| Dad and I regularly drove to our local pier, it's in a small | | | | the fish. According to this, a full moon or a new moon, |
| town called Bluff. It's a small fishing town at the bottom | | | | should provide the best results. It is also said that the |
| of New Zealand. We always left just as the sun had | | | | hour before sunrise and sunset also has a similar, |
| dipped just below the horizon. This way we avoided | | | | though weaker, effect. |
| the harsh summer sun. | | | | Personally, I think part of it has to do with the |
| I would regularly catch a mixture of fish, from Blue | | | | brightness of the moon as the light makes it easier for |
| Cod, Mackerel and Barracuda to name a few, but the | | | | predatory fish to find prey. I've noticed that the lights on |
| true prize was only caught at night when the moon | | | | the pier seemed to attract a wide array of fish and I |
| shone brightly. The prize was a big tasty Salmon. I only | | | | had better success when putting my line on an area of |
| caught two Salmon, while dad caught many, but the | | | | pier with the lights shining than areas in shadow. |
| only time I caught them was at night with a big moon in | | | | There are naturally many other factors which will |
| the sky. I am not of course suggesting that Salmon | | | | affect your catch, eg currents, weather, calm still nights |
| aren't caught at other times, but I've done a little | | | | etc, but it's definitely worth taking note of times when |
| research and here's what I've come up with. | | | | you have more or less success. Things to note include |
| Many local Maori fishermen insist that the moon | | | | time of day, weather conditions and tidal currents. |
| affects their catch and have their own calendar. The | | | | Hopefully you will now start to take note of the |
| belief is that the moon's gravitation pull makes the fish | | | | phases of the moon and you can find out for yourself |
| more active and more hungry. They also say that | | | | if this makes a difference or not. |
| when the moon is 'under' that it has a similar effect on | | | | |