Though the effort might seem an inconvenience at times, keeping a fishing log can promote success during later trips and provide a means of kindling fond memories.

With varying degrees of consistency over the past 30-odd years, I've kept logs and journals of my outdoor experiences. The pattern goes like this: Each year, I start out to keep detailed records on my outings. Some years it happens, but often the effort fizzles out around summer, when trips begin piling up.

And when the end of the year arrives and I take stock of the past 12 month's happenings, I wish I had kept my records up to date.

Given the many format options available, I admit that time restraints aren't really a good excuse for not keeping one's outdoors records current. A journal can be as simple as a notebook for logging the dates of trips, accompanied by a note or two on the events of the trip.

A short memo that includes where you went, who joined you, and what you caught may be all you require. But if your objective is to do more than simply provide a potential spark for your memory a few years down the road, a more detailed record is in order.

Log entries designed to provide key factors for subsequent adventures should include a few comments on the weather, high and low temperatures, cloud cover, as well as wind direction and intensity.

Equally important are notes on the fishes' environment, namely water levels, water clarity and water temperature. I fish a lot of flowing waters, so I make sure to include what the water gauge level was at the time of my outing. Such gauges are found on most large creeks and all rivers. To see a map of Pennsylvania water data gage sites visit the website: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/pa/nwis/rt.

It's wise to record productive spots. I like to hang names on certain places, a moniker that makes it easy to describe it in my notes, as well as when relating the results of a trip to a fishing buddy. When I mention places like "waterdog," "monkeyball," "buck rub drift" or "Chango Bay Point," it saves time.

Productive lures and baits are also staple items in a fishing log. The author can go into as much detail as he or she deems appropriate, from sizes to color patterns. But the big thing is to include the basics, such as jig, crankbait, or jerkbait. Though you might think you'll remember such details, time has a way of making it tough to separate key points in one's mind.

All of this can be recorded in a plain notebook, but commercially produced fishing logbooks are available. Or you can generate your own custom log pages on a computer's word processor or spreadsheet program, tailoring the package to your individual needs.

Another option, one which I'm using this year, is a free online fishing log service. Fish Swami at www.onlinefishinglog.com is one of several such Internet programs. At this point in the year, I've only made a few outings, but I've been pretty happy with the results.

The program's initial setup takes the most time, but once the basic information has been entered, it's pretty much just a matter of clicking here and there, rather than entering text.

If you shoot digital photos, there's a place where you can attach pictures from your trip to a particularly log entry. You can even e-mail your log to a buddy, if you happen to be the generous type who doesn't mind sharing such hard-earned information.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.