Author Topic: Full Moon  (Read 4863 times)

Offline perchslappinmy

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Full Moon
« on: Jan 13, 2017, 11:18 AM »
Kinda new to crappie fishing but did pretty well 4 trips in a row. Last 2 trips i got skunked one night and only 3 the next night with both bad nights being a full moon and night after full moon. First bad night didn't see any on the flasher and the next night very few.

To you experienced fellas is this just the way it goes or maybe something to do with the full moon? Thanks in advance

Offline Northern_MN Outdoorsan

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #1 on: Jan 13, 2017, 02:04 PM »
The full moon and a few days after is always the best time to fish for any species.

Offline panfishman13

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #2 on: Jan 13, 2017, 06:40 PM »
full moon night fishing is usually the best night fishing of all, because fish (especially crappie with their superior night vision) tend to stay active throughout the night looking for food.

if you're not seeing fish on your sonar, then you need to change your location, day or night. end of story.

you can't catch fish that aren't underneath you.

Offline perchslappinmy

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #3 on: Jan 14, 2017, 07:09 PM »
Must be the fish didn't get the memo about good full moon fishing. Of course we moved around looking for them. There were 10 guys fishing the night  not a single crappie was caught and again of course everyone was moving around. That night was where they were biting great a few nights earlier. The next night I fished the area where I caught over 100 in 4 trips prior.

My point is the only thing we could come up with for the sudden change was the full moon.

Offline italianice77

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #4 on: Jan 16, 2017, 06:19 PM »
full moon night fishing is usually the best night fishing of all, because fish (especially crappie with their superior night vision) tend to stay active throughout the night looking for food.

if you're not seeing fish on your sonar, then you need to change your location, day or night. end of story.

you can't catch fish that aren't underneath you.
this guys right....... never had a problem on or after a full moon, might be time to change your spots ups.
it's all fun and games till somebody looses a walleye!!

Offline Krocodile

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #5 on: Jan 22, 2017, 03:50 PM »
I do a lot of night crappie fishing and I catch consistent limits in multiple lakes that I have fished for years. The ONE factor that affects my success rate more than anything is the moon phase. The new moon and the four or five nights before and after are almost guaranteed hot bites. During the full moon (and several days before/after) it is like the lake has no crappie in it. Black crappie eat lots of zooplankton and the dark moon nights promote a much bigger "rise" of them. The zooplankton still appear on the showdown but not nearly as many.

 I fished many Oct,Nov,Dec Lake Erie western basin late fall nights trolling shad raps on the off shore reefs and the opposite scenario held true. The full moon, day before and day after were always special times to be on the reefs from sunset until dawn.

Offline perchslappinmy

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #6 on: Jan 22, 2017, 07:08 PM »
I do a lot of night crappie fishing and I catch consistent limits in multiple lakes that I have fished for years. The ONE factor that affects my success rate more than anything is the moon phase. The new moon and the four or five nights before and after are almost guaranteed hot bites. During the full moon (and several days before/after) it is like the lake has no crappie in it. Black crappie eat lots of zooplankton and the dark moon nights promote a much bigger "rise" of them. The zooplankton still appear on the showdown but not nearly as many.

 I fished many Oct,Nov,Dec Lake Erie western basin late fall nights trolling shad raps on the off shore reefs and the opposite scenario held true. The full moon, day before and day after were always special times to be on the reefs from sunset until dawn.
Thank you for your reply...very informative. I just looked at pictures I took of my first 2 trips out night crappie fishing, 2 days before the new  moon  on dec 27 and on the new moon dec 29. Tons of fish on the screen those nights and a quick limits both times. Took longer the following week but caught limits those 2 nights also. Last winter at a different lake the first time I ever night fished for crappie we caught a hand full just before dark but my Ice 55 screen completely filled with clutter where you couldn't see jig nor fish. I figured it must of been zooplankton. I don't remember what the moon phase was back then. Very addicting this night crappie fishing. I'm learning they can be very picky and when I think I've got 'em figured out they change and want something different. Again thank you very much for the education .

Offline big bobber

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #7 on: Feb 11, 2017, 01:54 PM »
Kinda new to crappie fishing but did pretty well 4 trips in a row. Last 2 trips i got skunked one night and only 3 the next night with both bad nights being a full moon and night after full moon. First bad night didn't see any on the flasher and the next night very few.

To you experienced fellas is this just the way it goes or maybe something to do with the full moon? Thanks in advance
I will guarantee you on certain bodies of water,a full moon will completely shut cfrappie down at night.i fish 100% at night.and I can tell you (where I fish at anyways)the day it will slow down,the day it will stop,and the day it will pick back up.i still fish during the full moon cycle..but guess what..i haven't marked a fish in 3 nights.and normally every night we either catch them..or mark them..tonite is the night after..i bet I catch nothing.
i just know they will bite if i stay another hour.

Offline perchslappinmy

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #8 on: Feb 11, 2017, 06:35 PM »
I will guarantee you on certain bodies of water,a full moon will completely shut cfrappie down at night.i fish 100% at night.and I can tell you (where I fish at anyways)the day it will slow down,the day it will stop,and the day it will pick back up.i still fish during the full moon cycle..but guess what..i haven't marked a fish in 3 nights.and normally every night we either catch them..or mark them..tonite is the night after..i bet I catch nothing.
I went  a few nights ago to the same place I've been fishing, it was a few days before the full moon. I got there a little later than ususal with the thought of staying and fishing later than usual as my previous trip they bit better late into the night. I didn't mark a crappie till almost midnight and it came from above very fast and thumped a bait fish...probably the first time I've seen one come from above. I stayed till a couple hours after dawn and the fish I marked in the daylight were extremely aggressive even with a tungsten jig and plastics. Kinda surprised me. I almost left before I marked that first fish, but as the night went on clouds moved in and it snowed a few inches. Don't know if that had anything to do with making the fishing better or not but I left with 23 crappie that almost filled a 5 gallon bucket. The crappie did disappear  at a certain point in the am.

My next chance to go will be the 14th, 4 days after the full moon. Every time I think I've got them figured out I realize I don't.

My education continues and loving every second of it!

And good luck to you, I hope you're wrong and fill your bucket ;)

Offline Registered Kayak

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Re: Full Moon
« Reply #9 on: Feb 11, 2017, 10:13 PM »
Went out tonight and expected really bad results compared to earlier this week. Full moon definitely causes alot of suface cluttter with plankton. Caught alot of smaller crappie down near bottom but the GIANTs were suspended under plankton. Would grab fatheads on way down. Make line go slack..... Reel into some weight. Landed a 13 incher, and lost and estimated 16 inches in the ice ducer, won't ever make that mistake again haha. So for my pond here, it works okay for full moon. Other ponds, not so much

 



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