Full Moon ??

A friend who has lived in Redding area his entire life told me he never fishes the three days around a full moon because it is so bright the fish eat all night then lay low during the day. Anyone else have that experience?

Trying to find any excuse why I can't catch any trout the last three days 

Picture of moon this morning.

Bryan

I asked my bass buddy that question on the last full moon just before we knocked the socks off of them, that was the day I caught my PB spot at 5.3 lbs., so it doesn't matter for bass 

I think there's at least a little bit of truth to this, but I've also had some great days of fishing when the moon was full.

It's not just about the bright night. Even in lakes, fish will feel the gravitational pull of the moon. Whether this really affects their feeding habits is up for debate...

Sure slowed the Melones bite down last weekend

 




  sorry, couldn't resist!

  sorry, couldn't resist!

No fish is going to bite on THAT full moon 

Who knows what those darn fish are doing on full moons!!    

All I can say is that from my experience, fishing on full moon or 1 day before/after it, fishing has been really slow for me.   

From my experience with trout: when the weather has remained steady-eddy with no storms or anything (like these past couple weeks), the moon phases can play a big role in determining when fish are going to bite.  If there was a full moon the night prior to fishing, then the morning bite is going to suck.  However, I’ve noticed that oftentimes there can be a solid midday bite during full moon periods.  I’ve had days where the early-morning sucked, then all of a sudden the fish were biting from 1100 to 1400.  But this only seems to occur when the conditions are conducive to good fishing.  If it’s a bright, sunny, still day with clear water, then that midday bite tends to be lackluster at best.  If there’s a bit of chop on the water or the water is stained, then the midday bite can happen.

My theory on why this happens: the bright moon allows the trout to feed through the night.  By the time early morning arrives, they’re already full and don’t have a big appetite like they would during a dark-moon phase.  The dark-moon phase is like going all night without eating anything, then all of a sudden the lights get bright enough so you can eat.  The full-moon phase is like someone left a nightlight on so you can continue snacking through the night, then as the sun comes up you’re not exactly starving for breakfast.  But, you get hungry by the midday since you didn’t eat breakfast.

My theory could be completely wrong, but my observations don’t lie.  I’ve learned to sleep in a bit during full-moon phases and fish hard starting in the late morning.

I have had success fishing on days around fullmoon, night or day for striped bass out on the surf. Maybe an even better bite?

Read the book "Moon UP Moon Down".

http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Up-Story-Solunar-Theory/dp/9995303973/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420679391&sr=8-1&keywords=moon+up+moon+down

i prefer full moon fishing
i can navigate and cast with out running into shore.
and all my big cats come on a full moon.

From my experience with trout: when the weather has remained steady-eddy with no storms or anything (like these past couple weeks), the moon phases can play a big role in determining when fish are going to bite.  If there was a full moon the night prior to fishing, then the morning bite is going to suck.

My theory could be completely wrong, but my observations don’t lie.  I’ve learned to sleep in a bit during full-moon phases and fish hard starting in the late morning.

This is exactly what John told me, and proved correctly, dead until 11:00 am or so and then boom !, game on  , tight lines....

I've logged too many fish caught on and around a full moon to fill it makes any difference.  There are so many other factors that come into play.  I feel people use a full moon as the excuse for not catching fish when most of the time it can be attributed to many other weather conditions and water condition.

This goes for bass, trout, stripers, pretty much every fish I have gone for.  Weather is the number issue to take into account.

Here's a link to solunar tables.  During full and new moon periods the major period is mid-day.  I'm a strong believer in the solunar periods, although other regional/local factors can be dominant (e.g., water temp, clarity, air pressure, etc.) at any particular time. Been many, many days when the bite has suddenly turned-on during the major period.

http://www.solunarforecast.com/solunarcalendar.aspx

I think the question really should be is HOW does the moon affect fishing?  Some people say it's the light, but there are times when it's cloudy and the light doesn't make it to the fish.  If you look up Lunar Effect, you will see different articles about how a full moon affects people, animals, birds, and fish.  There is also the affect on tides, which could also explain a lot of the fish behaviors people report.  But in the end, it really doesn't matter to me, since i'm going to fish when I "can" fish.