Osprey
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Full Moon and fishing
My wife is superstitious and will not advise fishing during the full moon. I think today was the Bizbee Black and Blue and Bleeding Marlin tourney in
Los Barriles. I went out looking for dorado while the fleet tore past me in a mad dash way southeast of here (Gordo Banks) searching for the big money
marlin. Lynda told me the radio reports were understandably dismal with many contestants getting skunked.
I did better with 3 nice dorado on the way in.
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fishbuck
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Well, I don't know if it's bad luck.
My theory is that on a full moon and clear night the fish can see well enough to feed at night.
The bait fish are silouetted against the moon. The game fish attack from below.
Fish will still feed during the day but not as hard because they are not as hungry. And the wide open grey light bite isn't there.
But it's just a theory.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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Udo
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CONGRATULATIONS, OSPREY!
What did you use as bait or lure? (for those of us novices)
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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vandenberg
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Hey Fishhawk,
What...no limits around your place ??
[Edited on 7-18-2008 by vandenberg]
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Osprey
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Hi, limit is two, there were two of us in the boat so we were/are legal. We used dark jetheads cause it was over cast most of the morning. On the
second fish, his brother stayed close and we nailed him with chunk bait we caught on the way out (I always run some small hoochies on the way to the
likely area so we'll have skip or chunk bait and we caught the one and only indispensibe barillete).
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Osprey
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Hey Fishbuck, thanks for asking about the fish. My great grandfather, Claud, always tries to elbow his way into any fish pictures I take when I come
back in. He's a funny old guy. That's him with the 3 little dorado.
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Von
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ITs always best to fish with a fullmoon and lots of black cats around you and break a few mirriors while your add it!
READY SET.....................
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Diver
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Osprey
Hey Fishbuck, thanks for asking about the fish. My great grandfather, Claud, always tries to elbow his way into any fish pictures I take when I come
back in. He's a funny old guy. That's him with the 3 little dorado. |
Funny, Claude looks suspiciously like the man that was introduced to me as Mrs. Osprey's hubby !!
Maybe he pulled one over on me too !! 
If he did, did he tell you he gave away some of your hoochies to me and Juan ?
Thanks again whoever you are !
Nice fish old bird; you are having too much fun.
Better take a break and have a toddy !!
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Taco de Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Von
ITs always best to fish with a fullmoon and lots of black cats around you and break a few mirriors while your add it! |
Don't forget the bunch of bananas to hand out to the hungry fishermen.....
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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Osprey
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Diver, my parents were cousins and that's why I look so much alike.
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Martyman
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Hi
Planning my next trip during the new moon in late September to BOLA. Is that the best time with regards the to moon phases? To dark to feed at
night?
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Sallysouth
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Seahawk, I never pass up any of your posts.You are one witty soul, and, that last remark made my day!!
Happiness is just a Baja memory away...
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bajadave1
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Osprey..........Not The Bisbee!!!!
It is the "dorado shootout"
Bisbee (east cape)is later this month. The black and Blue is always in Los Cabos in October.
Dorado first place is a new Diaz super panga!
Dave
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Pescador
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Martyman
Hi
Planning my next trip during the new moon in late September to BOLA. Is that the best time with regards the to moon phases? To dark to feed at
night? |
This has been one of those wives tales that refuses to die. According to all the experts it is the effect of the moon on the tides rather than the
light available which changes the behavior of the fish. Yellowtail (when they are relating or feeding in the area of underwater reefs) feed more
effectively when there is greater tide movement. It makes it harder for the baitfish to escape when they are spending a lot of their energy fighting
the tide. So you can count on fishing being better during spring and neap tides when you are targeting reef fish such as yellowtail, cabrilla,
grouper, and etc. Some of the best billfish catches occur during the full moon times and it may well be related to tide movements slowing down and
they are cruising closer to the surface which puts them in your strike zone.
I used to think that the yellowtail fed exclusively at night on the full moons and can not tell you how many nights I was out there trolling plugs
all night with not much to show for it. Finally an old salt in the San Carlos, Sonora, area took me aside and explained the tides to me and sure
enough he was correct and I learned when the most productive times were for fishing yellowtail. So now I print out monthly tides in a graph format
and it is pretty easy to predict when the best fishing times are going to be for the month.
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Osprey
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The nearest launch ramp from my house is 23 miles so I choose to launch on our sand beach. I need to watch the tides to make safe launches and hauls.
In a panga I need to watch the weather for wind/waves and water temps. Sundays are not good fishing days for me because the launch/haul beach is
usually crowded on Sundays with people just trying to relax and have fun in the sun with their families. So my only considerations are never on
Sunday, tides and weather for safety and warm water from the Pacific to entice the pelagics to the bait. I have not been back to the states in 13
years and I'm retired so I have all the time to simply wait til the fish are close and hungry, make sure my equipment is ready to go.
A lot of my friends have very sophisticated equipment to help them in their search but with some of them it seems to complicate the process, not help
much IMO. I'm a simple guy and if you give me too many options I won't leave the patio.
I will say that it seems very curious to me that those with expensive downriggers and fishfinders don't use them --- seen hundreds of em, never have
seen them deployed even when fishfinders displayed huge shoals of fish of all sizes at every depth one could easily and safely fish with downrigging
equip.
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Cypress
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Osprey, Nice catch!  Thanks for the report. 
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fishbuck
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Ya, the tide factor is well known.
But I think it's beause the bait moves on the tide to the fish. The fish don't expend as much energy and tend to concentrate near a structure ambush
spot.
As for the full moon. It may be a wives tail but Ospery didn't catch his fish until the way back in. So it supports the feeding at night theory. No
early bite. But later in the day the fish get hungrey again.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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