Tides / Time / Moon .....

[rhino01]

Would like to know everyones thoughts on the following....

You are at your favourite fishing spot (Spot X) what effects the fishing results

1) Tide eg: 1 hour before & after high tide/ run out tide
2) Time - spoke to a guy the other day and he only goes fishing at either dusk or dawn
3) Moon - full moon / half moon / no moon
4) Combination of the above

I am thinking of starting a fishing diary to track my results but would like to know if anyone has their own thoughts / theories. I understand that it depends what you are targeting .... but is there a general rule to use as a guide???????:-? :-?

[sandbankmagnet]

I still chuckle at big Rex Hunt stating one time "I don't care about what the moon is doing, I only care about the tides"....

errr.... Rex.... what do you reckon drives those tides....

It depends on what you're fishing for. Totaly different for pretty much every species I reckon.

What are you chasing?

[rhino01]

Live on the Sunshine Coast and chase a bit of everything!!!!
Maybe I should of made it species specific as well. EG:

1) Bream
2) Flathead
3) Jew
4) Whiting
6) Snapper
7) Mangrove Jack
8) Mudcrab

Just really after peoples general opinion / theories. Would also like to track results and see if any reoccuring times / tides / moon phase etc. get better results. Does it really matter about these factors or should you concentrate on find that elusive secret spot and using the best bait or lure. Probably opening up a can of worms but thought it would be a good reference for a newby.

[Captain Seaweed]

Rhino,
I am not a great fisherman by any means but this is what I have found:

1)Bream- dont fish for them
2)Flathead- when the tides are running, find them hard when water is still. I always drift fish and use local bait ie yabbies or plastics. Normally bright colours green, yellow, orange
3)Jew, havnt caught any
4)Still gets me this one, not sure
5)same s flathead, light sinker, yabbies on the drift
6)is this the same as 4?
7)There is a massive write up on these on this forum , do a search
8)Not sure if this is the same as 5?
9)Any month with an "r" in ti. If it has just rained fish the deeper water, no rain hunt shallow.

Not much I know mate but something!


Marty

[rhino01]

I should have added my thoughts as well:

1) Bream - full moon / 1-2 hours either side of high tide / night time
2) Flathead - falling tide / daytime
3) Jew - high tide / no moon / night time
4) Snapper - high or low tide (tide just needs to be running) / day break or night time
5) Whiting - 1-2 hours either side of high / day time
6) Mangrove Jack - full moon / change of tide / dawn-dusk-night
8) Mudcrab - months with a "R" in them / 2-3 hours either side of high / mornings

Also I doubled up on whiting & snapper in the previous post- SORRY !!

9) Mackeral - day break

[tunaticer]

I belive there are two primary bite periods each day, dawn and to a slightly lesser extent dusk. Fish will definitely feed well in the first light period of dawn when they can sight fish rather than detect things with thier other senses in the dark.

If these two bite periods coincide with a change of tide or a moon directly above or below there will be a marked rise in the level of activity and hopefully feeding.

Phases of the moon do make large changes in the way fish behave, generally the brighter the night the more they spread out hunting, the darker the night the more they hunt around structure. Not too common to score any numbers of fish on a new moon away from some structure.

For me, I fish every dawn I can from an hour before first light to an hour after the sun has poked over the horizon. If it is heavily overcast I will fish longer.

[nigelr]

Great advice there tunaticer re dawn and dusk IMO.
I like the neap tides on the beach, and the spring tides, specifically the 'making' highs, in the estuary.
'Making' tides, ie one that is higher than the previous day.
I don't even bother with the full moon, unless there is a window of darkness before it rises or after it sets. Inshore/offshore are different kettles.
No moon for estuary bream.
IMHO, if there is no bait around, there will be far fewer fish whatever the above conditions; is there is plenty of bait there will be way more fish and they will be less particular as to when they bite.
Depends on habitat and fish behavioural characteristics also; the best feature on the beach will have better numbers of fish than elsewhere as it acts as a 'trap' for bait and a 'holding up' ground for 'lazy' fish like jew. Tailor will make raids through the area, and opportunists like bream and flathead may be in attendance as well.
My favourite combos would be - first quarter, low tide change and first 2 hours of the making tide thereafter. At night, naturally.
The peak neap highs at night on the best suitable feature on the beach.
The waning last quarter when it rises in the early am around 3-4, then fish till dawn. Any time when the 3/4 or full moon is not in the sky during the first couple of hours before dawn or after dusk.
Dawn, as long as the tide is making and you are fishing the best feature on the beach you have a good chance IMO, so long as the full moon is not in the sky.
Can't over-emphasise the importance of bait and features on the beach!
Cheers and enjoy!

[Lucky_Phill]

Fishing can be described as many things and two of those are :-

1.. a science

2.. an art

The science part is well credentialed with many professional and recreational fishermen utilising this method.

Saltwater experiences dictate that the moon is probably the most important factor. As other above have stated, the Moon dictates the tide, the tide dictates the run, run coincides with water temp ( at different depths ). Take into consideration the seasons and you can now apply the science... some like to call it '' percentage fishing "... that is, fish at the time the percentage is as high as possible.

You may have heard Nugget talking about Solunar Tables with a percentage of the years tidal flow etc.

Fish spawn at certain times of the year and in certain places... how do they know about this ? Moon phases, tidal flow, water temp and barometric pressures.

IF you fish by the science, you will improve your catch rate, but lose the fun part. After all, just when all the science says it's right........ the wind blows it's ring out and we are waiting for another 2 weeks or more for the ' science ' to kick in.

Better to fish when you can. Can't catch fish from ya lounge room !!

Sometimes it all comes together and you have one of those red hot bites. When it does, take note and it will be the ' science ' has fallen into line.

For me:-

Dawn and Dusk on the reefs. 2 hours either side of a high or low tide. Moon by day = fish by day.... Moon by night = fish by night.

To get a sunset at 6pm. moonrise at 6pm, high tide at 6pm and 5 - 10 variable winds with .5 seas. in spring with 1020 hp.... That my friend... is Heaven.

I would even accept a moon rise at midday in the above scenario. Moon over head at 6pm.... yeah baby. !!!!

all IMO............. :)




LP.
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[theoldlegend]

A few observations we've made when fishing the Clarence:

About an hour before the high is good, then things slacken off for a while, then pick up again for about another hour, especially up the river a way at Browns Rocks.

We've also noticed that generally, November and December aren't all that good.

I used to get one of those little books that showed peak fishing times during the month, based on moon above or below, all that stuff, and we used to time our trips to Iluka based on that, especially if the tides coincided with dawn or dusk, but it really didn't work out too good.

Now what about throwing the barometric pressure into the equation?

Isn't there a saying around:

"a thousand and twenty, fish aplenty" ?

TOL

[caster226]

comment removed

[HeadBanger]

At my flathead 'spot x', I only fish on a run out tide either early morning (6:00am-10:00am) or late afternoon (3:00pm - 5:00pm). Haven't fished it at night yet, as my boat doesn't have nav lights. These are the only times I fish there. Middle of the day is always bad, as is incoming tide. In fact, I I've never caught anything on the incoming tide there, yet flathead are prevalent on the outgoing.

I haven't noted the moon phases there yet, as I don't have enough info in my fishing log yet. Maybe I need some more time on the water;D

Cheers,
Kaidon

[PNG1M]

Best fishing I've done in the past from NSW beaches has been in the late afternoon & early evening.

I'd aim to start about 2 hours before dark and fish til an hour or so after dark (or later if they're still biting). I'd at least like moonlight to see enough for baiting a pillie on gangs & filleting tailor on the beach at night.

I prefer an incoming tide, rising to full and a big moon creeping up from the horizon.

Best time of year IMHO is Autumn - March/April/May - lovely conditions; warm & balmy and with the tailor becoming active. Also caught a fair share of bream & flatties off the beach in those same conditions.