I personally consider a fishing log to be the most important piece of “gear” an angler can have. I rate it so highly that I tend to keep one right on this blog with an entire category dedicated to my fishing reports. Granted, this site is public, and while I want to help people out I don’t want to have them fishing on top of me, so I keep “the good stuff” safe and sound in a personal fishing journal and so should you!
What Is a Fishing Journal?
A fishing journal is a record of your fishing adventures. It is common for anglers to keep records of the notable fish they catch, the time of day they caught them, where they caught them, and on what lure. Some anglers take fishing journals even further and get into details like water and air temperature and even moon cycles. A fishing log can either be written down or typed on a computer (or even a blog)! There are also some apps available to keep a log right on your phone.
Will a Fishing Log Help You Catch More Fish?
Yes, a fishing log will help you catch more fish because it will allow you a handy reference of past success (or failure!) you can use for future trips. Referring to your fishing log will help you prepare for a fishing trip because you can look back in time at similar dates, times, or weather conditions and remember what worked and what didn’t. This means you don’t need to reinvent the wheel and can start off in areas likely to hold fish, using techniques that your fishing journal told you worked in the past.
If you ask any professional angler, I trust you’ll find that they keep some sort of fishing journal in the hopes it’ll help them catch more fish in the future. Essentially, a fishing log allows you to apply data analytics to your fishing trips as your journal is basically a data set of past fishing trips. This clearly is a great reason a fishing log is going to help you catch more fish.
The “Moneyball” of Fishing
One author took fishing logs and data to a whole new level. Josh Alwine, the author of High Percentage Fishing: A Statistical Approach to Improving Catch Rates basically took all the information he could find from various people’s fishing logs and conducted a careful analysis of the data. He provides his findings in the book linked above (and it really should be in your library – I cannot stress this enough – drop what you are doing and go buy it).
If you have any doubts that a fishing log will help you catch more fish, just ask yourself how great it would be if everyone would tell you their spots and what they used to catch fish on at any given moment. Wouldn’t you trade your favorite rod for that in a heartbeat? Keep a fishing log. It will help you catch more fish.
What Should Be Included in a Fishing Log?
While the amount of information you keep in a fishing log is up to you, you’ll never regret being thorough. The more data points you can capture on any given trip, the better you’ll be able to use your fishing log to catch more fish on a similar day in the future. Even so, there’s only so much room on a page, so here are some tips on essential information and additional or “nice to have” information for your fishing log or journal.
How Do You make a Fishing Journal?
Nowadays, you have several options for making your own fishing journal that your grandpa could have only dreamed of. While you can always simply write your catches down in a logbook, you can also keep a detailed excel data sheet on your computer, or a record on your phone with an app like fishidy.
Of the three mentioned, the excel sheet is probably your best option if you’re serious about the data analytics elements of all of this since you’ll be able to easily filter and also create pivot tables or graphs to help you interpret the data. However, excel isn’t always practical when you’re fishing far from home on a trip, so capturing the data by hand is still a good idea until you can get home to update your spreadsheet.
If you’re going to go through the trouble of making your own fishing journal and intend to use one with pen and paper, consider getting a nice leather-bound journal that you can pass down as an heirloom to your kids. It’s all a matter of taste, but I personally think this distressed leather journal has that “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” look to it and would be a great thing to hand to my children one day. I might just have to pick one up myself.
Essential Information to Track in a Fishing Journal
At the very least, you should be documenting the following information in your fishing journal:
- Date and Time: You’re going to want to remember what time of year you had your trip, and what time you were on the water. If possible, break time into “On” and “Off” the water as that will come in handy later.
- Waters Fished: A fishing journal is only useful if you keep track of what lake or river you were on! I would break this down further and talk about what section of the lake you fished. For example, on Lake Champlain, an entry might say “Ticonderoga” or “The Gut.”
- Weather Conditions of the Day: What was the weather doing? Raining? Sunny? Overcast? Also, what were the temperatures (if you don’t know this, you can find it online. You can also find historical weather information on sites wunderground.com). I suggest keeping this separate into what the day started as and how it ended.
- Water Temps: What were the water temps when you started fishing? How about when you ended? Was there any temperature range that was best? Note, if you don’t have access to a fish finder that will have this information, you can buy a handheld water temperature gauge. Water temps are some of the most important pieces of information for your fishing journal should have, so you should absolutely buy one of these if you’re serious about keeping a good fishing log. This model can also capture pH which can be useful information as well.
- What Lures You Used: This is going to be key information. Were they biting crankbaits? If so, what color?
- Notable Catches: If you make this individualized, you can start learning where the truly big fish were. If you are more generic “6 largemouth bass ranging from 1-3lb” then you’ll know where to find quantity in the future.
Additional Information to Track in a Fishing Log
If you have room, you can fill your fishing log with more info. After all, the more data you collect now, the more you can refer to later. Some of this stuff can be quite hard to find without specialized equipment. Nonetheless, when possible, it is also quite useful to document the following information in your fishing log:
- The Cover Fish Were In: In addition to writing where you caught fish, document what sort of cover was holding them. Were they deep in the weeds? On fallen timbers? Etc.
- The Structure You Fished: Like Cover, were you fishing right near the drop off? On submerged humps? How about rocky points?
- Prior weather: What was the weather doing a day or two prior to your arriving? Sometimes, this can be just as important as what it was doing that day.
- pH, Moon Phase, and other Data: Literally none of this stuff can hurt as all of it has been shown to impact fishing. Literally any data you can think of is useful.
- General Angling Pressure and other Variables: Was it a zoo out there? Do you know if the lake was just stocked? Did you happen to show up the same day as a major tournament? All of this is important to know in your fishing journal if you have time.
The Key is Consistency
Whatever data you decide to document in your fishing journal, the key is to be consistent. This is all the more important if you intend to keep your fishing log on your computer in excel. Anyone who has ever had to interpret data in excel will tell you consistency in naming conventions is key. Decide early on if you are going to use “largemouth bass” or “LMB” for example. Always use the same phrase for “overcast” or “spinnerbait.” The more consistent you keep things, the better able you can sort and filter later. This will help you find just what you want!
The Best Fishing Logs and Journals to Buy
If you aren’t interested in making your own journal and prefer one that is prepared for you, you have a few options to choose from that range wildly in price. I personally think the Rustico Leather Fishing Log Book is gorgeous. While it is not the cheapest option, it comes in a great leather binding with “frayed” paper insets that give it the look of an old and trusted fishing journal. Further, it has prompts for all the things you want and need to have in a fishing journal, so it would be quite useful in the future. While it doesn’t have too much room for notes, you won’t need to keep many because there is a dedicated place for all the information you’d want or need.
Another good option is this pocket sized “fishing passport” by Letterco. While it will take some tiny handwriting to use (and a good pair of reading glasses!), it does have a few extra features that make it dandy. For one, there’s a map of the United States that asks you to put a dot where you’ve fished. Secondly, there’s a section for “memorable catches” where you can keep track of the truly large fish you’ve encountered over the years.
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that one of my books, “My Awesome Guide to Freshwater Fishing: Essential Techniques and Tools for Kids” comes with its own fishing log at the back!
Are There Any Online Fishing Logs or Apps?
As of writing, there are a few great apps that work as fishing logs. The two main ones are Fishidy and Fishbrain. Both of these allow you to log your catches in real time as you fish, and will track your physical location for where you caught the fish. This allows you to have a handy map showing what you caught and where.
Interestingly, the main “gimmick” of both of these apps is that they are essentially community fishing logs. Members willingly upload their catches, either to brag or just because they’re foolish and want company the next time! Here’s an example of a screen shot from Fishidy that gives you an idea of what it looks like. The green dots are member catches. Notice how some of the lake is filled in with contours and other parts aren’t? That too comes from members who have uploaded data from their fish finders.
Frankly, this would not be the way that I would keep a log, but I LOVE these apps for making use of other people’s logs. It’s like having access to an entire world’s worth of fishing logs which has helped me catch more fish on new lakes.
Where Can I Find a Free Fishing Log Online?
If you don’t want to purchase one and aren’t comfortable with your computer skills to make one of your own, Bassresource.com provides this handy printable .pdf they are offering for free. All you need to do is print it off and maybe use a three hole punch before sticking it in a binder. It has pretty much everything you could ask for and is certainly a fishing log tailored for bass fishing. Special thanks to that website for putting this out there for everyone!
In Conclusion, a Fishing Log is Your Most Important Piece of Equipment
Unless you have the best memory on earth, a fishing journal is going to come in massive handy down the years. It can be the difference between catching fish in some funky conditions or going home empty handed, and it can simply be fun to read years down the line! I highly suggest you either make one of your own, or treat yourself to one of the great options discussed in this article today!
I hope this article was helpful to you! If you decide to create your own fishing journal, I’d love to see what you came up with. Feel free to shoot me an email and show it off!
Thanks,
John Paxton
Want to learn how to take your kids out fishing? Do you have a friend who might need a hand? Click the pictures below to purchase my helpful books!
