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Documenting Pays Dividends By Scott
Bonnema
Your sister likely kept it under lock
and key and buried beneath the mattress. Scribed in it, were the
pieces to the puzzle of her life, some chronological and factual,
others whimsical and emotional. Whatever its contents, though, they
mattered.
As a youth, I never documented my every
deed or feeling, but respect those who did. For they’ll forever
possess a written memory of childhood that even hypnosis cannot
elucidate. As a tournament angler, I understand the long term
significance of generating records on the water, jotting down the
good and bad for future reference.
It matters not if you’re a professional
bass fisherman or weekend ice angler. The wisdom of experience –
notes in your journal – will one day reapply directly to the body of
water at hand and likewise translate, in some fashion, to similar
circumstances elsewhere.
My keeper of commentary is basic too.
It’s a simple 9.5” X 6” spiral notebook, the multi-subject type. I
stow it in a watertight, Ziploc freezer bag along with a ballpoint
pen, permanent marker, and a highlighter to colorize the most
critical of the critical.
The package is kept handy too, right on
the deck in plain sight. Notebooks that are tough to access – like
in a storage compartment – don’t welcome as many entries. Trust me,
they just don’t. To journal at all is better than to not, but random
doodles and scribbles don’t come together and fashion a
comprehensive picture. Fishing notes need to be organized, as well
as thorough. And through trial and error, I’ve established the most
important items to put down on paper.
Date and Time of Day
Fundamental as they seem, these are weighty matters and worthy
of discussion. The date and associated notes of a fishing trip are
always germane to consequent outings to the same place. For
instance, if you hooked a bevy of bass on Lake X in May, it’d be
wise to revisit it, or lakes like it, the following spring.
Time of day is relative to feeding
periods. As a general rule, certain species, like bass and walleyes,
feed more aggressively at or near sunup and sundown. But that’s not
always the case. So if the bite on a particular lake, for whatever
reason, ignites at noon, it must be recorded. And when doing so,
keep in mind associated factors such as depth, water clarity, and
lure types.
Water Clarity and Depth
Again, these might seem like no-brainers, but by accounting for
depth and water conditions you can accelerate the search process on
subsequent trips. Say, for instance, it’s early June and you’re
banging bass in four feet of super murky water on a chartreuse
spinnerbait. The colored water, as expected, warmed early,
consequently activating bass and attracting forage. Take note,
because this straightforward formula is undoubtedly applicable
elsewhere, not to mention on the same lake year after year.
The same archiving procedure goes for
midsummer, when bites develop deeper, say on an established weedline
or offshore hump. Make careful observations of the exact depth and
coloration of the water, not to mention structure, lure, and species
of weed under scrutiny. It’s all meaningful data.
How Big and How Many
As a tournament angler, it’s doubly important for me to not only
know what species dwells in a particular area, but also how the size
structure ranges and what sort of volume I can expect to catch.
Some spots are geared for size, others
numbers. That classification can change throughout the year too,
making it crucial to make such distinctions in your notebook. By
doing so, you’ll have a better handle on where to begin when next
season rolls around.
Type of Structure
This data goes hand in hand with depth. Did the fish come off a
rock ledge or was it deep timber? These are decisive and
transferable aspects. For example, if a rock bite is recognized,
that knowledge can usually be transferred to similar formations on
the same lake, as well like structure on comparable lakes.
Lure Selection
This one’s big, really big. The marketplace is flooded with far
too many shapes, sizes, and colors to trust your memory every time
you pop a fish. Did that bass slam a blue jig with black pork or was
it a black jig with a blue craw? Can’t remember… Your notebook can,
though.
I keep close tabs on what lures work,
as well as those that don’t, paying close attention to make and
model. Lure weight is noted too, as is color and any special
modifications that were made. And if the lure was dressed with a
trailer, like a grub or craw, that’s jotted down as well.
Live bait is treated similarly. If
walleyes are slurping large spottail shiners on a reef in June, my
notebook’s getting saturated with ink. And you can bet I’ll be back
out there next June with a bucket of large spottails.
Filing and Sorting
I’m a pen and paper guy. I can’t foresee myself ever sitting at
the console stroking keys on a computer. But once my notebook
overflows, I do key the data into my desktop computer and christen a
new notebook for the boat.
In a simple program like Microsoft Word
you can organize and file information taken from written notes,
making the data far more readable and searchable.
Photo Documentation
In my boat, photos aren’t reserved exclusively for fish. Like a
notebook, the camera is a tool for recording poignant elements of a
fishing trip. Maybe it’s where a certain sunken tree lines up with a
cabin or particular and productive patch of bulrushes sits in a sea
of stems. These are details that easily fade from memory, but live
indefinitely on film.
But more often than not, I bypass
snapshots and reach for my Fuji FinePix 2650, a truly affordable
digital camera. It shoots wonderful images that can be downloaded
directly into my computer, creating the complete high-tech archive.
Editor’s note: Scott Bonnema is a
touring bass professional who fishes tournaments and offers
instructional seminars throughout the Midwest. He’s a member of the
Rapala Team, and Pro Staffs of Fuji Film, Northland Tackle, Ranger
Boats and Mercury. |
