Don’t overlook lunar feeding periods
Diehard deer hunters know that lunar feeding periods are keys to bringing home venison. For consistently successful tarpon anglers, these feeding periods are nothing to ignore.
Mitchell Blake of Inner Banks Fishing Charters watches these major and minor feeding periods religiously while he soaks baits.
“The best bite revolves around the moon phases and the major and minor feeding periods,” Blake said. “If you have a chance to fish during a feeding period, you need to stop and set up.”
Most lunar feeding charts are based on the location of the moon in the sky and the moon phase itself. Major and minor feeding periods happen four times per day. And depending on the location of the moon, they usually coincide with moon rise, moon set, moon directly overhead and moon directly underfoot.
Beyond the daily position of the moon, the monthly moon peaks — the new and full moons — offer a more-intense lunar feeding period. The 3- to 5-day stretch around the new and full moons has a profound effect on animals and fish. That makes these days exceptional for soaking chunks of croaker for tarpon.
“If you don’t pay attention to the lunar feeding periods, you will be missing out on good opportunities to catch a fish. If you know there are some fish around, make sure to always have lines in the water when the lunar charts say go,” Blake said.
Click here to see why you should think like a crabber when fishing for tarpon.
