Data Analysis Possibilities With Your Fishing Log
by Jon Keller

Part Two – Quantity and Variety

At fishermanslog.com, we are fortunate to receive a wealth of feedback from our users. This helps us keep fishermanslog the premier online fishing log product, but it also helps us learn how to educate fisherman on the art and science of keeping a log. The one item of feedback most often received is “The log seems too detailed, why should I track all of those data elements?”

The answer lies in quantity and variety. Data analysis of any type simply requires a large amount of data. For example, if your doctor prescribes Lipitor© for your elevated cholesterol, you would want to know that it has been tested against a very large control group for safety. You wouldn’t want to consume a highly complex chemical agent if the drug maker tested it on a dozen patients and “called it good”. In order for data to be considered empirical, you have to have quantity and variety.

All of have heard “the fish bite better on a full moon”. Maybe true, maybe not, but even if it is true, what if it is a full moon period but it’s a cloudy night? Do the fish still bite as good? I can answer all of these questions right now with one phrase: “It doesn’t matter, these are the wrong questions”. The right questions to ask are “how do I catch the most fish on a cloudy full-moon night?” We can’t control how the fish are biting, and many times we can’t control which days of the month we have time to go fishing. So we have to know, what do the fish want under these conditions. Here is where your log will shine if you keep it up properly, following these simple tips…

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