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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Anyone follow these closely? If you compare the Prime Times fishing calendar to the moon charts it seems the best time would be when the moon is under-foot. I marked a calendar with the times that the moon is halfway between moonset and moonrise(underfoot). A few of the days each month this happens right at sunrise or at sunset.
I always have liked the moonrise at the same time as sunset or sunrise at the same time as moonset. I have not kept this as part of my fishing log however. Has anyone recorded this info or at least mentally noted any of the above mentioned events and related fish activity? Of course weather, water temp, barometer, etc all are factors also. |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Lobi,
Always keep this information in your mind. The moon charts will always help you.
I have numerous outing that were very good when the weather and moon phases work out in my favor.
I love two days before a full and new moon, the 2nd and 3rd day after is also very good.
Weather is the key to the best days but the moon plays a big part in my plans to get out fishing.
Moon rise and moon set is something everyone should keep an eye on when they are on the water.
You should be on your best spot when the moon in a prime phase.
Anyone who can say the moon has no affect on nature has not kept an eye on it.
Use the prime phases when you can. |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Thanks Mike! Good info. Nothing better than watching the full moon rise as the sunlight is fadeing. I do get excited.
Any details or info out there on Moon overhead or underfoot?
A lot of deer hunters pay close attention also.
Another great time to be fishing is ANY time you can get out on the water.  |
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| I try to plan my trips around the full moon when I can, but weather has more of an impact. However, my biggest fish have come around full moon phases.
Here is a question for everyone, where is the most accurate moon phase information available for a full year in advance? It is nice to see the next three months in EA and MH, but it is more helpful to look at it way in advance! 
Steve |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Moon straight overhead and under foot is a prime time in my opinion.
I like quarters, rise, overhead, set and under foot.
My best action is also the full moon phase. |
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Posts: 96
Location: Eden Prairie, Mn. |
Lobi,
Joe Bucher used to publish a yearly MOON Phase calender in the Musky Hunter magazine. He also corresponded prime
times being when Moon set/rise to SUN set /rise, Full or New moon phase, to occur simultaneously to within an hour of
each other.
I would try to always be on the water fishing my prime spot/spots when the prime moon/sun set/rise & phase occurred.
My catches/action did inrease with the phase. Is it due to the phase/rise/set time ? or is I always fished smarted and hardest during those times and that is the reason I produced more ? I don't know But it don't hurt.
Mother |
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Posts: 294
Location: Suspended | muskyboy - 5/19/2004 12:52 PM
Here is a question for everyone, where is the most accurate moon phase information available for a full year in advance? It is nice to see the next three months in EA and MH, but it is more helpful to look at it way in advance!
Steve
I use U.S. Naval Observatory's Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day an hour on each side of the moon transit is major and 12 hours later. Minors are 6 hours before or after a major. |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Would moon phases and charts help me? Probally, if I had the time and schedule to work them. I get out whenever I can. You'll never see me schedule or not schedule fishing due to the moon. If by chance the moon gods line up with the musky gods while I'm out....so be it.
I know guys who only fish when the moon tells them to or not to....what a waste. |
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Posts: 149
| I use my handheld GPS (Garmin GPSMAP76). I can input any date for as far in the future as I want then move the cursor from my current coordinates to any point on the map anywhere on the entire earth and the unit tells me when moonrise and moonset plus sunrise and sunset is for that location for the date I specified. No having to figure out the time from a chart and add or subtract time zones or partial time zones. Gives the data to the minute for that exact location for whatever date I tell it to. Also gives a picture representation of where the sun and moon are in relation to you (overhead or underfoot, etc) for any location at any time.
Edited by esoxcpr 5/19/2004 5:28 PM
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Posts: 342
Location: Passaic, NJ - Upper French River, ON | Anyody else fishing ? I think it's a full moon. Rainy, overcast, north wind, here. 9 follows, 1 in the boat, 1 lost. Had two fish following a topraider at the same time, and another time, looked down and a fish was waiting at the boat for my lure. Weird stuff. Then the sun came out and turned everything off.
Definitely following moon and weather.
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| Moon phase has never done a whole lot for me. In the fall we seem to have full moon rise coincide with sunset. I have never caught a fish under that condition. Sunrise and sunset have always been better for me as well as good lake conditions. |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | esoxcpr.. What brand/model gps r u using. That sounds pretty fancy. Do you need a degree to use it? |
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Posts: 149
| I have a Garmin GPSMAP76. It's not complex at all. Actually it's one of the most common mapping handhelds currently out there. Retails for $259 if you shop around a bit. Most places have it for around $299. Reading these posts even got me thinking and I used the GPS to go back through my log and enter the locations, dates, and times on the celestial page to see what the exact phases and positions of the sun and moon were for my largest fish each of the past 5 seasons. Three of the 5 came within 15 minutes of moonrise. One was caught the day of the full moon. All 5 were caught during the middle of the day between 9 am and 4 pm. Obviously the phase was not too important because the 3 that were caught with the moonrise were on days on the "in between" phases when the moonrise is in the middle of the day. I also checked some of the memorable multiple fish days where I and my partner(s) had multiple fish in the boat in one day. Only one was the day of the full moon, and the others were in between phases. |
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Posts: 188
Location: Madison, WI | <p>I keep the Cap City (Madison, WI) MI database and with 5390 muskies in the last 6 years, here's what the numbers look like when bounced up against the Full +/-2, LQ +/-2, FQ +/-2, New +/-2 phases.</p><p>First, if you assume that a month has 30 days in it then the phases listed below only account for 20 of those days so I've added an "Other" phase that constitutes the remaining 10 days. If divide that 30 day month into those five categories then Full, LQ, FQ and New are 16.67% of the month each and Other is 33.33% of the month. Are you with me so far?</p><p>When you do the math, the 5,390 fish registered fall into those categories like this;</p><p>New - 15.73%<br />First Quarter - 16.83%<br />Full Moon - 17.53%<br />Last Quarter - 18.40%<br />Other - 31.5%</p><p>To me, none of these numbers are substantially different than if you just spread the fish out evenly amongst each of the categories.</p><p>When you only look at 45"+ fish (294) the numbers look like this;</p><p>New - 18.37%<br />First Quarter - 18.71%<br />Full Moon - 17.35%<br />Last Quarter - 13.27%<br />Other - 32.31%</p><p>Aside from the Last Quarter dropping there isn't much sticking out here either.</p><p>What surprises me is that as many people that do plan their trips around a specific moon phases (mostly new and full) the data should be skewed in one of those directions and it isn't.</p><p>...and before anyone starts yelling at me about it, this does not included specific moonrise / moonset times just the day that the actual phase occured.</p><p>Craig Eversoll</p>
Edited by Craig Eversoll 5/21/2004 6:52 AM
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Craig pretty much summed up what I have found through my logs over the years. As Steve VanLieshout says, best time to go Muskie fishing is when you can! |
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| My brother Tomcat and I both plan our major trips around the moon phases. I agree that weather has a bigger role in the fishing success. However, I think the moon phases effect clear water fish more than stained water fish. Most muskies are caught from stained waters: LOTW, most shield lakes, Vilas County, etc. However, the people who I know that live and die by the Moon fish Lake St. Claire, Georgian Bay, Eagle, Rowan, and other clear water systems out East. But then again, those are big fish waters and I think the biggest fish in any system, seem to be more active during full and new moon.
When the perfect weather pattern meets the perfect moon phase, it can be dangerous.....
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Moon Phase / Moon Position