theartist
Well-known member
Following the interest in the fishing journal thread I thought put up a few ways of keeping records. Of course there's many ways of doing it depending on the style of fishing you do and the time you want to spend doing it but it is quite easy and jolly good fun. It's nice to look back at the good, the not so good and those weird days with a cold beer when you're stuck indoors.:w
On the bank
All records start on the bank so some paper is ideal or an old notebook and a camera is a must as you can add nice photos when you get home, doesn't have to be an expensive one. I use a small digital that fits in my jacket pocket, ready to take a picture of anything that catches the eye.
Due to the way I fish I just write down each fish in order and if they are any size, the weight underneath. I just jot down R - for roach P - for perch etc this way I get a sequence and I'll know how many of each species I have caught and if there's a venue pb when I get home. The options are endless as to how to enter your catches and If you're a specimen hunter you can add air and water temperatures, wind direction, time, air pressure, baits, techniques, swim name etc etc it's your records after all. I just keep it simple for now as i'm usually standing in a river somewhere.
The Album
When your at home either the next day or the weekend it takes half an hour to put it in your album. Mine is old school, just a standard scrapbook from Rymans and some Prittstick is needed. There are some excellent computer programs out there for the more tech minded but I like the simplicity of a paper album and that it can always be picked up as and when.
On each page goes the date and the venue, then you can enter the catch records that you took on the bank, my sequence gets written out in full and is colour coded, why the latter? Well because I can
. The total also gets entered. Hows your one going to look with all the other factors you can add? Pretty good I reckon
Then comes the photos, I always make sure i've taken some even when the fishing is bad there's always some good wildlife of scenery to snap at and a bit of both is always good. Print them out the size you like, use as many pages as you like, maybe two pages for a good day, half a page for a standard day when your just wetting a line etc. I leave a bit of room for a little write up about events during the trip, depending on what happened and how creative i'm feeling this can be a short paragraph or a full blown chapter and verse.
You can have an album for each season which can help with future trips but most of all is good to look back on and rewarding. If you are thinking of keeping records give it a go in your own style but make it fun.
End of season records.
Most of us have got records like P.B.s and venues bests so why not make a nice book of them too. I have a database saved but once again like to look at them now and then on paper. For this I use and old atlas and am able to stick records of the different rivers i've visited next to them on the map. This is handy to look at when your next on holiday in a certain area. Plus you can compare one water with the one down the road. Due to the size restrictions I keep it simple - the total, most in one day and biggest fish for each species.
At the back of the atlas I got carried away and made small maps for all my venues, they are just stuck in with blue tack so they can be moved, once again its the same three categories but anything could be added.
They you go, a bit geeky but hey it's fun give it a go
On the bank
All records start on the bank so some paper is ideal or an old notebook and a camera is a must as you can add nice photos when you get home, doesn't have to be an expensive one. I use a small digital that fits in my jacket pocket, ready to take a picture of anything that catches the eye.
Due to the way I fish I just write down each fish in order and if they are any size, the weight underneath. I just jot down R - for roach P - for perch etc this way I get a sequence and I'll know how many of each species I have caught and if there's a venue pb when I get home. The options are endless as to how to enter your catches and If you're a specimen hunter you can add air and water temperatures, wind direction, time, air pressure, baits, techniques, swim name etc etc it's your records after all. I just keep it simple for now as i'm usually standing in a river somewhere.
The Album
When your at home either the next day or the weekend it takes half an hour to put it in your album. Mine is old school, just a standard scrapbook from Rymans and some Prittstick is needed. There are some excellent computer programs out there for the more tech minded but I like the simplicity of a paper album and that it can always be picked up as and when.
On each page goes the date and the venue, then you can enter the catch records that you took on the bank, my sequence gets written out in full and is colour coded, why the latter? Well because I can
. The total also gets entered. Hows your one going to look with all the other factors you can add? Pretty good I reckonThen comes the photos, I always make sure i've taken some even when the fishing is bad there's always some good wildlife of scenery to snap at and a bit of both is always good. Print them out the size you like, use as many pages as you like, maybe two pages for a good day, half a page for a standard day when your just wetting a line etc. I leave a bit of room for a little write up about events during the trip, depending on what happened and how creative i'm feeling this can be a short paragraph or a full blown chapter and verse.
You can have an album for each season which can help with future trips but most of all is good to look back on and rewarding. If you are thinking of keeping records give it a go in your own style but make it fun.
End of season records.
Most of us have got records like P.B.s and venues bests so why not make a nice book of them too. I have a database saved but once again like to look at them now and then on paper. For this I use and old atlas and am able to stick records of the different rivers i've visited next to them on the map. This is handy to look at when your next on holiday in a certain area. Plus you can compare one water with the one down the road. Due to the size restrictions I keep it simple - the total, most in one day and biggest fish for each species.
At the back of the atlas I got carried away and made small maps for all my venues, they are just stuck in with blue tack so they can be moved, once again its the same three categories but anything could be added.
They you go, a bit geeky but hey it's fun give it a go
Last edited:
