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Posts: 20188
Location: oswego, il | I have two apps on my phone solunarcast and time2fish light. What I find interesting is how often they differ from each other, sometimes not even close. For one, solunarcast always picks a major(s) off of moon overhead and underfoot. Time2Fish varies between rise, set overhead and underfoot. Sometimes how they rate the individual day is different too. Here is an example of the full moon this saturday:
Solunarcast majors 10:12a-1:12p(listed twice because overhead and underfoot are somehow at 11:42a), minors 5:09p-7:09p and 5:20a-7:30a based on moon rise and set. It gives the day a 5 star(max) rating as it always does for full and new moon.
Time2Fish never gives more than one primary and secondary time to fish per day. Primary is 10:45p-1:18a and secondary is 11:10a-1:43p and it gives the day rating as average 55%
The seconday of Time2Fish lines up some with Solunarcast primary for this given day. The other times do not match up at all, nor does the day rating.
I get the whole fish when you can thing and I do, I have however seen people come and go on lakes based around rise and set of the moon and not fish but the time around it and leave. Based on these apps, it may not even be the best time to fish, or is it? I am not even sure which one may be right or the best one to use on any given day. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | My self I prefer reading chicken entrails. Weather trumps ALL. If you need somthing to hang on to concentrate on moonrise and moonset. |
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Posts: 1901
Location: MN | "Solunarcast majors 10:12a-1:12p (listed twice because overhead and underfoot are somehow at 11:42a)..."
This is clearly impossible so must be an error or typo.
You'll find the same thing with the Solunar Forecast website and the actual John Alden Knight yearly tables. The web site is always moon overhead and underfoot are the majors, and moon rise/set are the minors. The book is random, based on tides and other stuff, for the majors and minors, but do not often coincide with overhead/underfoot or rise/set. Some guys go by the book, others swear by the overhead/underfoot. Some guys believe strongly in apogee and perogee (sp?) - when the moon is closest or furthest. Believers probably have anecdotal evidence for each. |
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Posts: 20188
Location: oswego, il | I have found the data to be consistently inconsistent as far as succsess goes even on stable days. Last weekend just for example I caught aa fish at the tail end of the major. The next day caught a fish just after noon well in between the major and minor. I find this to be the case alot even on stable weather days where no weather change occurs. |
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Posts: 8745
| I agree with your findings, Todd. What I want to know is what makes the fish turn on when you have stable conditions, steady barometer, no change in wind or light, and no major/minor? We've all had those days - absolutely NOTHING going on that would indicate any sort of weather or pressure or solunar influence, and all of a sudden, the fish just go nuts. Equally puzzling are the pre frontal days when everything lines up, and you're fishing the majors on an overcast day with a nice SW wind blowing, and you get NOTHING.
Not saying I don't believe in solunar influence, I do think it can be significant. But more often than not, the #*^@ fish go when they want to with no influence we can point to, and don't when they should, despite having the "perfect" conditions.
About the only thing that's ever been consistent for me is when moonrise occurs near the end of the day, preferrably about the same time as sunset. Moon on one horizon, sun on the other. If I could only fish a few hours a few times a year, that's when I'd fish. |
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Posts: 20188
Location: oswego, il | According to the apps and solunar tables there is always a major and a minor. There are times the fish go nuts during these periods. You also mentioned moonrise/sunset when they happen together. I have seen some instances where it has been good. One instance when it never has will come next month. The October full moon always coincides with sunset. The holy grail right? I have fished good proven spots and I can say for certain that I have not had so much as a rip or follow during that time.
Edited by ToddM 9/27/2012 1:24 PM
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Posts: 121
Location: Plymouth IA | The phase of the moon when the wife is happy and tells me to go fishing because i need to. if you find an app that can predict that let me know. |
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Posts: 152
| agree with your findings, Todd. What I want to know is what makes the fish turn on when you have stable conditions, steady barometer, no change in wind or light, and no major/minor? We've all had those days - absolutely NOTHING going on that ....
Hunger would be my guess.... |
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Posts: 20188
Location: oswego, il | If fish fed when they were hungry moon, sun and weather would mean nothing. |
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Posts: 8745
| Lungemadness - 9/27/2012 10:57 PM
agree with your findings, Todd. What I want to know is what makes the fish turn on when you have stable conditions, steady barometer, no change in wind or light, and no major/minor? We've all had those days - absolutely NOTHING going on that ....
Hunger would be my guess....
All of them? Across the whole lake?
There's always a hungry one somewhere, but when everybody in camp saw and caught all their fish within an hour of each other, there's got to be something else going on... |
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Posts: 32829
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I think I know a part of the stable weather puzzle. I kept a log for 15 years and compared the successes to barograph records from the area. Very small spikes and drops (waves) in the pressure coincided with activity, and the activity lasted as long as the spikes and dips. A very slight change in wind intensity and direction and sometimes (but not always) cloud cover usually accompanied the activity. Get one of those during a major and there was a magic window.
I used the Knight tables in printed form for years, and those have been good to me...hunting too. |
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Posts: 8745
| Steve, where can I find historical barograph records? |
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Posts: 1220
| OK, everybody has an opinion on this stuff. Here's mine: Most of the time you try to rely on solar/lunar stuff, you will have wasted your time--you will have noticed not one single difference in the way muskys are reacting/not reacting. A portion of the time (obviously more so) when there is a weather related event, and a somewhat smaller time when it's just the given times in the tables...there will be a totally great and measurable effect making you really glad you are there. Unless you are genuine guru in the crowd..you will not know why. Clearly, some other thing is going on (Gelb's new book touches on this) that we just do not yet understand. What I do know, however, is you have to be a bit of dumbass to go eat lunch during the targeted times, be driving around the lake with the big motor running, trying a strange new spot just for the heck of it, or in any way not fishing a good spot with a good bait in a serious fashion. Musky fishing is tough enough! Even if the moon stuff only works 10% of the time...I'M DOING IT! |
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Posts: 8745
| Along the lines of Junkman's post - too many people who know way more than I do believe in it, with proven results to show for it. Best you can do in my opinion is be aware of the majors/minors/moonrise/moonset etc., and try to be on a fish you've seen or on a proven spot when they happen.
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Posts: 86
Location: colorado | I always plan trips around the dark of the moon. I sleep in a tent and the moon doesn't shine on me and keep me awake. Some times the fishing is good some times not so good. Always nice to be out. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I purposely don't look at tables till I get back home and compare the tables to my results. I am afraid if I know its not a prime time I might not fish as hard. My dad always said don't bother fishing if the cows are lying down, yesterday two herds visible from my house one grazing and one lying down. I know when I am driving to the launch if I see deer in the fields and critters crossing the road I should have started an hour earlier |
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Location: Ontario | Love that opinion Frank!  |
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