Everyone has heard the old adage that 90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the anglers, and it is the finer details in fishing that will help you fall into this smaller category. One important thing I have found, which assists in catching fish day in and day out, is to keep a fishing journal.
A detailed fishing journal is essential to your fishing game for many reasons. If you don’t like keeping a journal, start small and notate basic things like water temperature, tide and location. Recording these simple details can help you keep track of why the fish are biting and where. I sell many TopSpot Fishing Charts to customers. These have tons of areas that are marked to hold fish but no detail, such as when to find them, in the areas. This is why a fishing journal can make a difference.
Tide is the most essential item in fishing our Lowcountry waterways. Some spots produce at different tide stages, while others don’t. If you take time to write down the tide stage at spot A where you fished last year and caught a ton of fish, you can easily return to that spot next year with heightened expectations. Water temperature is huge as well, especially when targeting redfish as they have different behaviors in the winter than in the summer, and this is largely dictated by water temperature. If you write down when the water temperature starts to fall, you will have a much better idea of whether to fish the dock with 8 feet of water that the fish are hiding underneath or up on a flat in 12 inches of water at the mouth of the creek. This information will help you select the artificials you might choose that day, too. If the water is cool, it would be a pretty good guess that a smaller bait matching to a glass minnow, such as the ZMan Slim Swim, might be a better choice than a large bait that mimics a finger mullet. Write down where you are fishing also. It’s easy to remember every time you hammered the fish and where you fished, but what about the days that you don’t do well? If you notate the tide stage and location, you will know not to return on the high tide because no fish were present. However, it might be an option to return at low tide. Everything is a puzzle; and if you can piece the pieces together, you will catch more fish.
So far, I have touched on obvious things, like tide, temperature and location, which you will want to record in a basic, simple journal. However, another detail that’s great to notate is the Barometric pressure. I have had some of my best fishing days before a low or a high pressure system comes through the area. On the flip side, I have seen the bite really slow on a day when pressure is sitting on top of the area. Watch the weather in the morning, or the day before you fish, to see this simple detail.
My favorite tool to use as a fishing journal is a book known as a Tidelog. They are produced each year and have each of the 12 calendar months. Come by Haddrell’s and pick up one for yourself or a friend. Any of our employees, including myself, will gladly help you out.
Remember, keep a detailed journal and catch more fish. Good Luck!
Capt. Simon Owens
Haddrell’s Point Tackle
simon@haddrellspoint.com