re: Fishing on a full moon

Moon phase can drive fish to spawn....the full moon in May in my area is ALWAYS the time to find bream beds....they will spawn as early as February but it is sporadic...but the first full moon in May will find them bedding by the gazillions.


In my experience you are wasting your time fishing for most pelagic species offshore 4 days or so before and after a full moon. The biggest reason, in my opinion based solely on anecdotal experience, is that the bright moon scatters bait. It is absolutely more difficult to make bait during a full moon, especially the closer you are to the equator. The further south you go in the northern hemisphere the less tidal action there is...so moving water is less impactful on fish feeding. It also allows bait to scatter...they don't have to contend with as much current. Add in a full moon and bait will be all over the place...and hard to catch because they aren't in huge shoals. With bait being scattered gamefish are also scattered thus fisherman have to cover more area....all of this is anecdotal but I have experienced it often enough to know I will struggle on a full moon even if everyone else is smacking 'em. May just be a lack of confidence on my part but I know it exists...