I dont think the records actually help me catch any more fish although it can be fun to look for trends if your so inclined.

I don't know, are you missing the point?

The point I was making is that I find record keeping, in either electronic or manual form, a bit of a pain in the arris and potentially highly misleading which without exhaustive input, could be highly irrelevant anyway and negate the whole purpose of it.

We both agree on the diary part it would seem, still not sure what point I've missed though?

 

[Philip]

I don't know, are you missing the point?

The point I was making is that I find record keeping, in either electronic or manual form, a bit of a pain in the arris and potentially highly misleading which without exhaustive input, could be highly irrelevant anyway and negate the whole purpose of it.

We both agree on the diary part it would seem, still not sure what point I've missed though?

Well if you read back your own diatribe (good word eh?) You make it sound like its a complex process whose sole goal is to provide data on which to make statistical analysis in order to improve catches. I was simply pointing out that the point of a dairy I imagine for allot of people is just to keep a happy reminder of the day.

....a point you have now acknowledged so all is well with the world ...+ of course my comments where also tounge in cheek...

 

[binka]

Well if you read back your own diatribe (good word eh?) You make it sound like its a complex process whose sole goal is to provide data on which to make statistical analysis in order to improve catches.

No, wrong.

For a start there's nothing complex about it, it's just an exhaustive process and 'exhaustive' was the word I used.

You might see that as complex, being as you use that word, but I don't.

I acknowledged the pitfalls of using statistical data for the purpose of enhancing catches whilst appreciating the benefits in terms of diarising to reflect on.

You can put whatever wax you like on it but that is hardly offering a bias over one or the other based on merit of fact, particularly as it's something I've done in the past and have no emotional leaning towards one way or the other.

I was simply pointing out that the point of a dairy I imagine for allot of people is just to keep a happy reminder of the day

A point which I had already acknowledged and stated myself when I said this...

I can see the benefit in using it as an electronic diary but doubt the effectiveness of it to put any more fish on the bank.

And finally...

of course my comments where also tounge in cheek...

The fact that your comments were 'tongue in cheek' I acknowledge as it clearly refers to one of the lower set which you appear to be currently talking out of

I repeat my question...

What point are 'we' missing?

 

[Philip]

No, wrong.

For a start there's nothing complex about it, it's just an exhaustive process and 'exhaustive' was the word I used.

You might see that as complex, being as you use that word, but I don't.

I acknowledged the pitfalls of using statistical data for the purpose of enhancing catches whilst appreciating the benefits in terms of diarising to reflect on.

You can put whatever wax you like on it but that is hardly offering a bias over one or the other based on merit of fact, particularly as it's something I've done in the past and have no emotional leaning towards one way or the other.




A point which I had already acknowledged and stated myself when I said this...



And finally...



The fact that your comments were 'tongue in cheek' I acknowledge as it clearly refers to one of the lower set which you appear to be currently talking out of

I repeat my question...

What point are 'we' missing?

Opps, sorry, I said "we", but it was me that missed the point.

No offense intended.

 

[binka]

Opps, sorry, I said "we", but it was me that missed the point.

No offense intended.

No problem Philip and certainly no apology needed but thank you anyway, I was a bit quick to jump on the point in which case I duly apologise in return.

I shall remove all heavy objects from my handbag and promise not to swing it with such free abundance in the future.

At the end of the day it's only fishing

 

[thames mudlarker]

I don't actually use paper at all, I will take a compass reading for wind, judge the wind speed, check a thermometer for air temperature, chuck it in the water for 5 mins. I memorize this along with a weather reading. When I get home after a cup of tea I just enter the relevant on the excel which is all set up. Air pressure and moon phase I just look up on saved book marks on the computer. It doesn't really take up any time. it just depends on want you want really.
The main benefit is 15 years later I can sort column B into April along with column S for tench and column T for lake green and immediately I can see how lake green has fished for tench in April compared to say lake yellow or add weather or anything else to it. That's the beauty of it, no need to wade through hundreds of records to try to get an idea of anything I want to know really.
Its not for everyone I appreciate that but I have found it very useful.

---------- Post added at 18:22 ---------- Previous post was at 18:12 ----------



its not for everyone Binka but I find to record blank sessions just as important. I have seen anglers have one good catch on a particular day in one swim forgetting how many times they blanked there. I have a good built up knowledge of most fishing, months swims conditions etc in my mind. Or I think I have but sometimes its nice to be able to look back in a more defined way re records. And I am not quite yet in the forgetting were I live stage but its coming so, I may need a little help soon in remembering where I last caught a fish

Also I do have a program, I can enter all the known conditions before I go fishing, wind, weather, temperature, colour, pressure ect and it sorts through my records and tells me the most likely species to fish for given the entered data and the best place to fish for that species. Took me a while to set up but it works to a good degree, I am not setting off blind or just relying on my hunch for the day, something that was never very good anyway.

Cheers Mark,

Yea mate I can exactly see where yer coming from and yes that probably would make sence but to be truthful I'm so used to pen an paper it'd probably be hard for me to change now, I use proper lined paper thick hard Back books, I'm still rather old school

However I do actually split me record books up into certain species which then refines me searches and this then gets divided again into 3 seasons IE for rivers, summer, Autumn and winter which helps :thumbs:

Took me long enough to use a mobile and then get onto computers and iPads ....lols

 

[fishing4luckies]

I'm currently seriously considering developing an App for both mobile deveices and desktops to do what everyone is talking about.

From what I can make out there are two main camps here:

Record every last detail you possibly can in order to be able to use the data in some way or another, either predictive or just purely from the point of analysis.

or

Maintain a 'fishing diary' giving whatever details you feel are relevant but focusing more on the general 'vibe' of the days fishing - more fre form if you like.

I've looked at and downloaded pretty much every relevant iPhone app available and most are either very American (almost exclusively Lure fishing) or total rubbish (barely work, constantly crash, etc) so I reckon that whilst it's unlikely to make me rich it could be of use to some people. If not, at least I'll enjoy using it!!

 

[joshua]

I'm currently seriously considering developing an App for both mobile deveices and desktops to do what everyone is talking about.

From what I can make out there are two main camps here:

Record every last detail you possibly can in order to be able to use the data in some way or another, either predictive or just purely from the point of analysis.

or

Maintain a 'fishing diary' giving whatever details you feel are relevant but focusing more on the general 'vibe' of the days fishing - more fre form if you like.

I've looked at and downloaded pretty much every relevant iPhone app available and most are either very American (almost exclusively Lure fishing) or total rubbish (barely work, constantly crash, etc) so I reckon that whilst it's unlikely to make me rich it could be of use to some people. If not, at least I'll enjoy using it!!

If you love programming mate, then go for it! May be a fun little project for ya.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Over many years of fishing and searching for big fish in different waters I kept meticulous diaries (hand written!) which certainly helped my cause...
These days I make do with a column on the 'half page/ day' house diary in which to record events. Weather, where, hours fished, temps, baits, fish caught (rough numbers and biggest) sort of thing.
Generally speaking I use it to check back on catches and where I did well as I move through each month of the present year; However, take this month of February. I have not caught any roach at all from the venues I fish regularly and know very well indeed. A long cold spell was followed by a couple of weeks of air/ambient temps rising steadily and conditions (compared with those of 2015 and 2016) suggestes I should catch roach on a number of different baits..............

The problem is I am not catching ANYTHING at all (not even a small roach!) compared with reasonable catches for the years above (when anything from a half dozen roach to 25+ on the odd day was the general run of things) and this from swims that I fish several times a week with total knowledge of depth, bottom etc etc. This is good fishing water that has seemingly changed totally from pre Xmas to post Xmas!!

So getting back to diaries; Yes, I have all the info from past years and pretty comprehensive it is as well, BUT and it is a big but, the info contained therein is pretty much useless when it comes to working out why the fish have seemingly disappeared since the turn of THIS year!!
This is not to say diaries don't work for all the reasons given in the vast array of posts above, but when it comes to situations such as the one I've outlined above.......well, they are no bl%%dy help whatsoever!!!

I work hard for my fishing (generally alone, so undisturbed by others) and almost expect some form of return every time I go out. Not in 2017!

Answers/suggestions on a postcard and most welcome.................


ps Still, nice to look back and recall good days in seasons past, even if it frustrates the hell out of me! Just means I will need to fish even more days this week and even harder.......

pps Oh, I have caught carp and lost many, but NOT what I'm after, unfortunately..

 

[no-one in particular]

Is that a program you have made yourself, presumably, it incorporates your data that is recorded in Excel?

The program is on excel, you will be able to do the same once you have built up some records. I will try and give a basic idea. Excel provides formulas for searching your data. If I enter WEST in cell B1 it will search all the wind direction column where I have a WEST and throw up the score for say tench in a west wind, same for bream, roach, chub etc. It does the same for temperature, weather etc. If I enter RAIN in cell B2 it will search all the weather column for RAIN and throw up a score for all the species for RAIN which is what I have entered in the records for rain. I can enter any data I want as long it matches the terms I have used in the records, actually abbreviations which you may also find easier., W for west S for south for example.
That's just basic, I use a lot of abbreviations and set it up to only search for 6 week periods (two weeks either side of the month I am fishing). Then there is water colour, air pressure etc, the program searches the lot. So I get a basic score/percentage for each species for the conditions I have entered that I am going to fish for the time of year. A kind of assessment of all the conditions I am going to fish from the records which is pretty useful apart from just being fun and interesting..
It takes 5 mins although the program took a lot longer to set up but to use takes 5 mins.
That's the beauty of excel, what would take you days to assimilate a lot of data normally, it takes seconds on excel.
I hope this doesn't put you off, just showing you the potential. Thats all on excel and on my records there on one excel worksheet; you dont have to be messing around with lots of programs and other computer gimmickry, it can all be done on one excel sheet, your records on one sheet.
Thats how I started back in 2000, just started an excel with headings, spent 5 mins with a cup of tea filling in my headings when I got back from fishing; no hardship, no hours of filling in. I didn't even do anything with it for 5 years, not saying you should wait that long but one day I sat down and thought, great, now how can I put this to some use and started working on formulas etc and I knew FA about excel but just kept making mistakes and learning. Took me a few sessions on a wet day but came up with something useful.

I would keep your diaries for aesthetic satisfaction and just start an excel for now with the headings you want at the top of columns A,B,C and so on, start filling them in when you go fishing. Up to you but what have you got too lose. It doesn't take a lot of doing to just get it going. Give it a go, nothing to lose. I would save two or three versions to start with just in case you mess up one especially when you get too the stage of messing around with it-If you need help just ask.

PS if you read the above you will realise why I said in earlier posts about keeping your day, month and year columns separate and some kind of scoring system for each species on the days you fish. So columns for carp, chub, bream, crucians etc etc.