I have never fished this Blue Moon everyone seems to be talking about. Is this the holy grail of moons? Should I get my a$$ up and pack my gear and head out? Is anyone heading out for this epic moon?
I don't want to miss out if its that good, but I am exhausted.

I was wondering the same thing
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

just go fishing ,going to get my gear and head out after work starting to look like a all nighter,fall is upon us cooler temps means long boring days in the winter months

It is an extra set of spring tides in a month at the end of August! That is exactly the kind of thing that gets me excited
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Nothing special about a "blue moon". All it means is that it's the second full moon in a calendar month. They happen more often than you'd think, from all the hubbub about it.

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

That means blue moons suck.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

That means blue moons suck.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Speak for yourself I caught the smallest fish of the year for me today(hopefully)
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

There are Smurf's born on a Blue Moon! http://bluebuddies.com/gallery/Smurf_Art_Showcase/gif/Smurf_In_Hand_Art_Blue_Moon_Nursery.gif

Is the moon actually going to be blue

Or just sad

Lets bracket "peak" striper time as May to Sept. Yes I know you can catch them march to Dec in New England (or all year long if you fish rivers , etc) (For me it was always St Patricks Day to Monday after Thanksgiving). May to Sept has 153 days. If you want , call it 184 by including October or also include April and November and add the appropriate days. Its up to you.

Now we can argue about New Moons and Full Moons but the fact is that the tides go with the moon and that means about every 28 days there is a complete cycle and in that cycle we have high water and strong currents every 14 days along with low water and slower currents (or maybe faster in some areas at some times) every 14 days.

So now make up 2 scales (rulers or yard sticks). Make one with marks every 14 days and one with marks every month (30 days for June , 31 for August , etc). .

Now place the scales one above the other and slide them back and forth relative to one another. You will see that at some relative locations of the scales , you will get an extra big moon event occuring during your chosen peak season and at other relative scale locations you will lose one.. Under the right circumstances of Moon dates you may even gain a second extra tide during your defined peak season..

So depending on the timing of the first moon event relative to the first day of your defined season , you get an extra chance or two at good moon tides.

To get more in depth , add a vertical scale to your scales showing high and low tide times on your 14 day scale and time of day on the calendar scale. Now if you like you could add a wave on your scale that goes up and down with the high/low tide times. Now when you move the scales relative to each other , you will see when the tide events throughout the season correspond to the times of day you like to fish. You could add more event markers to you calendar scale to indicate say fridays or Saturdays , etc. Another good event to add to your scalkes would be sunrise and sunset.

So lets say you slide the scales up and down relative to each other and you notice certain must fish days. For me that would be when new moon tides correspond to sunset on a Friday night! :)

So anyway , all the excitement of a blue moon is just that idea (not nescessarily reality) that you get an extra day of good tides during some predetermined time frame. In the case of Blue Moons the time frame is a month but I think "peak" fishing times is more important.

Conclusions. There are times when fishing is predicted to be better. Strong tides, do to moon phases, is one , thus the excitement of a Blue Moon. Sunrise and sunsets are another , time of day of the high and low tides relative to when you like to fish are another. Days you can go (like Friday nights) are another.

To be honest , I would get a lot more excited when a higher than normal tide happens to coincide with the sunset on a friday night than I would about a Blue Moon but if that extra moon tide is what makes that peculiarly good friday night possible than Oh yeah , we love the Blue Moon (or the new moon two weeks before or after!

Yes when there is an extra moon in the month , the moon is actually Blue in color and if you make a wish when you see that blue colored moon rise , your wish will come true. :)

Nah, he's just a little down in the dumps.

No complaints from me.:uhuh::jump1:

No complaints from me.:uhuh::jump1:

Hmm I should have taken the day off I see
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Is the moon actually going to be blue

We go down to the beach to watch the moon rise over the ocean and when it came up orange and turned white, my two year old was absolutely pissed that it wasn't blue. She said I told her a fib and I should be in time out.

silly people fish dont eat on a full moon.. especialy a blue moon... they stick their heads in the sand and wait until the new moon.. so everyone should stay home and play with their computers...:biglaugh:

silly people fish dont eat on a full moon.. especialy a blue moon... they stick their heads in the sand and wait until the new moon.. so everyone should stay home and play with their computers...:biglaugh:

Thanks for the heads up I'll never make that mistake again ;-)
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Thanks for the heads up I'll never make that mistake again ;-)
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

damn right you wont:uhuh:me either:)

Westportmafia......it sucked because you were fishing for "Bait".......

All kidding aside, it really did suck!! But we'll get them next time. So much for plan B..

Just now received this from a friend, located well east of Boston, the moon coming over the horizon!

Fish laugh at me and my plugs when the moon is full.
I curse the damn thing and pray for clouds.
Just sayin.

Well the bluemoon = a spud sighting, how you been man!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Skip.....I've been well. Busy as usual but much slower now. In a few weeks I will be completely caught up with everything. I have to call you...got some goodies for you.

Fish laugh at me and my plugs when the moon is full.
I curse the damn thing and pray for clouds.
Just sayin.

Thank GOD I'm not alone!

Hmmm, last week almost every fish that was brought boatside had 3 or 4 friends following, all visable in the moonlight in only 2.5 - 4 feet of water. The fish were VERY hungry and the moon was VERY bright.

Just curious, have eighther of you two tried an eel skinned needle under these conditions, or used a lighter leader? I haven't tried plugs much this year (the fish have been too fat and picky), but I seriously doubt these fish would have refused one.

Westportmafia......it sucked because you were fishing for "Bait".......

All kidding aside, it really did suck!! But we'll get them next time. So much for plan B..

Lol. Yeah plan b sucked but I think a would have too. That wind in the wrong direction was totally honking. Still had a good time though.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Hmmm, last week almost every fish that was brought boatside had 3 or 4 friends following, all visable in the moonlight in only 2.5 - 4 feet of water. The fish were VERY hungry and the moon was VERY bright.

Just curious, have eighther of you two tried an eel skinned needle under these conditions, or used a lighter leader? I haven't tried plugs much this year (the fish have been too fat and picky), but I seriously doubt these fish would have refused one.

eelskin plugs slay in the moon light, if the fish are there they will hit the eelskin no doubt.

had a slow pick of smaller fish last full moon, switched to the eelskin ah jr and the size went up, as did the hits. biggest fish was 24lbs on the skin plug but compared to 15lb fish on a non skin plug.

Next blue moon July 2015

Just curious, have eighther of you two tried an eel skinned needle under these conditions, or used a lighter leader? .

Yup and yup (but #40 fluoro is as light as I dare go where I fish)

Skin plugs help a little ( no where near as much as clouds) but are far from a sure thing when the moon is up. Finding deep water and fishing deep is the better trick, which is why boat fishing (or the canal) is often good with a big moon. Also, during spring and fall migrations fish are less fussy so sometimes I've done well, but more often not.

Consistently catching quality fish on plugs from shore under a bright summer moon is not something I have been able to master.....or understand. It eats at me since a big moon now kills my confidence, and confidence is key to catching fish on plugs.

For the most part I fish with 30# mono leaders. When the moon is bright, I sometimes knock it down to 20#. Sometimes I feel that it gives me a better chance and like you said, confidence is the key.

As far as losing fish on lighter line, here's my take.

I fish a particularly nasty stretch of water on occasion. I probably only land about 70% of them on average (at best). I frequenly lose fish to submerged rocks, lobster pots, and mussel shoals. It gets quite frustrating at times. Out of desperation, on one trip I tried bumping my leader up to 50# mono and my main line up to 30#. After swapping back and forth between my normal setup and the heavy artillery, the fish gave me the answer I really didn't want to hear. I didn't even get so much as a sniff on the heavy gear, and 3 fish between 25 and 35#'s with one lost on my normal setup. Personally, I would prefer the latter. Some nights I land them all, other nights, none at all.

Is heavy line the reason for your bad full moon mojo? I doubt it is the single reason. But it may be one of the small pieces of the puzzle.


And my hat is off to you for sticking with wood, no matter what.

"ay Buddy Any Bait in Da Wata":rotf2:

For the most part I fish with 30# mono leaders. When the moon is bright, I sometimes knock it down to 20#. Sometimes I feel that it gives me a better chance and like you said, confidence is the key.

As far as losing fish on lighter line, here's my take.

I fish a particularly nasty stretch of water on occasion. I probably only land about 70% of them on average (at best). I frequenly lose fish to submerged rocks, lobster pots, and mussel shoals. It gets quite frustrating at times. Out of desperation, on one trip I tried bumping my leader up to 50# mono and my main line up to 30#. After swapping back and forth between my normal setup and the heavy artillery, the fish gave me the answer I really didn't want to hear. I didn't even get so much as a sniff on the heavy gear, and 3 fish between 25 and 35#'s with one lost on my normal setup. Personally, I would prefer the latter. Some nights I land them all, other nights, none at all.

Is heavy line the reason for your bad full moon mojo? I doubt it is the single reason. But it may be one of the small pieces of the puzzle.


And my hat is off to you for sticking with wood, no matter what.

I remember watching people doing gamefishing on ESPN years ago and they would color their lines because the heavier lines would spook the fish, does it happen on bass? I dunno but I thought that was interesting.

I'm with Numby, plugging all the way (though I don't have a choice) but I have used my 20# braid without a shock leader *DUN* *DUN* *DUNNNNNN*. Never saw a difference. *shrug* what do I know, I could just be fishing it wrong which is very possible. Though I can never resist fishing a full moon regardless (its a free light!).

Though I will say this, I have gotten hits and just missed but I did notice that the action reflected the actions of the animals in the surrounding area such as deer making their presence known when I'm driving to the beach and nearby inlet with a backbay.

Try using a piece of braid for the leader. Sounds strange but guys do it and swear the thin-ness of the braid makes up for it non clear nature relative to equal test mono , especial when you get to the 50 + lb test mono range.