The Magic Tables

[Hookemdown.]

I looked for a previous post about Solar/Lunar tables and came up with squat.  What's your opinion on these things.  Do they work, even a little?

[Other.]

I only worry about Lunar tables when I'm saltwater fishing. When I'm bass fishing, Full moon or no moon IM GOING FISHING!

[New 2 Bass]

I'll admit it, I check.  When I'm out the door.  I don't plan on fishing by them, I'd never get to go.  ;D

[Bluecraw]

I don't let it influence if I'm going fishing, but sometimes WHEN I go.  If I know I'm gonna go fishing on the weekend, and there's a new or full moon on one of those days...that's the day I'll go.  I figure I'm gonna go regardless and it can't hurt. :

Sometimes I use the tables to give me a reason to go fishing. "...but Honey, I HAVE to go!!  The astro table is showing a value of 90 for tomorrow!!"....

[Triton21]

I use them all the time for both fishing and hunting.  They have paid off bigtime in both.  When I am tournament fishing I make sure that I am on my best hole during peak times and secondary times.

Kelley

[MakhuluBass]

I try and go fishing at every opportunity so I can't wait for moon phases.  If it's full moon then it's an added bonus.  Doug H recons it's important.

[RoLo]

In tidal waters, the moon has the same powerful effect on fishing activity as the generation schedule

on a riverine impoundment. In non-tidal waters however, the moon has an immeasurable effect

on water flow, tidal height and fishing activity.

For non-tidal waters, there are several versions of the solar & lunar effects on fishing activity. Some versions place the emphasis

on lunar phases, others place the accent on moonrise and moonset while still others use some symbiotic mix of both.

The fact that several versions exist smacks of retrofitting, and reminds me of the backtesting and optimizing I do

when working with the price charts of stocks.

One of the most popular versions of astral energy (solar/lunar) specifies the peak feeding periods as follows:

The 3 days before the full moon The day of the full moon The 3 days after the full moon

The 3 days before the new moon The day of the new moon The 3 days after the new moon

The day of the half-moon waxing - The day of the half-moon waning

That is a grand total of 16 days or 53% of the month. In other words, if fish activity were randomly and uniformly distributed

throughout the month, the solunar period would experience the majority of fishing activity

without any help from alleged astral energies

Roger

[RottManK9]

I go fishing what ever the moon phase.  Truth be told, I couldn't tell you how that affects my fishing.  I go to enjoy my time there not because I "should" be there.

[Hookemdown.]

In my experience, I also havn't really noticed a difference in production corresponding with the tables. But then again i'm not really looking for one.  In my opinion, it could effect your fishing, but there's just too many other variables in fishing for it to make a huge difference.

[Catt]

Best Fishing Times by 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 quiet simple to determine these times for your self 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 has 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 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!

[Bankbeater]

I pay more attention to the barometric pressure than the moon phases myself.

[Raul]

Best fishing times by Raul:

Go whenever you can, you ain 't gonna catch squat sitting on the couch watching TV.

[RoLo]

Best fishing times by Raul:

Go whenever you can, you ain 't gonna catch squat sitting on the couch watching TV.

Hold it Right There!

If it weren't for watching TV, I would've never discovered the Flying Lure and the Bango Minnow,

two lures that catch bass during ALL lunar periods!!

Knock-Wood, they haven't been banned so far in Florida 8-) :

Roger

[Raul]

You forgot to mention The Walking Worm and the Helicopter Lure Roger.

[Alpster]

Knock-Wood,  they haven't been banned so far in Florida  8-) :

Roger

Yes, but there is a rumour that Roland Martin's Rocket Caster will be banned soon.

Ronnie

[RoLo]

You forgot to mention The Walking Worm and the Helicopter Lure Roger.

Had to mention the Helicopter Lure...didn't you? Oh well, so much for that secret

Yes, but there is a rumour that Roland Martin's Rocket Caster will be banned soon.

OHHH NOOO! All these Banjo Minnows and no way to launch them

Roger

[Hookemdown.]

Best fishing times by hookemdown:

Move farther south, it's too cold right now.

[Alpster]

I looked for a previous post about Solar/Lunar tables and came up with squat.  What's your opinion on these things.  Do they work, even a little?

Hookemdown,

Sorry for hijacking your thread to make fun of gimmick lures, but I'll bet you that you won't find better information anywhere on solar/lunar phases than poasted here by Roger & Catt.

Ronnie

[Catt]

The best fishing times for real

The day before you get there & the day after you leave  

[Hookemdown.]

The best fishing times for real

The day before you get there & the day after you leave  

Now I can back you up there, the only way to solve that problem is to fish every day!

Ronnie, no worries, it's all in good fun.

[KenDammit28]

man i had some helicopter lures.....they were silly

Best time to fish....whenever you have the time.

Barometric pressure is about all I look into, but even it has a very minimal effect on fishing on a given day.  I use it more for knowing how the weather is changing for my own safety.

[bassfisher70]

It seems to work better for me when hunting then fishing. But it does have an effect on feeding somehow, believe me you can live by it when hunting whitetails! Hunting season is over come on warm weather!!!!    

[Hookemdown.]

It seems to work better for me when hunting then fishing. But it does have an effect on feeding somehow, believe me you can live by it when hunting whitetails! Hunting season is over come on warm weather!!!!    

I can believe that too, as I hunt up in northern AR, pretty good hunting, but it's slacked off the past few years.I heard that the deer don't move much during the day after a night with a full moon.  This true?

[RoLo]

I can believe that too, as I hunt up in northern AR, pretty good hunting, but it's slacked off the past few years.I heard that the deer don't move much during the day after a night with a full moon. This true?

That is definitely the case, and I've hunted deer for several decades with shotgun, rifle and of course bow & arrow (my favorite).

Deer are innately crepuscular, meaning that they're most active during twilight. Twilight connotes half-light

and includes dawn, dusk, overcast days and moonlit nights.

Nonetheless, this has little or nothing to do with a celestial influence, but is a simple matter of luminosity (good viewing light).

Moonlight is nothing more than sunlight reflected off the moon, which is therefore subdued light because it's indirect.

Deer are always more active during moonlit nights, and as a result, deer hunting typically stinks during the following day.

Almost invariably, deer are already in their bedding quarters after a moonlit night "before" I reach my morning stand.

That same evening, deer will stay put until after legal hunting hours, and won't make their way into the fields until moonlight.

However, if an otherwise moonlit night is shrouded by heavy cloud cover, then it's business as usual, which corroborates the fact

that the moon's effect is purely a matter of lighting and not astronomical or celestial in nature.

Roger

[Catt]

You are correct RoLo  8-)

However that of which I speak is the gravitational pull of the sun and moon which causes a tidal movement to occur. It is widely believed that this only occurs in a river system when in fact it occurs in every body of water even the mud puddle in your yard.