In-Fisherman Senior Editor Steve Quinn reports that on May 7, 1996, he and a companion landed 46 crappies ranging from a little one of a half pound to a couple of toads that pushed 15 inches. He doesn’t have a photographic memory—instead, he’s kept a record of his fishing excursions since 1978. Keeping detailed fishing records may not be for everyone, but Quinn and many other avid anglers enjoy doing it and gain interesting and valuable information on fishing trends that help define new patterns. Records serve as a check on the memory. “Often I recall a trip from memory,” he says, “then look back at the data and find that I’ve exaggerated, or sometimes have underestimated the catch. Water temperatures and precise dates are readily lost, as well, by the frail human memory.”

Quinn began his diary by using a commercial version (more on these shortly). He soon expanded data entries to include the length of the fishing day and precise location; times of catches, along with length and weight; lure or bait used, including size and color; air and water temperature, pH, and clarity; the moon phase; and weather observations.

“Keeping up with record-keeping isn’t always easy,” he admits. “The sooner you record data after the trip, the more accurate it will be. Precise time of day can be elusive, though the significance of this aspect may not seem critical to some anglers. But if you’re interested in testing for effects of solunar periods on catch-rates or catches of big fish, times must be quite exact.”

The Value of Records

Quinn’s stack of files stands some 30 inches high and weighs nearly 22 pounds. “I often refer to these records when returning to a body of water after not fishing it for a while,” he says, “or to check on seasonal patterns that worked in the past. Records also help me as an editor and writer, as I can accurately call forth information on water temperatures, catch-rates, lure and bait preferences, and so on. They’re also a great starting point when planning a trip.”

“Records also can be a pleasant source of nostalgia,” he adds. “As you review catch records, you relive the moment to an extent, recalling with satisfaction how you pieced together the eternal fishing puzzle and made a good catch, or how the fish flummoxed you once again. During the winter months, it’s entertaining to go back and review the past year or years, looking for week-long or month-long hot bites, or other trends in the data.”

Anglers interested in solunar effects or whether moon phase affected the catch can now perform analysis on a large set of data. Those with a more scientific bent and perhaps some training in statistics can apply tests to see whether apparent differences in catch-rates, say between full and dark moons, actually are significant.