West Central Angler Diary Program

The Region 8 West Central NY Angler Diary Program is one of two angler diary programs in the Region, with the Finger Lakes Angler Diary Program being the other program. The West Central NY Angler Diary Program originally started in 1968 on Keuka Lake and has expanded to other waters in the Region.

Currently, the West Central NY Angler Diary Program is on Waneta Lake only. New angler cooperators are always needed to make our annual statistics more reliable. Please consider joining, even if you only fish a couple of times a year, because any information you provide is helpful.

Data Collection Process

Angler diary cooperators are asked to record fishing trip information in diary booklets provided by DEC. Every trip should be recorded even if no fish are caught. This data will give us the success rates of anglers. Each trip should include a start time and end time, biological data on certain species, along with any marks or fin clips on coldwater species. If there are no markings or fin clips on the fish, anglers should be sure to visibly write "NO MARKS." This information can provide us with the growth of the fish populations.

If any information is missing or incomplete on a page, it cannot be used as reliable data and the information from that trip will be excluded from the analysis. Therefore, anglers are encouraged to fill out all the information clearly and as indicated on the example page in the diary booklet.

At the end of the year the diary keepers are provided with a postage-paid envelope to send their diary back to DEC. After DEC collects the information from the diaries, we will return them to the anglers with a summary of that year's data, along with a new diary for next season's fishing trips.

Data Use

Data collected from the diaries is compiled into a database. The data is used to determine growth rates, stocked fish recruitment, angler effort and angler success rates. The information collected from the angler diaries, along with data from our sampling efforts, helps guide our management decisions on each body of water. New angler cooperators are always needed to make our annual statistics more reliable. Please consider joining, even if you only fish a couple of times a year. Any information you provide is useful.

How to Participate

To learn more about the diary program or to sign up, contact the DEC Region 8 office at (585) 226-5343 or email us. Provide your name, mailing address, and the list of lake(s) for which you would like to record your fishing trips. A diary, introductory letter, and instructions will be mailed to you. Thank you for your interest and help!

More information on the Angler Diary Program and how to accurately record trip information (PDF)