Take a minute to think about this question. If you could name ONE thing that has or could make you a better angler, what would that ONE thing be? Years ago, I walked into the middle of a conversation between three of my friends and that was the question they were talking about, and then I was asked the same thing. Here’s their answers. 1 “JUST SPENDING TIME ON THE WATER”.  2 “LEARNING HOW FISH RELATING TO COVER & STRUCTURE” and 3 “BOAT CONTROL & KNOWING WHERE TO FISH IN DIFFERENT WEATHER”. So, I said, “I THINK STARTING A FISHING JOUNRAL WOULD BE MY ONE THING”. I could tell by their reaction that they didn’t believe me, and one friend said, “No, you didn’t understand the question”?  I replied, I totally understood the question and I think my fishing journal is the ONE thing that has helped me catch more fish than anything else. Then adding, I agree with ALL your answers, but in a way, my ONE thing covers everything you guys just said, right? They looked back and forth at each other and started to get it what I was saying.

I started a journal maybe ten years ago and wish I would have started it 30 years ago and here’s why. If I’m having a hard time locating fish, I will look through my journal for a similar day/condition to see where and how I caught fish. A journal won’t pay off right away, but after two to three years if the fishing gets tuff, I guarantee, you will notice repeated patterns and your journal will give you details and tips on how and where you caught fish before. I never found it necessary to fill out the whole page, but that’s a personal choice. To me some of the lines do not have to be filled out, like what size and brand of rod and reel I was using or what pound test line I had on the reel that day. I know what kind of boat I have and do average anglers know or check what the barometric pressure is before they go fishing?

I have always kept mine simple. DATE, NAME OF THE LAKE, WEATER (SUN, CLOUDS, WIND, RAIN) AIR & WATER TEMPETURE, WATER CLARITY, IF I CAUGHT FISH IN COVER, OVER STRUCTURE AND WHAT DEPTH I WAS FISHING, WHAT KIND OF FISH I CAUGHT AT THAT LOCATION, THE AMOUNT AND SIZE OF FISH CAUGHT, WHAT LIVE BAIT I WAS USING, OR WHAT KIND OF LURE, THE SIZE AND COLOR OF THAT LURE. To me, the best part of keeping a fishing journal is the personal notes I add to it. I write down little notes like, who I was fishing with or did something funny happen that day.

Then when I look through my journal, it not only helps me catch fish when others aren’t but brings back some awesome memories too. So, will taking 5 minutes to fill out a half of page put more fish in your live well? I know it does. I’ve wrote before that I won’t promote any one brand of fishing equipment or tell anyone what I believe is the best brand to use, but I’m making an exception on this. After buying two or three different types of journals, I like the fishing journal RAINWRITER.COM, but I have found the same journal on AMAZON from RITE IN THE RAIN fishing journals and waterproof CORDURA FABRIC POUCH much cheaper. Buying a journal is up to you, but if you start keeping a log on the days you are fishing, I believe that ONE thing, WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER ANGLER and you will wish you started it years ago.