Full moon shore fishing - yea or nea?

[Steve K]

I have never done well fishing from shore during a full moon. Afterwards I say to myself that I am better off sleeping. For the fans of the full moon what tactics do you use?

Steve

[piemma]

Black plugs

[JFigliuolo]

waiting for Rockfish9....3-2-1...

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by JFigliuolo

waiting for Rockfish9....3-2-1...

Waiting for what......Bass feed during the day don't they... only difference is that will come shallower at night... the timing of these tides is critical next week...I expect to hear of a lot of action.up and down the coastline..

for me.. I don't change a lot of tactics.. but the moon light gives you a fudge factor you don't get with the darkness of the new moon...the surfman's ( and boat fisherman's) nemesis "fire" is mitigated under the brightness of the full moon... fish just are not as spooky as they might be when it is real dark and still... I feel I can use bigger baits which in my mind = bigger fish... when it is dark... the fire often times means I need to go smaller to make the bait appear "normal".. I like my "blond" eels for these full moon ( and back side of the full) nights... they just seem to perform a little better on the bright nights...also.. under the light of the moon.. I can work my baits faster with less chance of spooking the fish.. thus covering more ground if need be... where in pitch dark... anything moving quickly is unnatural( or fearful it might give up it's location)... I've actually done damage with both surface poppers and tins under a bright moon..fish forget there are not supposed to eat a pencil after dark..
We've had a decent season up here.. it's been either feast or famine..but with a serious lack of truly large fish... for the first time in over 40 years.. I'm in jeopardy of not breaking 4olbs ... I'm counting on this moon to do the deed for me...

Now I'm officially on vacation... hammer time starts tomorrow night...

tight lines all
Roc

[numbskull]

Eels and skin plugs certainly improve your odds.

A boat makes a huge difference. I can do fine casting from a boat on a full moon but put me on the beach and have me cover the exact same water and I won't catch much.

I think this is because (in my experience at least) fish are much more likely to commit to hitting a plug going away from the shore rather than towards it. I think they know that when they have large prey pinned inside of them against the shore and visibility (i.e., light) is good they can take their time hitting it as it is not going anywhere. Alternatively, when their prey is outside of them moving towards deeper water they need to make a fast decision to hit it before it gets away.

It drives me crazy trying to catch fish from shore on plugs under a full moon (sans cloud cover). Sure I've had a few banner nights but for the most part it is a painfully slow pick of small fish. I don't understand why I can do better by daylight than under the moon. I suspect it has something to do with the plug's visibility from below. Still, I've tried surface plugs, thin leaders, and all sorts of colors without any reproducible success.

Bill Wetzel, in an OTW article, describes fishing shallow with white plugs and a fast retrieve. This makes some sense since a fast moving prey forces a fish to commit quickly rather than follow. Can't say I've tried it from shore, however, since my enthusiasm for shore fishing under a full moon is so low I typically go by boat if I go at all.

[rphud]

but then there is Monday night......I'm just saying. Likely look for speedsters in the daylight over the weekend and fish Monday night for larger fish. Would be nice to fish Tuesday night as well, but my boss would really hate that since it would mean not showing up to work until mid day Wednesday at best.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Eels and skin plugs certainly improve your odds.

A boat makes a huge difference. I can do fine casting from a boat on a full moon but put me on the beach and have me cover the exact same water and I won't catch much.

I think this is because (in my experience at least) fish are much more likely to commit to hitting a plug going away from the shore rather than towards it. I think they know that when they have large prey pinned inside of them against the shore and visibility (i.e., light) is good they can take their time hitting it as it is not going anywhere. Alternatively, when their prey is outside of them moving towards deeper water they need to make a fast decision to hit it before it gets away.

It drives me crazy trying to catch fish from shore on plugs under a full moon (sans cloud cover). Sure I've had a few banner nights but for the most part it is a painfully slow pick of small fish. I don't understand why I can do better by daylight than under the moon. I suspect it has something to do with the plug's visibility from below. Still, I've tried surface plugs, thin leaders, and all sorts of colors without any reproducible success.

Bill Wetzel, in an OTW article, describes fishing shallow with white plugs and a fast retrieve. This makes some sense since a fast moving prey forces a fish to commit quickly rather than follow. Can't say I've tried it from shore, however, since my enthusiasm for shore fishing under a full moon is so low I typically go by boat if I go at all.

Many years ago I hooked.....and lost one of the largest bass I ever had on a line. Full Moon, dead low tide and I'm out on the reef at Black Point. I'm throwing a black jointed metal lip swimmer that I made. Swirl the size of a bathtub and I'm on. 1208 Allstar and a VS 200. After about 5 minutes she dove and I could feel her rubbing the plug against the reef. Then....nothing. Plug came back with one tine on a VMC 3/0 4X straightened and the lip all bent. I still have the treble and lip in my office.
Full moon and a dead low tide on a flat calm night. Who would have thought.....

[chefchris401]

I'm not a fan of bright cloudless nights myself

Things I've done to help with that.

1. Skin plugs, mostly swimmers, fished just below the surface. Insane blow ups and some savage hits.

2. Jointed plugs, I don't have a reason, but last year under a bright moon throwing a bm squeelie in gasoline color I took 3 fish all over 20 lbs on 6 casts, and a bunch of high teen fish that night. Only thing they would touch. And they were a lot closer in than usual, my hits were coming 2/3 of the way in.

3. Small metal lips like the bm spin (herring color) and ccw small Danny (mullet color)

4. Bright moon with cloud cover. The fish would only hit when the clouds would block the moon, dead low, incoming tide. We had (2 of us) fish almost every cast if the moon was covered for a whole tide, before we had to go back to shore with the tide coming in. Fish would crush anything that would reach em, mostly the old 2oz Afterhours needle and the Habs 2.5oz, it got to the point that when the moon wasn't covered we'd stop fishing and bs and retie leaders and get ready for the next batch of clouds
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[JLH]

I look forward to the nights around both the new and full moons. Bright full moon nights can be a a challenge but fishing them hard usually yields some nice fish. My numbers generally go down on bright nights but every season I seem to find a fish or two over 40 pounds on or within a few nights of the full moon. Structure like big boulders and jetties cans offer dark shaded spots when the moon isn't directly overhead and I think the fish like using those areas as cover. I also find that areas that have dark bottoms covered on weed fish better for me than light sandy bottoms when the moon is bright.
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[numbskull]

Originally Posted by JLH

Structure like big boulders and jetties cans offer dark shaded spots when the moon isn't directly overhead and I think the fish like using those areas as cover. I also find that areas that have dark bottoms covered on weed fish better for me than light sandy bottoms when the moon is bright.
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Brilliant post. I've never thought about looking for natural shadow lines under a full moon. Something well worth trying.

[ecduzitgood]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Brilliant post. I've never thought about looking for natural shadow lines under a full moon. Something well worth trying.

Frank Diagnault gets into shadows in one of his books....I can't recall the title, which is strange because I must have read it at least three times..I recall a picture of him looking down from a bridge shielding his eyes while checking the bridge shadows.
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[FishermanTim]

keep a variety of lures at the ready so that you will have options.
Some will swear by dark colors, others by light, some say plastics, others hard bodies, and some swear by full and others by hew moons. They key overall is that you HAVE to get out and see what works for you!

If you are fishing near a dock or bridge, the shadow area can be really productive.

[Dick Durand]

Quote - Frank Diagnault gets into shadows in one of his books....I can't recall the title, which is strange because I must have read it at least three times..I recall a picture of him looking down from a bridge shielding his eyes while checking the bridge shadows.

Back in the '70's Frank and many others used to fish the west end of the Jamestown Bridge, ordinarily using Smilin' Bill bucktails. The bridge lights attracted bait, while the predators (bass, blues, squateague), lurking in the shadows, would strike lures entering their zone. A bridge gaff would be employed to hoist one's catch. The bite was good, but the police often chased fihermen off the bridge, which had a narrow sidewalk on the south side only, making the incoming tide advantageous.

Ordinarily, I don't like the full moon from the surf, but guys have made several good points.

[Steve K]

Thanks for the responses. There is some great information here that I need to digest.
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[albythereforyou]

lots of awesome info in this thread!

my full moon experiences are either feast or famine. Ive gotten some large high 30 lb fish under the full moon, and lost the biggest bass of my life under the bright full moon. but I'd say like 8 out of 10 times when I go out under any bright moon I get skunked or maybe a lone blue...

[ivanputski]

full moon from shore = Bait. either eels or chunk.

[numbskull]

Painful to post but this is worth a read regarding shadows.
http://striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/...ghlight=shadow
What I like about JLH's idea is that the same thinking makes good sense on a micro level (i.e., a single underwater rock's shadow line)

[cow tamer]

On the same idea as shadows. Areas where there is artificial light, like bridges, docks, piers. Moonlight is just another part of the existing light that is normally there.

[Rappin Mikey]

I was going to bring Steve's post up. I remembered it well, and had been successful following his words until the demise of the seals. I was going to bring it up but when Numby chimed in. I thought I would refrain. Plus, I thought Manzi might have posted it. Good memories of great people are always worth bringing up.

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Yea for me because i fish when i can. Luck hasn't always been on my side but i seem to scratch out a few fish. Last full moon i fished with fresh bunker and eel and didn't do much damage. A blue and about a 32"er, the days leading up to it my buddy was consistently in 20-low 30's. The bite picked up again at the same spot later in the week. Can't say for sure if it was the moon or not though.