Fishing Logs – first and foremost – keep one!

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!