Moon Phases / Overcast

[wrwest]

I have read several threads about moon phases on this site. My question is how does it work when it is over cast. I was camping at a lake last weekend and every morning it was fogy until about nine in the morning. I know it was clear at ten the evening before. Each evening just before the sun would go down the fishing really got good. Although the crappie were not biting.

[shadow]

A new moon is always better to fish than a full moon in my opinion. I went night fishing this weekend and friday night it was overcast all night and we did pretty good but saturday night there wasn't a cloud in the sky and we only caught 4 fish all night long. We did catch good during the day on Sunday though.
Dwyane

[REDBOAT]

I was out Friday night (Full Moon). The first hour it was overcast and the bite was pretty good (I caught 12 keepers). After that the clouds went away. As soon as the moon came out, the bite stopped like someone flipped a switch.

[DRPEPPER]

I am getting smarter everyday reading this forum. I always thought critters fed at night during a full moon and the real animals were raping and plundering.
Not in it anymore; but, I have had some law enforcement experience. I hated nights with full moons.
DP

[John Brower]

Heres My Two Cents. I Mostly Nightstalk For Crappie, And Keep A
Journal Which Includes Moon Phase, Wate Temp, Time Of Year, Etc.
I Use Submerged Lights Off Of My Boat. It Has Been My Experience
That I Dont Catch As Many Fish During The Full Moon. If Its Cloudy
I Will Catch Some, But Not As Many As In The Dark Of The Moon. I Catch Fish Under A Full Moon, Just Not As Many. Friend Of Mine
That Bass Fish Without Lights Say The Full Moon Is Great.

Just A Thought
John Brower

[Roberta]

>> I always thought critters fed at night during a full moon and the real animals were raping and plundering. <<

The predators will take advantage of the extra light, but the prey know they are more vulnerable. It becomes a game of cat and mouse, so to speak. Crappie are both predator and prey, so they probably stay really tight to cover on a moonlit night.

A couple of years ago, In-Fisherman did a piece on how walleye and their prey relate to each other under the moon. With the dark sky of a new moon, the prey feel more secure and feed in theopen, but the fish with good low light vision like walleye can still hunt - they're just harder for the prey to see. - Roberta

[REDBOAT]

Roberta, Yup thats how I see it. I am by no means an expert on crappie but here is my observation......when nightstalking the lights that we use either floating or submersable will not attract the crappie but rather attracts the baitfish... It is the baitfish that attracts the crappie. So when the moon is full there is more ambient light. This causes the lights that we use to be less effective in attracting the bait fish. The Ambient light will cause the bait fish to scatter and then the crappie will then scatter too.

-REDBOAT