Moon phase fishing

[BoatSquirrel]

For those who watch Bass Live or MLFs feed, you ever notice how the guys seem to catch them in spurts, and sometimes not at all?  I think weather and active periods both influence fish behavior.

[Fishin Dad]

21 hours ago, BoatSquirrel said:

For those who watch Bass Live or MLFs feed, you ever notice how the guys seem to catch them in spurts, and sometimes not at all?  I think weather and active periods both influence fish behavior.

I agree.  We call them “feeding windows”.   While I don’t know everything that goes into Figuring our when and why they happen, I do know they happen.  Open water and ice fishing.  I am finally going to keep a log this year (really wish I had been doing this for years) to see if I find something I can use.  

[FryDog62]

6 minutes ago, Fishin Dad said:

I agree.  We call them “feeding windows”.   While I don’t know everything that goes into Figuring our when and why they happen, I do know they happen.  Open water and ice fishing.  I am finally going to keep a log this year (really wish I had been doing this for years) to see if I find something I can use.  

I got the “Fishing and Hunting Solunar Time” app.  It shows major and minor times each day as well as the day-to-day trend throughout the month.  I plan on keeping some records too, including water temps, especially as I try a new lake or focus on a specific time of year so I can hopefully figure out a pattern the following year.  

[king fisher]

When I don't catch fish it is because of a bad moon phase.  When I catch fish, it is because I'm a great fishermen.  A deck hand in Puerto Vallarta taught me that years ago.  When I asked him how come one of the other boats did so well on a day when we didn't have catch anything, he laughed and said they must have had a different moon.  I replied sounds good to me.

     The  moon does matter, especially in tidal fisheries, but I feel that anytime I'm  on the water there are fish willing to bite regardless of moon phase.  I'ts my job to to find the fish and present the bait, or lure in the proper manner.   When I fail at that task, of course it was because of the moon phase.

  

    

[redux]

Went back to the same spot today. Only got 5 but the big one was 6 pounds 10 ounces. The rest totaled 13+. Supposed to be a "better" day according to the moon phase. Still only using it as a data point and not planning my life around it.

[FryDog62]

Full moon tomorrow boys...

[WRB]

It’s easier to catch bass with your imagination then a rod & reel!

Moon phase belief is like any belief that gives you the motivation to get off the couch and go fishing.

I am not motivated and my lake is closed from COVID 19. Everyday is a memory of past days on the water and I had some good days and moon lite nights.

Tom

[Catt]

@WRB 

 

Mid-summer night, deep water structure, full moon on the horizon, gentle southern breeze, Hoot Owl in the distance, the solid thump on a jig!

[lo n slo]

On 5/5/2020 at 8:03 PM, Bird said:

What if the cows are laying  ?

put it back on the trailer ?

[RoLo]

This subject is an open ‘can-of-worms’, probably stemming from its saltwater counterpart. In the ocean, we all look forward to the last half of the ebb tide, and dread slack tide. In freshwater though, we're probably better off watching the dam, instead of the moon (i.e. generation schedule).

 

Many years ago, I logged my freshwater catch results based on lunar phases. At one point, I came pretty close to jumping on board. I think I was trying too hard to find a relationship, and rallied around every chard of light. Oddly, moonrise and moonset had a better batting average than lunar phase, but both had lousy track records, even during the spawning season. Anyway, the wheels on my lunar cart eventually fell off. Being retired, I’m free to target the "magic hour", but admit that I'm not capable of identifying the best time to fish, until it's actually happening (Maybe that's why we love angling?).

 

Roger

[scaleface]

19 hours ago, redux said:

Went back to the same spot today. Only got 5 but the big one was 6 pounds 10 ounces. The rest totaled 13+. Supposed to be a "better" day according to the moon phase. Still only using it as a data point and not planning my life around it.

Wow . Good job . Its been awhile since I had a five fish twenty lb limit .

 

The only time I pay attention to the moon is night fishing . I prefer a bright night .

[WRB]

I spent fewer years pursuing big off shore pelagic game fish then fresh water fish, about 35 years Marlin and tuna tournaments. Bass anglers ahave nothing on salt water anglers who are even more fixed on moon phases. The hardest time period to catch Marlin, swordfish and tuna is during the full moon cycle during daylight. The reason is obvious these pelagic game fish feed all night on squid, anchovies, sardines during the full moon nights. Very little tidal influence off shore it's about increased prey activity the predators take advantage of.

Bass fishing in generally is about timing being at the right place at the right time to take advantage of active prey the predator are hunting. Every waterway has it's own rythym of activity and it's impossible to predict the time without being in tune with the environment. As I sit here during the prime moon phase I can't tell anyone when the bit window will occur because I am not in touch with the local lakes. I can tell everyone when the full moon cycle will occur years in advance and plan for it. When I fished a lot it was fairly easy to be at the right place at the right time and did that successfully for decades.

Tom

[Catt]

There have been numerous books, articles, charts, ect. Published on this great mystery of bass fishing. A lot of the authors of these publications go through great lengths explaining how difficult it is to determine these times. It is really quite simple to determine these times for yourself with a little inside information. River and salt water publications go through great lengths explaining how difficult it is to determine tidal movements. The reality is that these best times and tidal movements are related to the moon's phases.

People in animal husbandry, farming, hunting, and fishing have used the moons phases for centuries. One of the oldest publications giving this information is the "Poor Richard's Almanac". The moon's phases are divided into four quarters, two of which are your minor times, and two of which are your major times.

The times for the major periods are as follows
An hour and a half prior the moon reaching its apex
An hour and a half prior to the moon reaching its perigee
The major periods are the first quarter new moon and the third quarter full moon.
The gravitational pull of the sun and moon is three times greater on the new moon than the full moon. At the time of the new moon the earth has the moon and the sun in a straight line pulling together. This first quarter, dark night phase differs from the third quarter full moon phase when the earth moves between the moon and the sun. The new moon dark night is only difficult on the angler because you must rely on your sense of feel when working your bait. If you want to really learn how to fish baits that require a lot of feel like worm or jigs try new moon nights.

The times for the minor periods of these moon phases are as follows
An hour and a half prior to the raising of the moon on the horizon.
An hour and a half prior to the setting of the moon.

Now take into consideration the above listed times you end up with 3 hrs. of major time periods and 3 hrs. of minor times periods. This does not take into account weather, seasons, or your ability to locate fish!

 

Thomas (Catt) Thibodeaux

[redux]

On 5/7/2020 at 4:48 PM, scaleface said:

Wow . Good job . Its been awhile since I had a five fish twenty lb limit .

 

The only time I pay attention to the moon is night fishing . I prefer a bright night .

Yeah, two banner days in a row were really nice. Followed that up today by getting skunked on the river and breaking the steering cable on my trolling motor. I didn't see anything in the schedule for that! ?