Fishing By Moon Phase: Increase Your Catch!

Every Angler dreams of a bigger catch! Is it possible to know beforehand when you should plan a trip to enjoy some fishing, catch more than usual, and come home feeling 100% satisfied? Based on my own personal research around the best fishing times, I think it is.

When I first started fishing, the best fishing time for me was whatever time happened to suit me. I tried different lures, baits and techniques until I'd spent a small fortune in my quest to improve my fishing catch. When I finally heard about the "Solunar Theory"--or fishing by moon phase--like most anglers, I was skeptical.

What I'd read sounded too complicated. All sorts of factors needed to be checked and the determined angler needed to be at the water's edge at exactly the right time, TO THE MINUTE, in order to improve on his average catch. Was I really willing to take my hobby that seriously? Let's just say that curiosity got the better of me.

To help me determine whether there was any truth in the moon's effect on the best fishing times, I kept a record of every trip I made over a period of 18 months. All information related to the moon's phases, the weather conditions and the catches I made were carefully logged. What I discovered convinced me that moon phase fishing works. BUT, I also found that it isn't anywhere near as complicated as many would have us believe.

How Does Fishing By Moon Phase Work?

Every Angler knows that 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--moonrise and moonset. Because the moon has an effect on a variety of factors surrounding the fish--including the live fodder they hunt--these periods, combined with the moon's phase, are what trigger feeding.

By understanding this, and choosing times when sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset coincide with new or full moon phases, you'll increase you chance of a good fishing catch. Assuming there are fish in the area, of course.

Choosing The Best Fishing Times

There really is nothing complicated about this at all; it's just a matter of knowing ahead of time exactly when the sun and moon will rise and set. Fish are most active during 90-minute windows surrounding each of these four daily events; that's 45 minutes before and after these four daily points.

Fishing during these four periods will help increase your fishing catch, but if you plan wisely so as to ensure you're at the water's edge on the days of new or full moon, you can use these 'windows' to reel in a catch like you've never done before. If you have to choose between sunrise/set and moonrise/set, always go with the moon as the moon is the stronger influence.

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 because these events are likely to occur without effecting any change in the perceived light. The rise and set of a new moon is invisible anyway, and overcast weather often hides the moon. Without prior knowledge of setting and rising times, two of the best fishing times will be missed every day!

Other Considerations

When planning your fishing by moon phase, there are certain other factors that should also be considered.

Weather - Severe weather changes have an impact on the way fish feed. When a storm's brewing, or just after one has passed, is a good time. If this happens while you're in place, you'll be in for a treat! However, if there's a cold front approaching, the fish are likely to move deeper into the water and become inactive.

Season - Most fish are more likely to bite willingly during seasonal transitions with the transition from winter to spring and summer to fall being the two best fishing times.

Now that you know that moon phase fishing really works, there's no reason why you shouldn't utilize this knowledge to increase your own fishing catch by being at the ready with your rod during the best fishing times available. It's easy and it works!

Good luck!

The Ocean's Tides Explained

Almost everyone is aware of the role that gravity plays in our lives. Not only does it keep our feet planted firmly on the ground, but it also keeps order in the solar system. The gravitational forces associated with the Sun and the planets interact to describe the orbits that we are familiar with, as well as keep the Moon trapped in orbit around the Earth. These forces aren't only limited to managing the dynamics of the celestial bodies, however. Gravity also has a more directly observable influence on our planet. Specifically, gravitational forces are responsible for the rise and fall of the ocean's tides all over the world.

The two primary agents when it comes to the motion of the ocean are the Sun and the Moon. Since the gravitational influence of an object is directly related to its mass, the Sun has a definite advantage over the moon when it comes to the strength of its forces. However, since the Sun is over 380 times farther away from the Earth than the Moon, the smaller mass in orbit around us is able to exert its effects on us much more strongly than the star.

The key when it comes to understanding how the tides work is to understand the relationship between the motion of our planet and its moon. Both the Moon and the Earth are constantly moving through space. Since the Earth spins on its own axis, water is kept balanced on all sides of the planet through centrifugal force. The Moon's gravitational forces are strong enough to disrupt this balance by accelerating the water towards the Moon. This causes the water to 'bulge.' The Earth's rotation causes a sympathetic bulge on the opposite side of the planet as well. The areas of the Earth where the bulging occurs experience high tide, and the others are subject to a low tide. However, the Moon's movement around the Earth means that the effects of its forces are in motion as well, and as it encircles our planet, this bulge moves with it.

The height of the tides can vary during the course of a month, due to the fact that the Moon is not always the same distance from the Earth. As the Moon's orbit brings it in closer proximity to our planet (closest distance within a moon cycle is called perigee), its gravitational forces can increase by almost 50%, and this stronger force leads to high tides. Likewise, when the Moon is farther away from the Earth (furthest distance is called apogee), the tides are not as spectacular.

The Moon's influence can also be balanced out by the position of the Sun – if the Sun and the Moon find themselves 90 degrees apart in relation to an observer on the Earth, then high tides are not as high as they normally would be. This is because despite its greater distance from the planet, the Sun's mass allows it to exert enough gravitational force on the oceans that it can negate some of the effects of the Moon's pull. This phenomenon of lower high tides is called a neap tide. In the same way, when the Sun lines up with the Moon and the Earth, as during a Full Moon, then the Sun can act to amplify the tidal forces, drawing even higher tides. These are known as spring tides, named not for the season, but for the fact that the water "springs" higher than normal. The variance in the height of the world's tides also depends on the local geography of the coastline and the topography of the ocean floor.

Tides occur regularly in the sense that they can be expected twice a day, but their periods do not coincide with the 24 hour day that we use for our calendar. This is because the Moon takes slightly longer than 24 hours to line up again exactly with the same point on the Earth - about 50 minutes more. Therefore, the timing of high tides is staggered throughout the course of a month, with each tide commencing approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes later than the one before it.

Click Here For Recommended Moon Software & Products

NEW u tube video page

Your Own
Fishing
Web Site

CURRENT MOON

moon phase

About the Author

David Rose is an avid outdoorsman and the creator of QuickPhase Pro, a popular moon phase software program. Visit http://www.moonconnection.com/quickphase/ to discover the fun and easy way to view the phases of the moon and increase your fishing catch. Note: This article may be reprinted on your website or in your ezine as long as this resource box is included. Links must stay active if this article is published in HTML format.

Association of Scottish Stillwater Fisheries
Web Site: www.assf.net

Atlantic Salmon Trust
Tel: 0171 283 5838
Fax: 0171 929 1389

Carmarthenshire Fishermens Federation
Web Site: www.carmarthenshire.org.uk

Countryside Alliance
Tel: 0207 840 9220
Fax: 0207 793 8899
Web Site: www.countryside-alliance.org

Cumberland Rivers Foundation
Tel: 01 229 717 255
Fax: 717 698
Web Site: bill@arnold.net

Disabled Fly Fishing
Tel: 01758713889
Web Site: www.disabledflyfishing.co.uk

EFTTA
Tel: +44 02072530777
Fax: +44 02072537779
Web Site: www.eftta.com

Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers
Tel: 00353 7330300
Fax: 00353 7330300
Web Site: www.fissta.com

Grayling Society
Tel: 01285 712530
Fax: 01285 713 636
Web Site: www.graylingsociety.org

Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association
Tel: 00353-044 48668
Web Site: www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/useful-contacts.htm

National Anglers Representative Association (NARA)
Tel: 00353-049 8544506
Fax: Mobile: 087 6781562

Nethan-Valley
Web Site: www.nethan-valley.co.uk

Rugby Dissabled Anglers
Tel: 07985155546
Web Site: homepage.ntlworld.com/rugbydissabledanglers

Salmon And Trout Association
Tel: 0171 283 5838
Fax: 0171 929 1389
Web Site: www.salmon-trout.org

The National GameKeepers' Organisation
Tel: 01388 718502
Fax: 01388 718502
Web Site: www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk

The Northumbrian Rivers Project
Tel: +44 (0) 1669 621 701
Web Site: www.northumbrianrivers.co.uk

The Trent River Trust
Web Site: www.trentriverstrust.co.uk

The Wheelyboat Trust
Tel: 01798 342222
Web Site: www.wheelyboats.org

Trout Angling Federation of Ireland (TAFI)
Tel: 00353-064 41499
Fax: Mob- 087 2464102

Upper Annandale Angling Association
Tel: 01683 300592
Web Site: www.riverannan.co.uk/upper

Wild Trout Trust
Tel: 023 9257 0985
Web Site: www.wildtrout.org

TO TOP OF PAGE