What to record after fishing
Choose a few repeatable observations that will help you understand your own fishing later.
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Record the outing before the highlight
Write when and where you fished, what you targeted and whether you actually fished. An unsuccessful outing still has information. An unlogged day is unknown, not proof you stayed home or caught nothing.
For catches, record species and count, measured sizes when available, method and time. A photo is a useful memory, but not a replacement for a ruler or an explanation of what happened.
Separate observation from inference
“Water looked cloudy” is an observation. “Runoff caused the fish to stop feeding” is an explanation to test. “Gauge was 300 cfs at 8 a.m., ten miles downstream” retains a source and timestamp. “Flow was perfect” hides those distinctions.
Note which flies or lures you tried without success and roughly how long you used each. Raw catch totals otherwise reward whichever method you happened to use most.
A compact voice prompt
Try: “I fished [water] on [date] from [time] to [time], targeting [species]. I tried [methods]. I caught [actual catches], with size [measured or unknown]. I observed [conditions]. Next time I want to check [question].”
Review any extracted fields before saving. Do not invent a catch to make a form accept an observation.