#8 Keeping a Journal

 Keeping a Journal, a way to make for great fly fishing

As you begin learning to fly fish, or you are just learning to cast a fly rod, I wanted to share something with you, that I feel will pay you dividends in the future, and that is "keeping a Journal".

A quick story from back in the mid 80’s when I spent almost all my free time in the Eastern Sierras fishing. I had the distinct pleasure to make acquittance and later friendship with a great gentleman named Bob Thornberg.

Bob had been fly-fishing in the Eastern Sierras since the mid 40’s. Bob had a modest home located in the town of Mammoth Lakes, Ca., which he would habituate from mid-April, until late September. Bob would fish almost every day, providing he had completed his chores. He would roll down to Hot Creek in his late model Chrysler station wagon, grab his fly rod, and a plastic box with about 12 flies in it, a small spool of tippet in the other pocket a fat cigar, and proceed walk down the trail to fish. This man could literally vacuum fish out of the river, as he has done so for many a year. He was only a “Dry Fly” fisherman and looked crossly at anyone who did differently.

There was one special evening I had the honor and privilege of being invited to Bob’s house for dinner for the very first time. Dinner generally consisted of the following items.

 Tumbler of Bob’s Scotch was first on the agenda for the evening, followed by conversations of the days fishing exploits or lies, and some tall tales, which was then followed by a wonderful lamb roast that was slowly roasted to perfection by his lovely wife Jenny.

 One evening after dinner I noticed a small leather-bound book laying on the bar top, I asked Bob, “what it was”, he gruffly replied “it’s my fishing journal”. A fishing journal?, what’s that I thought to myself, I then asked Bob if I could look? He sternly replied “yes”.

 Over the next 15 minutes I was transported in a paper time machine.

Bob had been keeping fishing journals his entire life, Bob was now well into his late 70’s. I could not begin to tell you what a treat it was to read what happened, for example on June 7th of 1965 on Hot Creek California, and day after recorded day of information this was captivating to say the least. The weather conditions, water conditions, what insects were hatching, how many fish were landed, what was the best fly for that day, or just the words “crappy day went home”.

Countless pieces of information that I could see as being so valuable in the future. When I finally was forced to put the book down, I looked up on the bookshelf above, there were at least 15, more volumes of similar books on display.

This was amazing, I was in shock, first of to be able to have the honor to read Bob’s personal time capsule of fishing adventures, who he shared them with, and important details that made day, or trip memorable, or not. Second, to see the amount of recorded history in volumes of pages.

 After reading these amazing pieces of historical literature, I decided it was time to start to keep my own journals. I have now kept journals since the mid 80’s right up to today. Of the several reasons to keep a journal is one, it gives you useful information for your next trip back to a body of water that you have not been to in a while. What was the weather like, what was the water doing, was it fast, slow, clear, what insect life was flourishing, how many did I land, how many lost, what was the best fly, or best spot on the water?

 When I inevitably plan to return to the body of water I wrote about, I can refer to my journal before the trip. Are the conditions like what I had written down previously?. I will start by referencing the information from that recorded day to begin my fishing. One of the most valuable pieces of information I glean from the journals is “what time did the Caddis, or Blue wing Olives or other insects start to hatch, and what time did the fish start to feed on the surface”? These are key pieces of information that will help you to be productive when you fish.

 One tip I’ll share with you is pictures from our cell phones. Cell phones record the date and time the picture was taken. The reason is key, if you are not able to update your journal in a timely manner, and time has passed, you can always refer to the info from the phone’s picture and recorded information of the date and the time the picture was taken. You can then record the trip in your journal and a few details from that day that you might feel important or worth remembering the next time you go to that same body of water.

This type of firsthand information will help you get a quick leg up on your next trip back to that location. I constantly refer to my journals when I go back to a river or lake to fish. Is the water the same as it was when I last visited here? Are the weather conditions similar?. All these little pieces of information will help you. You can even write about your casting, are you improving, do you still have the same issues you had last season, do I still get all tangled up when I back cast in the wind. Information like this will help you refine your skills, learn what areas you might need improvement in. If you are a beginner fly-fisherman or a beginning caster, think of this journal as a tool to help you improve.

There are times when I will sit back and reflect on a day that I might have written about 4 or 5 years ago, and I can still either fondly or not fondly remember that day. During my time as a Guide, I can read my journal entries and still remember the people that were on that trip, I can remember some of the fish they caught or just the shenanigans that transpired on that day and how we became friends even if it was only for a short time.

So, in closing, whether you are a pencil and paper person, or a tech person, just start by keeping notes and recording your trips, even if the trip is to the front yard, or park to practice casting. You will look back overtime and relive these memories.

Cheers

Gary