Post by: fishcrazy on November 02, 2009, 08:10:26 PM
This is how I do it.
I now have seperate note books for every river I fish. the ones that I don't fish much are all in one note book.
For notes I keep track of the date, Weather conditions, Water conditions, Flows And Temp. I will even keep track of who fished with me and how many each person hooked. I also keep track of what I use for bait, lures or new stuff I might be experimenting with on bait or lures.
How do you do it?
Kris
Post by: Thefisherman83 on November 02, 2009, 10:19:45 PM
Post by: tomy salami on November 02, 2009, 11:07:35 PM
I did the river hopping thing for years. Narrowed it down to about five rivers that I can consistently hang fish, and get the space I want.
From there, I narrowed down to about 8 plugs..........3 drift bobber/jig combos for steelhead. This covers just about all the water conditions/flows I tend to encounter.
Salmon is about the same: 6-8 plugs, 3 different drift bobbers?spinners, no jigs. Four different rivers.
I would rather fish my same five rivers, good or bad, establishing patterns, than trying to dial in a new river off of hearsay.
Cutting down on clutter (huge tackle boxes) in my boat is a fine byproduct of this system.
Fishing the same river over and over almost establishes a relationship with it. You know certain patterns like x-flow + x-visibility + xmonth of the year should = this plug, this drift bobber. After awhile it becomes a mental notebook. I do not enjoy going to a river that I have not been on in years, and trying to find the winning combo, or second guessing myself. Some do, and kudos to them. I dig knowing that the lures I am using may not be the exact combo the fish want, but the are usually a very close baseline of where to start.
Sometimes I just get this feeling of De Ja Vue......that familiarity that comes from hitting a river so many times, that I can predict what holes to skip, and what holes to stay on.
It all did start with a notebook at one time, though. Years spent on select spots was more productive to me.
Post by: BigGoonTuna on November 04, 2009, 06:28:28 PM
i stopped after that... it's a kind of sobering reminder of how much more "fishing" you do than "catching"!
i've made some vast strides in improving my fishing ability the last few years. until then, i fished only about a half dozen rivers, mostly using the same techniques regardless. in 2006 i made a big list of new places to try and fished every single one of them. in 2007, i branched out to trying a lot of new techniques. in '08, my situation with my job changed(had to commute to work) leaving me less able to travel whenever i felt like it, so i really focused on becoming as efficient as i could when i had time to fish.
when i stop improving my fishing ability, it'll be time to hang up my gear and quit. that's half the fun right there.
Post by: fishcrazy on November 04, 2009, 07:00:11 PM
when i stop improving my fishing ability, it'll be time to hang up my gear and quit. that's half the fun right there.
I couldn't have said it any better!!!
I have found that looking back at notes has reminded me of things I had forgot. But I also feel that all the notes do nothing without experience and hrs spent on the river. I also have a few rivers I fish hard and occassionally do fish new water with friends. I know where I will be this winter along about Febuary-March. Same river every year. Park the sled and get out the drift boat!!
Kris
Post by: 10Key on November 05, 2009, 10:40:00 AM
Post by: steeleywhopper on November 05, 2009, 11:59:45 AM
Post by: trout-n-salmon on November 08, 2009, 02:45:36 PM
Post by: Dicko Bob on November 14, 2009, 08:27:25 PM
Rich :)
Post by: duckmen1 on November 17, 2009, 01:53:47 PM
it is a helpful thing though
Post by: bowtech721 on November 17, 2009, 02:50:20 PM