Most fisherman will look for any advantage to catch more and bigger fish... As a result, fisherman will often keep logs of the best times, tides, wind weather and moon cycles in an effort to establish a pattern of when it is most productive to catch fish. Most of the Pro staff and endorsed charter captains at the Goose keeps these kinds of records and have reached some interesting conclusions after many decades of cumulative experience.
Of course, the best fishing times are whenever you can actually go. We all have had banner days on the "wrong" tide, the "wrong' wind and the "wrong" moon. However, there are some marked consistencies to when we have done best. The “Solunar Theory” or fishing by moon phases, seems to have some merit when it comes to the better days we have all experienced.
Learning to fish the right moon takes some time, effort and good record keeping to be successful. But, it's not as complicated as some people make it out to be. To be sure, all manner of factors needed to be checked and recorded. I had to be at the water’s edge at exactly the right time, in fact, “to the minute” , in order to improve on my catch. Basically, what I have discovered is that everything wild eats on a cycle. If the cows are lying down in the pasture, the rabbits are not looking for food and the squirrels are not scurrying around looking for acorns they aren’t eating, and guess what; the fish aren’t eating at those times either.
To help determine whether there was any truth in the moon’s effect on the best fishing times, we have kept a record of every trip we have made over a period of 20 months. We always record as much information as possible as it relates to moon phases, weather conditions and what we caught. What we discovered convinced us that taking the moon into consideration, especially as it related to the tides, really worked. But, I also found it wasn’t nearly as complicated as most folks think
How does moon phase fishing work?
Hunters have always known that fish and game are most active at dawn and dusk; sunrise and sunset, but their activity surrounding moonrise and moonset is less noticeable since these events are likely to occur without effecting any change in perceived light. The rise and set of a new moon is invisible anyway, and overcast weather often hides a moon. Without prior knowledge of setting and rising times, two of the best fishing times could be missed every day!
Almost every angler understands the best fishing times are when the fish are feeding. This tends to be during dawn and dusk, but what often goes unnoticed are the two periods elsewhere in the day, which are moonrise and moonset. These are important, because these moon phases also have an effect on a variety of factors when they trigger a feeding pattern during these periods.
So understanding this, and choosing times when sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset coincide with new or full moon phases, you’ll increase you chance of catching instead of fishing. However, if you’re going to catch fish you must of course be fishing where there are fish.
Choosing the best fishing times.
It’s actually fairly simple when you think about it. It’s just a matter of knowing exactly when the sun and moon will rise and set. Fish, much like other animals, are most active during 90 minute windows surrounding each of these four daily periods; you get 45 minutes before and after these four daily periods.
Your catch ratio should increase during these periods. Being at the water’s edge on the days of new or full moons gives you a window of opportunity to catch fish like you’ve never done before. If you have to choose between sunrise or sunset and moonrise or moonset, always go with the moon since it’s the stronger influence.
Now that you know moon phase fishing works, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t apply this information to help you catch more fish.
Where can I get Moon Phase information?
Most of the guys in the shop keep a current copy of THE TIDE LOG. It's a easy way to look at the multiple tides during the day, tide height and, of course, moon phase. There is room on each day to include notes on what kind of fishing you experienced on a specific day so that you can reference from year to year. You can check out the tide logs here.
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