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Elements
By William Milheim
I learned to fish from my father; he was an early morning and after dinner fisherman. We would consider a mid-day fishing trip to be a time-wasting endeavour. Our mindset was fish feed early and late. Around 1980 I was reading an outdoor magazine and towards the back of the publication were the lunar tables, giving me the best time to fish for each day of the week. That particular day indicated best time to fish was from 11am to 1pm. Since it was a Saturday I decided to give it a try. What an eye opener, it was almost like magic. Fish were actively feeding in the middle of the day. I caught more fish in that time frame than early in the morning. Since that day I refer to the lunar tables to enhance my fishing success.
Still to this day some fisherman discounts this piece of information and look at it as if it were some type of voodoo magic.
The theory is that there are four periods (2 major and 2 minor) each day when the gravitational forces created by the alignment of the sun and moon become strong enough to have an influence on the activities of fish and wildlife. As we learned from previous articles, fish will react to weather changes and do react to gravitational forces. The fish’s lateral line (a nerve that runs on either side of the fish and down its length) is very sensitive to changes in the fish’s surroundings. This includes water temperature as well as barometric pressure.
The actual times published are when each major or minor period begins. Major periods will last from 1 to 2 hours, while Minor periods last for 1 hour or less. In most tables, a symbol is used to flag the days preceding and following a NEW or FULL moon since research has shown that fish and wildlife activity is greatest during these periods of each month.
When the lunar times fall within one hour of SUNRISE or SUNSET, this is a good time for daily fish and wildlife activity. This doesn't occur very often during any given month - but when the lunar times fall within one hour of sunrise or sunset and the lunar times are within one hour of MOONRISE or MOONSET - you have an "absolute best day"!
The lunar times are calibrated for the centre of all 50 states. The times will change 1 minute for each 12 miles E (-) or W (+) of the location. By adding or deducting 1 minute for each 12 miles from the base point you can achieve 1 minute accuracy for any location. The distance N or S does not affect the lunar times.
Again, the lunar tables are a theory which I believe is fact as it pertains to fishing. If you consider lunar tables, you will quickly notice that during a major moon phase weather patterns change. The fact is we receive a full moon each month, so we should be able to see it twelve times a year. Most often we’re lucky to see it four or five times because a full moon cycle has a tendency to bring inclement weather. Lunar tables are used for tides on the ocean and I know for certain it works in freshwater.
When referring to the lunar calendar, in most of the fishing seasons the best times are not early in the morning but trend towards late morning and early afternoon. I see so many fishermen calling it quits and going home right before the cycle begins and miss a feeding frenzy.
I always refer to the lunar tables if I’m booking a trip, and I try my best to be on the river when the times indicate good fishing. This is a key element that should not be over looked. In next month’s article we’ll look into bait.
Bill Milheim has been fishing and guiding the North Brach of the Susquehanna River for over 25 years.
