Some folks say it’s an old wives’ tale, but most fishermen believe that fishing during a full moon is not productive.

I guess there is some merit to the thinking that with a bright night sky, fish can see to feed, so if they eat all night, why would they also want to eat all day?

The effect a big meal has on me makes me want to take a nap. So, siesta time for fish, fat from all-night binge feeding, probably starts at about the time most anglers want to hit the water.

If I’m fishing on full-moon days, I can generally find fish feeding and being more cooperative late in the day, during the last third of the falling tide. This was the case in our fishing this past weekend.

We went looking for big trout and redfish Saturday. Reds were skittish, and we couldn’t get them to eat. Sunday morning was similar, but I did get one red to eat a CAL Shad. Trout fishing was better. Saturday, we worked inshore rock piles along the edges of the Gulf and found good action in 6 to 8 feet.

Most fish were in the 16- to 18-inch range, but when we moved to areas with scattered patches of rock, grass and sand, things changed. Tossing the DOA Deadly Combo, MirrOlure Top Dogs, and Yozuri minnow baits, we put spotted sea trout in the boat that weighed more than 4 pounds.

Trout seem to school to size. Each area seemed to hold cookie-cutter fish. Where we caught 18-inch fish, most of the fish were similar in size, and when we hit big fish, all the anglers had smiles.

Til then...catch ya later!

Capt. Ray Markham
(941) 723-2655
E-mail: flatback@tampabay.rr.com