Moon Phases ????

[Attila]

Last weekend a fishing buddy and I headed out to Rus-de-Winter in search of Bass and Yellows, we struck out, having tried everything and in a moment of desperation or possibly in search of divine intervention.

Thinus looked up and pointed at the moon, and said he had read something about a half moon phase one would not catch any fish, as the flat area was parallel with the horison.. waka waka .....( the rest I cant repeat cause it made no sense what so ever)

Now we know that at the coast it plays a big roll, how does that apply to inland fishing ? can anyone cast some insight/ convertional wisdom on the subject ...Attila

[Scythe]

I think this thread would have been better suited in the Freshwater Category, but:

Saltwater is a category all on its own, however the moon plays more of a role in the sense that it affects the tides in a very visible and direct way so therefore also it would affect the movement of fish moreso than anything else.

Freshwater: I've read that the Baitie Carp Anglers swear by fishing on the waxing moon and full moon.

Personally, I think you will catch SmallMouth YellowFish on any day in any part of the the moon cycle. LargeMouth fishing is better on full moon evenings because of the greater quantity of light, allowing these predators who hunt by contrast to be able to see baitfish/imitations better at night.

[chris williams]

Yeah, I second that last bit re predators. Paradoxically (my big Valentine's word), in Wales, I remember sea trout are easier to catch with new moon (i.e. pitch black) - maybe as they're moving up rivers it means they're less visible to would-be predators like birds, otters etc.

[Attila]

hi Scythe & Chris,

I am talking about day time fishing,

[Scythe]

Atilla, as I said ... I don't believe it affects daytime fishing.

[rols]

hi there
found this bit of info, might be interesting,
cheers
http://www.solunar.com/Bucher.htm

[Chris Shelton]

hi there
found this bit of info, might be interesting,
cheers
http://www.solunar.com/Bucher.htm

There are some excellent observations in that link Rols. Thanks for sharing!

[rols]

is quite interesting hey.
atilla did you get some answers?
cheers

[Attila]

Hi to All,

Thanks for all your input, Rols your article is very insightful and provides much food for thought, thank you.

Me thinks that I will start logging tit bits of info such a lunar phases, water temperature, QNH ( barometric pressure) and try to prove or disprove their effects on fishing. Water temperature is extremely important in summer.

By the way I forgot to mention two things about the day at Rus-De-Winter
1) water temperature was 26 deg C at 11h00
2) be careful of the Crocodiles

....keep on keeping on

[rols]

hey attilla
there is surely some serious info there. at the moment i have a friend with me
and he has done some looking into this site. his predictions are sat. morning sunrise and sat. evening sunset, also the following three days look good, weather permitting. it seems to be the correlation of sunrise and moonrise at this time as well as sunset and moonset in this period. do me a favour and log your activity if you fish this weekend. get back to us please.
cheers
ps. anyone else please let see where this goes