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Keeping a journal or log of your fishing expeditions can be one of the most valuable tools available to the angler, yet few do it. Weather conditions, water conditions, wind direction, insect hatches and many other pieces of information can help you to be a more successful angler. Most anglers can remember, in detail, successful trips and what lure or fly was working, but many can’t recall the conditions under which the success was had and bad trips are often written off with a “the fish weren’t biting. Spinner fishermen will see a relationship between water, weather conditions and the colour of blades they have success with. The same goes for fly fishermen where the old adage dark day – dark fly, bright day – light fly was probably coined by an angler that kept a journal. Your journal can be as detailed as you want it to be but at the very least should contain location, date, water conditions, weather conditions, locations on the lake or stream that proved successful, insect activity and successful lures. Water temperature is very important and should be taken a few times during the day. This information should be recorded as soon as possible after the trip while the information is still fresh in your mind. Directions to new waters should also be recorded with notes on access, boat launch locations and conditions, campsites etc. I will never forget the time when at the conclusion of a late night supper in the Livingston Bar & Grill in Montana a friendly waiter gave us directions to a little spring creek north west of town. He knew the landowner and was sure that we would be allowed onto the property to fish the creek if we asked permission and dropped his name. Early the next morning we were off to the creek using a map drawn on a paper napkin. The creek was jewel of a spring creek and as we crossed over it and into the rancher’s yard trout were rising upstream and down. Unfortunately our visit coincided with calving season and due to safety concerns the rancher regretfully denied us access. Well the napkin was lost, and I failed to put the directions into my log. Several years later, while I spent several hours driving around the back roads of Montana looking for that creek, I cursed myself for not writing the directions into my log book, I never did find that creek again. Fishing journals can be as simple as a lined note book or as sophisticated as a leather bound fishing diary. Electronic versions for your computer are available or you could design your own spreadsheet. The type of journal you use is up to you , the important thing is to record as much information about your fishing trips as you can, as soon after as possible. Some of the most valuable information you can gain about fishing are from your own first hand experiences. Another thing about fishing journals is that they make for a good read. In the middle of a long cold Canadian winter it’s very enjoyable to sit back and read about the day you could do no wrong with a size 16 Parachute Adams on the Crowsnest River last June, June 17th to be exact. The information in my fishing log will hopefully help me repeat the success I had on the Red Deer River one October afternoon.
