Oregon_OwlII
Active member
I used to keep one when I first started FF, date, fish caught, flies used, hatches, air temps, location, etc... but after I got the general gist of things, I no longer felt the need.
S
Sylvaneous
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 954
Yes, I think that was my experience, too. I never referred back to it, except to make note of maybe hatch times or the quality of the hatch. But what are you going to do about more/fewer bugs or early/late hatch times? Not fish?? Fish more than I already can?? "Ah, the grannoms are late this year. Better wear the grey wading socks instead of the black ones."
Bamboozle
Well-known member
When keeping a journal became more of a hassle than the activity it was keeping track of, I decided to abandon the practice along with snapping photos of every fish fish I caught and every hole on every creek where I caught them. As a result, I haven't kept a journal/log or snapped a photo while fishing in years and haven't missed it...
Besides, my log resided at home in my PC not in my pocket so unless I spent a bunch of time reviewing logs for every possible stream in a geography BEFORE an excursion to that geography, recording what happened the last time is useless, except to reminisce.
I never felt a passion to reminisce by reading my drivel years after the fact so the whole concept is useless to me because I never derived any benefit worthy of the time invested.
To be honest, fish can't read nor understand my journal therefore they have no idea what behavior they should display and what bugs they should eat at stream X on a specific date in June when it is cloudy, the water is clear and the water temp is 62 degrees...
...Therefore I'll stick to guessing, patting myself on the back when I am right and blaming everybody and everything else EXCEPT myself when I guess wrong.
These days the only thing I record is the USGS water level at streams with a gauge on days I fish at those places. I also add a Three Bears analysis of the height & flow (too low, too high, just right) so I don't waste time driving to a place when the water is higher or lower than I prefer.
Besides, my log resided at home in my PC not in my pocket so unless I spent a bunch of time reviewing logs for every possible stream in a geography BEFORE an excursion to that geography, recording what happened the last time is useless, except to reminisce.
I never felt a passion to reminisce by reading my drivel years after the fact so the whole concept is useless to me because I never derived any benefit worthy of the time invested.
To be honest, fish can't read nor understand my journal therefore they have no idea what behavior they should display and what bugs they should eat at stream X on a specific date in June when it is cloudy, the water is clear and the water temp is 62 degrees...
...Therefore I'll stick to guessing, patting myself on the back when I am right and blaming everybody and everything else EXCEPT myself when I guess wrong.
These days the only thing I record is the USGS water level at streams with a gauge on days I fish at those places. I also add a Three Bears analysis of the height & flow (too low, too high, just right) so I don't waste time driving to a place when the water is higher or lower than I prefer.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
To each their own. When I get old enough (God willing) to not recall my trips from memory alone, I'll have my records/pics to bring back those special days on a given stream. I've invested too much time and money over the years to just let those times slip into the abyss. Again, to each their own.When keeping a journal became more of a hassle than the activity it was keeping track of, I decided to abandon the practice along with snapping photos of every fish fish I caught and every hole on every creek where I caught them. As a result, I haven't kept a journal/log or snapped a photo while fishing in years and haven't missed it...
Besides, my log resided at home in my PC not in my pocket so unless I spent a bunch of time reviewing logs for every possible stream in a geography BEFORE an excursion to that geography, recording what happened the last time is useless, except to reminisce.
I never felt a passion to reminisce by reading my drivel years after the fact so the whole concept is useless to me because I never derived any benefit worthy of the time invested.
To be honest, fish can't read nor understand my journal therefore they have no idea what behavior they should display and what bugs they should eat at stream X on a specific date in June when it is cloudy, the water is clear and the water temp is 62 degrees...
...Therefore I'll stick to guessing, patting myself on the back when I am right and blaming everybody and everything else EXCEPT myself when I guess wrong.
These days the only thing I record is the USGS water level at streams with a gauge on days I fish at those places. I also add a Three Bears analysis of the height & flow (too low, too high, just right) so I don't waste time driving to a place when the water is higher or lower than I prefer.
jeffroey
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2019
- Messages
- 298
I added to this thread previously and mentioned that I still maintain a log in the GPS tracking software I use to map my route. I'm copying in my journal entry from last weekend's trip (slightly redacted to give you an idea of the type of info I capture and that I consider valuable for perhaps the next time or if I'm fishing a similar stream or if I'm talking with someone thinking about making a trip to the same location.
Agree with Syl - I don't spend a lot of time documenting hatches for two reasons: 1st: most of the streams I'm seeking out, pattern really doesn't matter and 2: I never invested a lot of time matching the hatch.
=========
"[XXX] fished pretty well. Good flows and water measured between 60-63F all day. Hatch activity present all day - black caddis and mayflies.
Whole bunch of brooks and browns landed. More brookies than browns and a lot of dinks but with a handful of 7-9 brookies and one 10+ brown. No geo separation of the species. Nearly all of the larger brookies were hooked in the flatter water above the falls. Most of the browns below. Just as many came on the dropper as did the dry.
Used Adams paras up top (regular and hi-viz) and chartreuse frenchies and HB ants on the dropper.
Overlining the Fisher 97-2 with a CMT WF4 was too much. Step this down to a 3 next time.
Terrain wasn't very challenging: only a moderate gradient with plenty of clearing along its sides to step out. Some felled trees that needed to be worked around. No defined walking path so the downstream walk was mostly situational. Path back was on the south side above the falls and mostly north below the falls with a few crossovers. Passed the falls (generally) on the north side.
Spent a little time exploring the steep trib (~1/4 mi) that comes in from the unnamed impoundment to the south. Threw to a couple of pools that should've held something but no movement. Next time: consider working this trib south to the impoundment and bushwacking east to the [XXX] road for a long walk back to the mouth.
Pretty remote stream. Probably should've fished this one with a partner. Waders always - wouldn't wet wade this one based on terrain. I enjoyed it and I'm glad I checked this box."
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Meaningful info for me is the reminders of how I attacked the route, best ways to pass the falls, remembering the mistake I made with the rod/line combo I used, and that I (or whoever I'm talking about this stream with) might not want to invest a lot of time on the promising looking trib that comes in from the south.
BTW: I think I banged that typing out in as long as it took me to write this reply (just a couple of minutes). Still worth it for me.
to give you an idea of the type of info I capture and that I consider valuable for perhaps the next time or if I'm fishing a similar stream or if I'm talking with someone thinking about making a trip to the same location.Agree with Syl - I don't spend a lot of time documenting hatches for two reasons: 1st: most of the streams I'm seeking out, pattern really doesn't matter and 2: I never invested a lot of time matching the hatch.
=========
"[XXX] fished pretty well. Good flows and water measured between 60-63F all day. Hatch activity present all day - black caddis and mayflies.
Whole bunch of brooks and browns landed. More brookies than browns and a lot of dinks but with a handful of 7-9 brookies and one 10+ brown. No geo separation of the species. Nearly all of the larger brookies were hooked in the flatter water above the falls. Most of the browns below. Just as many came on the dropper as did the dry.
Used Adams paras up top (regular and hi-viz) and chartreuse frenchies and HB ants on the dropper.
Overlining the Fisher 97-2 with a CMT WF4 was too much. Step this down to a 3 next time.
Terrain wasn't very challenging: only a moderate gradient with plenty of clearing along its sides to step out. Some felled trees that needed to be worked around. No defined walking path so the downstream walk was mostly situational. Path back was on the south side above the falls and mostly north below the falls with a few crossovers. Passed the falls (generally) on the north side.
Spent a little time exploring the steep trib (~1/4 mi) that comes in from the unnamed impoundment to the south. Threw to a couple of pools that should've held something but no movement. Next time: consider working this trib south to the impoundment and bushwacking east to the [XXX] road for a long walk back to the mouth.
Pretty remote stream. Probably should've fished this one with a partner. Waders always - wouldn't wet wade this one based on terrain. I enjoyed it and I'm glad I checked this box."
=========
Meaningful info for me is the reminders of how I attacked the route, best ways to pass the falls, remembering the mistake I made with the rod/line combo I used, and that I (or whoever I'm talking about this stream with) might not want to invest a lot of time on the promising looking trib that comes in from the south.
BTW: I think I banged that typing out in as long as it took me to write this reply (just a couple of minutes). Still worth it for me.
Prospector
Well-known member
I keep about 5 journals (FF for Trout, Great Lakes Tribs, Hunting for Turkey, Grouse and Deer.
Each Journal has a different amount of detail based on what I’m looking to research later. Turkey has the most detail, FF for trout is #2. My Fly Fishing log has evolved into writing a detailed stream report on this site. Once the report is saved here, I go back into stream Reports and copy the full report and then paste it into a rolling Word document on my PC.
You asked about the value of it. I have found that when trying to write a report I probably reflect on the trip better since it is fresh and I want it to be useful to others. I try to make the report valuable to others and therefore include more detail than if it was just for me.
Specifically for fishing, the hatch dates are very valuable, water temp is important since different streams have different amounts of shade or sun and that will likely factor into your plans.
