I got my
first log from my wife for Christmas in 1990.
First time I used it was January 5, 1991. I went steelhead fishing with
my fishing buddies, Dennis and Donald on the Sandy River in Oregon. I was new to Oregon and steelhead and they
were kind enough to invite me on their annual winter steelhead trip on the
Sandy.
Sandy River - Dennis on the left, me on the right, photo credits Donald
Our 4am breakfast at a local diner was the last time we were
warm until the ride home at the end of the day.
It was 26 degrees when we put in at Dodge Park and 28 degrees when we
pulled out at Oxbow. Donald saw one 12
lb. Chinook caught while Dennis and I went for the van. Our catch – zero! We decided that next year we would spend more
time on the lower holes closer to Oxbow.
So why would you want to remember something like that?
The next year, January 18, 1992 on our annual winter
steelhead trip on the Sandy (38 degrees), we moved fast on the upper holes – no
fish. We stopped for lunch about half
way to Oxbow, Dennis tossed out a sand shrimp and before he could prop his rod
or pop a beer – 13-1/2 lb. steelhead!
We
followed the log and it worked. We never
would have thought about getting to the lower half of the river sooner if I had
not written it and read it at breakfast before we put in.
A log entry also brings back those great times with my
family on those long weekends on the Oregon coast.
Jigging for Herring at Yaquina Bay in
Newport, Oregon
Fast action with Coho at the mouth of the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon
The photos are nice,
but reading about the conditions, techniques, weather, and what we were
thinking at the time along with the photos, make it truly memorable.
My first log was a black leather, hard-back, perfect bound publication
with entry forms for date, weather, location, catch, and comments. After that, a small spiral bound notepad
worked just fine. Now, of course, there’s
an app for that – you can write it, photograph it, email it, text it, probably
even mark GPS coordinates!
But, whether you use a book, pad or smart phone – a fishing
log can be a valuable tool to improve your fishing, or when you read it 22
years later, remember how sweet your daughters were before they became
teenagers – thank God they grew out of that!
