Solunar Calendars

[semoseman]

I promise, last topic start for a while - just happy to get a group of people who enjoy talking about this stuff.

How much experience have you more regular fisherman (I get to fish a couple times a month at best) had with seeing the accuracy of solunar calendars like Primetime etc - which is available through ESPN on a monthly basis or you can buy software through them. I know there are differences with weather, barametric pressure, water clarity etc which can change things - but have you seen a real difference in referring to these things?

Maybe I am paranoid because I went out on the 5th of January with great weather - and only caught a couple, and didn't see anybody else catching much either - and then referred to the calendar which said it was a "Poor" day to fish. Or was it because I didn't wear my lucky fishing socks?

Any feedback appreciated....

Scott

[Rusty]

Scott, My personal experience fishing tailwaters have been to watch the water flows. If I have time to fish and the water in cooperating, I go.

[flyfshn]

Personally I agree with Rusty...when I have time, I go, no matter what the weather is, etc. However, I am interested to see what others say about solunar, barometric pressure, etc

[hoglaw]

I don't ever keep track of the calendar, but I can say that from running a trotline, it's certainly appears that the catfish follow paterns relating to the moon. Now, I'm sure there were other variables that my observations didn't control for, but it appeared to me that the nights before and after a full moon were always a slam dunk for a seriously hefty line. Not sure about the new moon, but the time before and after the full moon was golden.

I suppose in general, I don't believe in solunar calendars. I believe there are certain times of the month that are more productive, but that other variables control the bite throughout the day. I am a huge believer in the barometric pressure. When the pressure drops, it's time to fish. The old adage that when the cows are lying down the fish are biting is an observation of the barometric pressure. The cows tend to lie down when whether starts to come in (don't know if they can sense the pressure change or not). Fish are extremely sensitive to subtle pressure changes, that's how they know their depth at all times. I don't know why dropping pressure fires them up, maybe because it signals a possible storm and tough eating times ahead? Anyway, long story short, I think pressure, wind, available forage, and light have a bigger impact on day feeding than the lunar phase. In general though, the times near the full moon seem to be gorge times for catfish. That's my $.02.

[Zach Bearden]

hehe... Nice topic start... Glad to see this one started. And don't be afraid to start a new topic. I am really glad to open this forum and see some new topics! Not many people on here are farmiliar with the river and I love the activity.

I don't really bother with that kind of stuff but one thing that WILL change my fishing is whether the sun is out or not.

Ex.

Trout--- Seems that on sunny days they look up alot and if they see an indicator they drop to the bottom and wont eat. (sight fishing helps LOTS). So then I will tye on a dry fly and then my dropper if I have been successful with a nymph...

Cloudy day--- doesn't much matter what you fish (such as dry, streamer, or nymph) theres probably going to be something willing to bite it.

If you've got anymore questions just ask and someone here will answer them... If you want to go fishing sometime just shoot me a pm and well see what we can do.

[Cunningham]

For the past few years, I have been planning outings based upon the "best fishing day" as stated by these calendars. By trips I mean days off work in the middle of the week, just because its the best day of the month.

I believe in them fully. I just tailor my where and what to fish for based upon my fishing logs and the conditions.

I don't think you can go wrong by getting out there on one of these "best" days. Its just another something to boost your confidence.