Fish Diaries

[R22]

My 2018 diary was emailed to Dan yesterday. My results declined in most areas. I did not fish between May 12th and September 25 for the second year. I may move away from that plan during 2019. There were many, many times I really wanted to go but didn't.

I love to fish but I don't feel like I do a very good job of making adjustments. I feel as though I try everything I know during the day. I simply don't often catch when the fishing is tough. I hope it will come with more experience but I think that is a real weakness on my boat.


Number of Days Fished.....29 - Six fewer days than 2017
Number of Hours Fished....132.5 - 53 fewer hours than 2017
Number of Fish Harvested...0 - The same as 2017
Number of Fish Released....56 - 22 fewer than 2017
Number of fish over 30 inches..26 - One more than 2017
Number of days skunked 7 - two fewer than 2017

[mwardncsu]

I don't know if it was all the water, the temperatures or what, but in the little bit of fishing I did this year things seemed different... tougher. The fish were not in the creeks and on the banks good honestly until just very recently - Those of us that like to pull big baits on the banks likely did not do as well..... fishing weighted lines in the deeper water probably produced more in 2018 - a good example of needing to adapt I guess....

[Deleted]

 Spring and summer played out pretty normal. I agree, early fall and forward has been screwy. 

[coheasion]

Time for my annual fish diary summary - man I did not fish nearly as much this past year....been a steady decline each year :-(

It was a good year overall.  A few family issues kept my fishing days somewhat in check throughout the year.....as well as a busted lower unit that killed my fishing for about a month in the spring. 

Learned a lot, met new friends and am ready to do it again!!!

LOWLIGHTS:
Only fished 15 days last year - down from a high of 35 days in 2016 - need this to turn around for sure
Fished 98 hours vs 151 previous year


Highlights:
New Personal Best this past year - 37" fish is my PB up from a 35" fish
Number of fish larger than 30" - 26 - this means 44% of the fish I caught were larger than 30" up from 29% in 2018 and 8%!! in 2016
Average size of fish - 28.5 inches
ZERO skunks - I did not count a couple of trips where I went out and screwed around for an hour or so casting artificials just to get out of the house
Harvested 5 fish - 138 inches total

Released 59 fish - 1689 inches total

I'll be sending my diary into Dan today and I hope many of you do the same.

[jmr04]

Jan 13, 2020 14:56:55 GMT -5 coheasion said:

Time for my annual fish diary summary - man I did not fish nearly as much this past year....been a steady decline each year :-(

It was a good year overall.  A few family issues kept my fishing days somewhat in check throughout the year.....as well as a busted lower unit that killed my fishing for about a month in the spring. 

Learned a lot, met new friends and am ready to do it again!!!

LOWLIGHTS:
Only fished 15 days last year - down from a high of 35 days in 2016 - need this to turn around for sure
Fished 98 hours vs 151 previous year


Highlights:
New Personal Best this past year - 37" fish is my PB up from a 35" fish
Number of fish larger than 30" - 26 - this means 44% of the fish I caught were larger than 30" up from 29% in 2018 and 8%!! in 2016
Average size of fish - 28.5 inches
ZERO skunks - I did not count a couple of trips where I went out and screwed around for an hour or so casting artificials just to get out of the house
Harvested 5 fish - 138 inches total

Released 59 fish - 1689 inches total

I'll be sending my diary into Dan today and I hope many of you do the same.

Man. That zero skunks number is impressive. My overall numbers were way up over last year due to the fact I stumbled into a few trips last spring (37, 29, & 15) that accounted for about for 60% of my fish for the year in just those three days. But this fall I had a high number of skunks and 5 fish was a big day. I have a really hard time finding fish when bait isn’t around, and there wasn’t much bait around the BW side after mid October other than one creek.

I really need to work on becoming more consistent. If my plan A doesn’t work I need to move on to plan B, C and D more quickly. I tend to hammer plan A over the head (no matter how slow it is) and don’t have much of a plan B, C, or D.

[R22]

After completing my diary for 2019, I almost didn't make this post. Unlike Coheasion, my results continue to decline with each passing year. My results are a little embarrassing, but it is an accurate assessment of my year. I am hopeful that I can get some constructive feedback that is helpful to me and anyone else in my shoes.

Number of Days Fished.....26 - 3 fewer days than 2018
Number of Hours Fished....129 - 3.5 fewer hours than 2018
Number of Fish Harvested...0 - The same as 2018
Number of Fish Released....29 - A whopping 37 fewer than 2018 and 59 fewer than 2017
Number of fish over 30 inches..14 - 12 fewer than 2018
Number of days skunked 10 - 3 more than 2018

I fished fewer back to back days. I believe this plays a part in the decline.

I believe I am very poor in recognizing patterns.

I fished only one time between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This is essentially no different than the past 2 years.

I feel like I am a decent bait catcher and usually have a good spread. I should start logging those hours. It sometimes rivals my fishing hours during some periods. How often do you check or replace baits? I don't mess with them much unless I see them at the top or believe a leaf may have slid down to the hook. I think I may stay with a bait a little too long while water temps are still in the 60's.

I sometimes wonder if I do a good enough job in bait presentation. For instance, do I need to be more deliberate in how I hook my baits or how I place my weights?

Do I stay on the bank too much?

I am not a huge fan of downline fishing, but could I do better by forcing myself into that mode?

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

My 2019 diary will be emailed to Dan today.

[mwardncsu]

R22 - the very little bit I fished this past year aligns with something you said - “did I stay on the banks too much”

I just don’t enjoy downline fishing like I do a blowup in 6” of water 2” of the bank.... but the banks seemed barren most of the time I fished (which I can count on one hand)

Maybe it’s the blue backs becoming more established and holding deeper - or just so much smaller gizzard shad available - but the lake does seem to fish different than a couple years ago

[bigun3]

  Ha!!!   I've been next to you down line fishing. You were like a kid on Christmas, or won the lottery. You were sooooo happy. 

[mwardncsu]

Jan 15, 2020 18:49:13 GMT -5 bigun3 said:

  Ha!!!   I've been next to you down line fishing. You were like a kid on Christmas, or won the lottery. You were sooooo happy. 

You’ve never seen me do the 0-5’ in 0.005 nanoseconds when that planer board rod hits. 😂

[bigun3]

Jan 15, 2020 18:51:36 GMT -5 mwardncsu said:

Jan 15, 2020 18:49:13 GMT -5 bigun3 said:

  Ha!!!   I've been next to you down line fishing. You were like a kid on Christmas, or won the lottery. You were sooooo happy. 

You’ve never seen me do the 0-5’ in 0.005 nanoseconds when that planer board rod hits. 😂

   True    Just saying life always gets in the way when it comes to our leisure time.  Mix it up sometimes when the other is not working. It is fun catching fish.... planner boards work in deep water also. 

[R22]

I completed my 2020 fishing diary last night and emailed it to Dan Wilson this morning.

Number of Days Fished.....44 - 18 more than 2019
Number of Hours Fished....215 - 86 more than 2019
Number of fish boated....102 - 73 more than 2019
Number of Fish Harvested...2
Number of Fish Released....100
Number of fish over 30 inches...52
Average size of fish caught....just over 30 inches. I round down to the nearest inch.
Number of days skunked 10 - Same as 2019

Here are some observations from 2020.

1. The spring seemed much more active than the fall.
2. Mid-sized gizzards (6-8 inches) seemed preferred over larger bait.
3. I didn't fish much in the mid-year.
4. Many late evening or early mornings, alewives were hit and miss at lights.
5. Larger gizzards became very challenging in the fall.
6. What I believe to be small threadfins are available by the thousands.
7. Fall fish were seemed to be very aggressive or almost not aggressive at all most days. There were very few days I found them to be in between.
8. I never found it challenging to catch busting fish until this fall. It was more common to throw into busting fish and get no action.
9. My average fish remained just over 30 inches. This number seems to match my previous year's average.

I hope more of you will post your results from 2020. I love to see what others are doing.

[BentRod]

The SMSC is assisting DWR with an online version of the striper angler journal. The link is below. You only need a gmail address to participate, as the form is based on Google docs. The gmail address will ensure that you receive payment for your Journal. For more details, check out the info on SMSC’s website www.smithmountainstriperclub.com/conservation.html

The carbon paper style journal that has been used by DWR for years is still in use and available. You can pick up a Journal at a club meeting.

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekzYX_B7oYeGOCO72Gv5LjjaBMctgxGRIlJazqwXPRrJweyg/viewform

[R22]

I completed my 2022 fishing diary this morning emailed it to Dan Wilson.

Number of Days Fished.....47
Number of Hours Fished....135.5
Number of fish boated....111
Number of Fish Harvested...14
Number of Fish Released....97
Number of fish over 30 inches...54
Average size of fish caught....just over 31 inches.
Number of days skunked 12

Here are a few observations from 2022.

1. Both the Spring and Fall were excellent.
2. Large gizzards got plenty of attention. It was quite easy to fill your tank with nice gizzards in the Spring and much more more difficult in the Fall.
3. Bluebacks were much easier throughout the Spring as well. They seemed to disappear at reliable lights earlier than usual in 2022.
4. I am not much of a downliner and do not fish much between Memorial day and labor day.
5. Threadfins seem to be taking over our creeks and pushing the gizzard shad elsewhere.


If you do not currently keep an angler diary, now is a good time to start. Dan Wilson provides a nice summary each each year, much of the information Dan uses comes from these diaries, but I feel like I have heard that in recent years the sampling of Diaries that Dan receives each year is in the low 20's. The more of us that keep and supply this information to Dan, the better feedback we should receive in return.

[BentRod]

Good stuff Pete! Thanks for sharing the data and I second the recommendation to keep diaries for Dan.

I was a slacker and only tracked my first 5 trips of the year through April for Dan (those results are below). I’m too old to remember what we caught the rest of the year, but I’m fairly certain I only fished a few short trips in May/June with my son and then once after that for the Dec. mafia tournament - it wasn’t a great day (1 fish).

2022 (through April):

Total trips: 5
Hours fished: 27.5
Total fish caught: 30
Fish released: 29
Fish harvested: 1
Average size: 31.28”
Fish 30” or greater: 21
Biggest fish: 39.75”
Smallest fish: 26”

Hope to get back on the water again in March for the spring bite!

[herringbone]

This is some awesome info. 22, days skunked got your average closer to BR’s. You guys obviously know what you’re doing, or know when and when not to fish. Thank you for sharing.