Moon phases: I went fishing last night and there was a bright moon overhead. We caught a couple of walleye and 1 gar(over 3 ft long) but you had to make them bite. Is there a best moon...

Yogi Bear Loc: N.W. Arkansas

I went fishing last night and there was a bright moon overhead. We caught a couple of walleye and 1 gar(over 3 ft long) but you had to make them bite. Is there a best moon phase and a worst moon phase?
I'm Yogi and I'm new

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

Yogi Bear wrote:

I went fishing last night and there was a bright moon overhead. We caught a couple of walleye and 1 gar(over 3 ft long) but you had to make them bite. Is there a best moon phase and a worst moon phase?
I'm Yogi and I'm new

Good mornin', Yogi. Yep, there is, and it is listed with most fishing reports, or in most fishing magazines, or some calenders have it on the date, or you could google it. Does it work, you couldn't prove it by me. I go fishing when I want to, but I do look at the calendar or the fishing report to see what it says. It is not a determining factor on whether or not I go fishing. Good Luck!

Rutinbuck Loc: Haysville, Kansas

Yup I look at them but don’t really pay much attention to them. I’m like flyguy I go when I want. I don’t have to shoot a deer or catch a fish to have fun and enjoy being out in gods beautiful outdoors.

RedA Loc: Stow, MA

Yogi Bear wrote:

I went fishing last night and there was a bright moon overhead. We caught a couple of walleye and 1 gar(over 3 ft long) but you had to make them bite. Is there a best moon phase and a worst moon phase?
I'm Yogi and I'm new

There is. We were anxiously waiting for the full moon top water bite but it was a grind. We each had one big top water bite on our Slammers, I caught a small one but no other bites moving all around the lake sites.
We were heading back to our best area and the wind picked up significantly so my buddy switched to a Chatterbait and caught this 6 lb beauty👍

And the he caught 6 or 7 small ones 🎣

So it didnt go as expected but we found a good full moon pattern 🎉

Flytier Loc: Wilmington Delaware

When I surf fush, I look for a full or new moon. Tide flow is largest then. More water movement, more possibility of fish.

JKD

I think it definitely has something to do with crabbing.

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

JKD wrote:

I think it definitely has something to do with crabbing.

My wife is crabby all of the time. (LOL)

Gordon Loc: Charleston South Carolina

flyguy wrote:

My wife is crabby all of the time. (LOL)

Is there a full moon running around the house all the time??

NoCal Steve Loc: Dunnigan, CA

Wait! What? You complain about the fishing and then post a pic like that? I want to be your fishing partner!

MuskyHunter Loc: Torrington, CT

Yogi Bear wrote:

I went fishing last night and there was a bright moon overhead. We caught a couple of walleye and 1 gar(over 3 ft long) but you had to make them bite. Is there a best moon phase and a worst moon phase?
I'm Yogi and I'm new

I think there is a slight effect in freshwater, but overall only important enough as a strategy item. I am not sure about salt water.

So as an example, this chart shows the moon phase distribution of muskies that were caught since 1987 at Red Wing Lodge. This is a total of 16,687 fish. The chart shows smaller numbers of fish caught at the first and third quarters and peaks at the new and full moons. But, keep in mind, there is more fishing pressure at the full moon than any other time, so I do not think the difference is significant.

http://www.redwinglodge.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Distribution-of-Musky-by-Moon-Phase.pdf

What I do believe, at least for muskies, is that the moon phases influence the times fish are caught. Muskies are sight feeders and do feed after dark (a lot), so I think a full moon helps the fish at that time and a new moon will move the feedings more heavily to the day time.

A lot of people fish Lake of the Woods after dark on the full moon. I don't since the lake is so dangerous.

I am on my way to Red Wing in a few weeks! This is easily one of the best places in the world to catch a musky!

Jakestake83 Loc: Mooresville NC

I and others have done studies of this issue since millions of dollars are and millions of anglers swear by the so-lunar tables that are published in just about every outdoor magazine. My studies are based on the number of fish caught during good and bad times listed in these tables. Recently others have published their results based on actual fish caught. In all of the properly performed tests where hundreds and even thousands of fish caught in fresh water, the correlation rates with the charts is around 25%. I can flip a coin and achieve 50% if I flip long enough so data seems to point out that moon position in fresh water has little effect on catch rate. Salt water where tides effect the waters are a different story and I cannot comment on salt water.

MuskyHunter Loc: Torrington, CT

Jake, I agree, as I said in my post only useful as a strategy that involves the amount of light available for feeding. Nothing more.

I do find it interesting that fishermen will believe almost anything.

hacksaw Loc: Pasadena, Texas

Yogi Bear wrote:

I went fishing last night and there was a bright moon overhead. We caught a couple of walleye and 1 gar(over 3 ft long) but you had to make them bite. Is there a best moon phase and a worst moon phase?
I'm Yogi and I'm new

Welcome to the Stage Yogi. I’ve read up on that and from what I understand fish feed more at sunrise and sundown, but do feed on a full moon but it’s up to the fisherman whether he or she believes in the moon phases affecting fishing. A full moon affects saltwater fishing when the tides are higher, but not necessarily the catching.
Hack 🇺🇸🍺🍺

Jakestake83 Loc: Mooresville NC

Sunrise and sun set are different issues and here is my take on that since I have the best luck with bass after 10 am and before dusk. The predators come into the shallow water as the sun goes down and they feed on the small fish all night. When the sun rises, that is the signal for them to head for the deeper water. They have been eating all night so why would they still be hungry at sunrise after eating all night. In the late afternoon they get hungry again and they head back to the shallow water to eat. That is the time to go after them because they are hungry. I have plotted thousands of catches and find that from 11 am till 7 pm has been my best time for good catches. I've stuck with this theory for 30 years and it has worked for me.

hacksaw Loc: Pasadena, Texas

MuskyHunter wrote:

Jake, I agree, as I said in my post only useful as a strategy that involves the amount of light available for feeding. Nothing more.

I do find it interesting that fishermen will believe almost anything.

I don’t think fishermen believe almost anything, but I do believe most fishermen, like myself, hope for almost anything when we go fishing. I study the lake and saltwater reports weekly, but that’s why it’s called fishing and not catching. IMHO
Hack 🇺🇸🍺🍺