Full moon doubts

[Bob Scheidt]

How much do you guys think a full moon affects striper fishing? I always thought the full moon is more important in lakes than rivers. I am beginning to let this full moon phase get to me. I think I shoud go back to just fish when you can and don't worry about where the moon is. What's your opinion. Do you let a full moon affect your fishing expectations?

Thanks,
Bob

[JJohnson]

I've always found that the moon, much like the weather, IS what it is... that's not to say I've found the bite to deteriorate on the full moon, and perhaps a day or two afterwards, but it certainly shouldn't stop one from trying. For what it's worth, don't worry about it too much. Good hunting!

[David Lee]

Good morning , Bob , and happy Thanksgiving !!

I personally don't put much stock in moon phase , favorable entrails , any of that stuff . Finding Stripe is half the battle , then , finding one that will play .

If we wait for absolute ideal conditions , we wouldn't get much time in , you know ? Find a happy , hungry Stripe ..... and put the fly in front of it .

Just my opinion .....

David

PS - my 'bad-Juju' things are .... an EAST WIND - I don't like it , I don't think Stripe likes it much , and a rising barometer . The full moon might affect clearwater fish , but they still have to eat sometime .

[Bob Scheidt]

Thanks for the replies guys, happy Thanksgiving to you too!!
I will go with don't put too much faith in the bad juju of a full moon and just cast the fly.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

If you have a day open up in your schedule I would not let a full moon stop you.............just go.

If you are planning a tropical flats trip for Tarpon I would not go on a full moon.

If you are planning a trip for lake fishing I would not go on a full moon either.

Bonefish on the other hand seem to spawn at Christmas Island the 3 days after a full moon where they get into big schools and are easier to catch.

The full moon this month was on the 16th. December it is on the 15th.

For stripers in the Delta you get bigger tides generally during the full moon and the dark of the moon. This could override the full moons negative effects in this case?

[Jay Murakoshi]

Bob,

If I remember right, we just went through a full moon early last week.
Well, here's my observations:
Fished both SL and the Forebay on the height of the full moon, at 4am, it was as bright as midevening in Alaska, from pictures I've seen. Never been there, so I'm just making an observation. I fished both bodies of water for 3 days with very slow results. Now, the other thing is it must bring on some bad luck. Because as I was motoring around (trolling motor) I lost my Fishing Buddy II off the back of my pram. It was a strange feeling to turn around and notice something missing and then realizing it was GOOD OLE BUDDY. I don't know how the bracket and the finder went into the water.
Now, I have been over there on the last quarter and starting to go into a new moon. The fishing has picked up and even without my fish finder, I have been getting the grab.

Gotta get back with anoter Buddy II. I mainly use it for the depth of the water and not for marking fish.

Sooooooo, I really think the full moon slows the fishing down - my opinion

Jay

[Darian]

I've found the only thing that counteracts the affects of a full moon is to twirl a dead rat on a string over a hollow stump filled with rain water during the midnight hour..... (Wheeew, those rats stink!!!!)

A little Irish medicine served neat helps, too....

[Darian]

I guess I ought to treat this subject with more dignity.... I believe that all life on this planet is affected by sun and moon phases, as well as things like magnetic waves, etc. Having said that, I couldn't tell you how much affect they have on fishing at any given point in time.

I do tend to think there're some weather and lunar conditions that are negatives but I don't let that stop me from fishing when I get the chance. Sometimes it's like the saying at the end of Tracy's notes, "When all fails, put down the rod and swim with the dog."

[David Lee]

I've found the only thing that counteracts the affects of a full moon is to twirl a dead rat on a string over a hollow stump filled with rain water during the midnight hour..... (Wheeew, those rats stink!!!!)

A little Irish medicine served neat helps, too....

Doubtless , Darian .... you are the silliest bugger on the face of this fine rock .

What you've written is likely the funniest thing I've ever read - not because it's silly .... but because I CAN SEE SOMEONE DOIN' IT !!!!!!!


I thank you for this disvergence from holiday overeating .

Was disvergance a real word ?!? Perhaps I meant divergance . Are they different ?

Please disregard this post .

:P :P David :P :P

[Hairstacker]

In Douglas "The Bass Professor" Hannon's book, "Big Bass Magic," he details the results of a study of big largemouth bass he had caught during various moon phases. He charted the results of 307 big (5-16 pound) bass against the lunar phases and found that he typically experienced the best fishing (catch rates per hour) for big bass during the dark moon, except during the summer and winter when his catch rates were highest during the full moon. Interestingly, he experienced his lowest catch rates during the spring and fall around the full moon.

He also reviewed the IGFA listings of world records and found that the 3 days on each side of the full and dark moons plus the day of each 1/2-moon produced 73% of the world records from 1970 through 1979. The world records for striper hybrid, redeye bass, rock bass, spotted bass, redear sunfish, warmouth, red breast sunfish, sauger, and tiger trout were ALL caught within a 3-day period on either side of the full moon. As of that point in time, the world records for striped bass and smallmouth bass had also been set during this 3-day timeframe around the full moon. In fact, looking at the graph, it appears the world record striped bass was caught on the very day of the full moon.

On the other hand, I tracked my largemouth bass catch rates over a season against lunar phases and found absolutely no correlation either way. I concluded it's best to go fishing whenever you can and haven't paid attention to lunar phases since.

By the way, Hannon also found that most of his really big bass (over 10 lbs) were caught between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. This coming from a guy who had literally caught 100's (over 400?) of such fish by the time of the book's publication.