[Skinner 2]

Do you ever sit back and think about the total fish caught? Total fish caught from your boat(s) or total fish you caught in your life?

My dad and I have discussed this several times. I'm not asking anyone to post what they think they have caught. I'm also sure many people would not believe the numbers... be it total fish or tonage.

Seeing the old boat in BBBYpsi Ultimate fishing show thread made me think again about it. I didn't want to hijack his thread....

We kept track for several years, well mom did. We would come home and she wrote the number on a calendar. She totaled up monthly then for the year...

So did you ever think about it and do you feel people would believe you?

 

[Fish King]

Do you ever sit back and think about the total fish caught? Total fish caught from your boat(s) or total fish you caught in your life?

My dad and I have discussed this several times. I'm not asking anyone to post what they think they have caught. I'm also sure many people would not believe the numbers... be it total fish or tonage.

Seeing the old boat in BBBYpsi Ultimate fishing show thread made me think again about it. I didn't want to hijack his thread....

We kept track for several years, well mom did. We would come home and she wrote the number on a calendar. She totaled up monthly then for the year...

So did you ever think about it and do you feel people would believe you?

I think about this all the time. Since I fish by myself the majority of the time and have plenty of conversations with myself in head.
I fish year round , and figure I fish somewhere in the neighborhood 200 days a year. Most days I do very well and catch a limit or close too. I fish for gills, perch, walleye, Pike , and bass, so depending on what I target the limit veries.
The last 3 to 4 years fishing the mighty D in the spring has been very easy to get a limit on most days and then some, and have had days that I boat 70-80 fish in a trip. Also is true on Erie for perch in the fall for getting limits of convicts , except this fall Wich I struggled to find fish. I started fishing at the age of 3_4 and now am 44 , so it is hard to fathom the shear number of fish kept and caught in my lifetime. I am not saying by any means that I am the worlds best fisherman , but most days I do very well.
The older I get the more I study fish behavior, habit, and weather that relates to the fish I am targeting, and I think it has paid off for the most part in the last few years. My wife says I have an addiction to fishing cause it's all I do and talk about.
So all this being said , I target panfish the most threw out the year. My guess for a yearly total for fish kept is probably 2500 fish. As for the the number caught and released I couldn't not give you a number, or a total for a lifetime . But I wish I really knew what it was.
Sorry for the ramble , but this has been a thought of mine for a long time , and thanks for the post , knowing I'm not the only one that thinks of this . TIGHT LINES ALL.

 

[kisherfisher]

• Good topic Skinner ! As successful as we can be, with the ebbs and flows of the numbers of fish thru the years, my goal is success . Some trips they jump in the boat , other times we are humbled, no matter how good you think you are.We certainly have come a long way in experience and learning from the days of trial and error. Lot to reflect on with numbers. As a kid a good day was a stringer with 3-4 pickerel out of a oil slick, greasy Detroit river , usually in summer. To the Cleaner ,heyday of the 10 fish limits in Erie, trolling garage sale rods with Dearies catching crazy numbers. I did keep a journal back in the 80s in the attempt to nail down the precise water temp of the spring bite. Had many fish less nights in the cold March waters at ice out. Caught fish in February , March , but April was always the best when the water hit the 40s.Coincide with the smelt runs .I guess my point is the numbers we have caught in the past , mean nothing as we venture out on a new day searching for the days limit ! To answer your number question , I could not even fathom one .

 

[wpmisport]

Three to five thousand in my life so far but just a guess. Money well spent.

 

[KI Jim]

I cannot even hazard a guess. Over 50 years of fishing...who knows.

 

[Slimshady]

That depends..... If you count white bass in that total, I might need one of those fancy calculators to count that high.

 

[snortwheeze]

Sure wish I knew ! Would like to have a counter in my tackle box that I hit Everytime a fish comes over board. Do have 1 that I use so no stories compared to my buddy's but need another for that reason... A boat total for the year. Would be interesting to know for sure. Only if our boats could talk . My dad's boat before I took it "over"

 

[Far Beyond Driven]

Back when kings were easy and the boat was in the slip (and the kids didn't exist) we kept track by the ton. If the fish followed the bait into the piers it was nothing to catch 500# in a week.

 

[M Dowd]

I keep a spread sheet with notes of number of fish kept, released and notes on where, when and how. It totals it up and gives me total at the top of the sheet. I break this down per year.

 

[50incher]

Interesting thread so far !....MAN, lol....I've kept a journal since 1986 the 1st full year, I guess going on my 34th year, lol....lost a year & a half somewhere in my party days, LOL !!….but all the rest is 100% tracked....actually it's a great resource and stories too....

In the early days I would do year end reviews & tally some things up....Walleye, Musky, hours, trips etc....& my duck hunting records? crazy detailed....pretty much still record all that....every trip I write the same details and started putting totals at the top for quick reference (7) = caught for Walleye....Perch 50 (28) = caught & kept....really doesn't take much time at all, just got to make it a habit, I enjoy it....this post will take me 5 times longer than one entry, lol !!!....

So I could do some adding up, maybe when I retire, main thing for me was the ability to do a quick look back and see what & where we did good or bad & when too, conditions also....never been concerned with totals per se and don't fish for that & never have....

Musky I even have a old Navel flight log book with a running total....super quick reference....that total for our boat I can instantly see....696 Muskies for our boat/boats but I do count any Musky hooked (because it's a reference) for where & when....probably 40% or more of those fish were lost....but I write all the details in regular journal so I could even look up "follows" LOL....

Lastly, what makes me LAUGH sometimes, is hearing somebody get into telling a story "remember the day we did this or that" and I can remember the day, but when I look it up?....WHOOAA do the facts get, let's say fuzzy ! LOL....good stuff !....I encourage everyone who has any inkling for wanting to remember outdoor stuff, take the time to start a log book....you'll enjoy it, imo in the end....cheers....

No spring jigging back then, hell no jigging at all, we were hardcore harness and only backtrolling to boot, no elec. motor do-hickeys either !! LOL....

 

[milanmark]

I first started tracking outdoor results when I was pheasant hunting... Remember those? I would stick a tail feather from each bird in a container, when I got to 8 I had to quit! Started a deer log in 1991, flat file database in Excel. Each trip, weather where I hunted and with who and what did I see... Now for fishing, had a manual log when I was a kid on my trout fishing in the creek I grew up on... I'm sure that got tossed a longtime ago. Started a fishing log for bluegills mainly in 2005. I had history before then but not sure what happened to it. Added salmon when I started fishing for them and of course Walleye in the DR and LE when I started that only a few years ago! Used to catch hundreds of bluegills and kept my dad, FIL and BIL in fish... They passed but now keeping my adult kids in walleye. My grandson especially likes catching and eating walleye and perch! Not sure how many I catch but less important than it used to be. As long as I have enough for dinner I'm good! And if I run out have wild turkey and venison! How's that for a bunch of rambling!

 

[sureshot006]

Pshh.... no clue

 

[sureshot006]

If I get to fish a decent amount its gotta be around 1000 fish a year. But there are years that are more and years that are quite a bit less. When I fish musky the numbers take a hit. If I fished panfish or walleye the numbers would be high.

Honestly... would be a cool number to know but not something I care about.

 

[Spartazoo]

Since I have gotten back into it the past few months, I have started a Google Sheet to track fishing results. The Google platform allows me to update and access it from anywhere. It works pretty slick. I should have exact totals going forward.

 

[micooner]

My grandmother would count the number of carp or sheepshead gramps buried by her rose bushes from his lake Erie perch trips, does that count? Other than that it was half a cooler or full cooler. When the smelt were running at the singing bridge gramps logged it by full milk cans in the good ol days.

 

[50incher]

If I get to fish a decent amount its gotta be around 1000 fish a year. But there are years that are more and years that are quite a bit less. When I fish musky the numbers take a hit. If I fished panfish or walleye the numbers would be high.

Honestly... would be a cool number to know but not something I care about.

We talking all species ?....heck, ya can catch that many Silverbass on a good/bad day if trying, lol !....numbers ain't what any of it's about for me, outside the "quick reference" thing....I write down birds, turtles, you name it....weather, actually my entries are just short stories....

Put down the electronics & pick up a pen, lol to all....just briefly is huge....ahhh, cheers....

 

[iFishy]

I need to get better and more consistent, but I log more of a "Story" than numbers etc - this was just a random page I opened to...

 

[swamprat2]

Man could not even phantom the eyes.... been at it since high school 1985 to present the eyes that is I know last October we went to Sincoe in the boat we pulled a 1000 over the rail and keeping our limit of 500 4/5 hours to clean them dudes but just a example maybe should start keeping track!

 

[riverwart]

I have kept a record of all fishing outings good bad and ugly since 97. Like "50" said a great resource at your fingertips to look back on. Plus it like your own " Look at me fishing magazine" to go thru over the years.

 

[marty59]

I starting keeping a trip log about 5 years ago. Have a binder full of Fish Swami forms. I usually get out about 35 time a season. At the end of the year I total fish for the boat and for each individual, gas and hours on the motor. It's nice to look back at the facts, as others have said, not what I want to remember

Marty