Moon above, below feeding times!

[Rod Bender]

Hi peoples,
Do many members take note of the moon above/below feeding times that are listed in the almanac? I have always believed that there is some substance to it...with other factors affecting 'the bite' as well. I have done some sessions late into the night bait fishing (freshwater) and have watched the progress of the moon. On many occasions I have noticed more activity (bites) around the time that the moon is directly above. This evening was the same. I'm guessing the fish were small cod as I didn't hook any and really didn't want to stuff around unhooking them. What I did notice tonight is that whilst early in the evening the bites were not that aggressive, around the 'moon above' position,the bites were more aggressive and frequent. I'm not sure if this was the same small fish just getting more agro or if larger fish came into action.
cheers
Jim

[Larksy88]

i do try to avoid fishing full moons. For some reason the fish go off the bite

[Fishsniper]

I reckon the moon phases have a lot to do fish feeding activity, if you manage to hook one today say, i would check the size of the fishes pupils basicly and you will find if you if went 3 days later when the moon is full and above then the eyes aren't as bulgy or big and may even change color, I try to match my lures with red bulgy eyes on dark moons and grey or black smaller eyes for full moon ,then it's just a matter of getting the right color, just a little trick I learn't for night fishing freshwater, hope it helps

[DougieK]

I reckon the moon phases have a lot to do fish feeding activity, if you manage to hook one today say, i would check the size of the fishes pupils basicly and you will find if you if went 3 days later when the moon is full and above then the eyes aren't as bulgy or big and may even change color, I try to match my lures with red bulgy eyes on dark moons and grey or black smaller eyes for full moon ,then it's just a matter of getting the right color, just a little trick I learn't for night fishing freshwater, hope it helps

That's pretty damn insightful right there.

[Fishsniper]

I probably should have put it in the VIP section but at the end of the day it doesn't always work but its worth a go

[Rod Bender]

....................... I try to match my lures with red bulgy eyes on dark moons and grey or black smaller eyes for full moon ,then it's just a matter of getting the right color,.....................

Can you name some lures that suit each condition? May save people time if they want to try this.
cheers
Jim

[Mikey87]

I reckon the moon phases have a lot to do fish feeding activity, if you manage to hook one today say, i would check the size of the fishes pupils basicly and you will find if you if went 3 days later when the moon is full and above then the eyes aren't as bulgy or big and may even change color, I try to match my lures with red bulgy eyes on dark moons and grey or black smaller eyes for full moon ,then it's just a matter of getting the right color, just a little trick I learn't for night fishing freshwater, hope it helps

I've spent a lot of time thinking about colour matching based on light & water conditions but never even considered this before now. Awesome point mate.

[Fishsniper]

Hard to give specific examples but for instance, The maribyrnong river at night, I have found that a clear Pygmy with bulging red eyes works well when cast into the shallow banks and worked slowly with lots os pauses because it is more like a shrimp and the fish would see it as a shrimp in the weedy beds along the banks on a dark moon and with the street lights on those big red eyes would grab any breams attention, but if it was a full moon I would go for a darker such as a pygmy or recently I have been getting a few here and there on Rapala X-Raps in silver and black back to represent a mullet or similar lure with yellow eyes to match the hatch, thats a basic theory anyway, hope you like it

[sloth]

It's an interesting theory. If there is an effect it may be something other than just eye colour though. Bream are blue-green dichromats which means they cannot perceive red as a colour - anything in the red wavelength of the spectrum appears black or greyscale. For example here's how a particular lures colour range appears to us compared to how a bream sees it.



Don't want to hijack thus into a colour discussion but thought it maybe of interest.

Personally I don't pay too much attention to moon phases other than considering ambient light. I don't like fishing where I'll be silhouetted against the skyline or where I'll cast a shadow on the water. Too be honest I like conditions that mean the fish are primarily hunting by scent and their lateral line. So dark nights/moon or dirty water.... If you add to that compressed water then you can usually provoke an aggressive reaction bite.

[pwalnuts]

Interesting discussion but what is compressed water?