Keep a log-book:

[AndyS]

Keeping a log book is one of the greatest things you can do. At present I have 5 of them:

1.) Surf fishing
2.) Offshore fishing
3.) Inshore fishing
4.) Crabbing and clamming
5.) Freshwater fishing

Be sure to include:

1.) Date
2.) Time
3.) Location
4.) Weather

Many other things you can include, tides, moon phase, and observations.

My freshwater log book dates back to 1993.

I also use my log book for receipts, and all kinds of handwritten notes. In there I have posts I have printed out and saved from this website and a few others. If you fish a fair amount of time, after one year you will be amazed about how much you have written down. You will learn a lot from your OWN efforts when you go back and re-read your logbook. It really helps you to remember things, and what TO do again, and what NOT to do again. You can discover trends in fish, certain patterns they conform to. They are great to read in the middle of the winter when the snow is coming down at an inch an hour. Maybe even pass them down to the next generation.