Regarding the present bass bite....

[RUGER]

Saw a comment on facebook about how night bass fishing is better on the full moon because then they feed at night.
Got me to wondering, if this is true, could this be why I couldn't catch anything but dinks on Thursday and Friday during the day?

Never really thought about it before but EVERYTHING pointed to stellar days on the water both days and they turned out flops.
Still doesn't explain the lack of bream on the beds but might be why the bass bite was so tough?

 

[scn]

There is no doubt that a full moon influences fish behavior. It is the one time in the month that I have no interest in booking a tarpon trip as I have been told they get really squirrely.

But, IMO, one of the other things that has made this a difficult spring is the major swings in weather in both rainfall and temps. Although it didn't seem that bad, it was a pretty cold spring. Water temps have lagged behind where they normally are for several weeks. One of our guides has said his smallmouth were at least three weeks behind from their normal spawning times.

With the water going up and then being pulled down, it is tough to find the fish.

 

[WTM]

bass feed at night more so during summer, especially big bass, then retreat to offshore cover after feeding. a full moon allows them to see about half as good as dusk and dawn and theyll feed a little deeper. the reason being zooplankton congregates at night in the summer and attracts baitfish. during the day they go deeper or disperse.

depends on the lake, but on KY lake they hit bluegill and then transition to the shad spawn. lighted docks are pretty good places.

on some of these lakes you might also have to deal with a thermocline situation as summer progresses. turn up the sensitivity on your sonar and you should be able to see it. at night the zooplankton will be attracted to it and you will be able to see it better if its there.

 

[Spurhunter]

I fished Saturday morning from 6 til 11. I caught 11 bass and the biggest was maybe 2 pounds. I'm wondering if the big ones have moved deep. The lake I was fishing has a lot of offshore structure, but we've been catching them right on the bank. However, we haven't caught anything big in a couple weeks. You bring up an interesting point about the full moon and feeding at night.

 

[Headhunter]

For the many years I fished at night for bass (now I only fish for hybrids at night since I catch a ton of bass in the middle of the day in the summer), but the moon never made a difference. Not one bit. On full moon nights, I had great nights of fishing and bad ones, on nights without a moon, I had great nights of fishing and bad ones. It has been the same with the hybrids. I never could tell any difference in the "catching" no matter what the moon was.

This year, has been really good for the hybrids, I have lost count how many I and the people I have carried with me have caught, the quality has been down as far as size overall, but we have caught several over 10 lbs and a couple over 13, almost all topwater. And the moon has made zero difference other than on a full moon night, it makes seeing the lure easier.

I have been looking for bass the last couple weeks and finally found a couple schools Saturday and yesterday. Anywhere from 9 to 18 feet deep. Crankbait and a worm.

 

[Pilchard]

Not a bass expert by any means but my experience in the salt tells me that it's one of the best times to fish. The new moon is the same.

The problem is most people start their trips at the crack of dawn and the bite happens(at least in the salt) around the big afternoon tides and then into the evening.

If I had a full/new moon in FL I would normally put my boat in around 3pm, catch bait and then start looking for fish. Most of the time you'd find the fish and then keep baits in them until the bite went off which was sometimes not until the last hour or two of daylight.

@SCN- some of the best tarpon trips of the year happen around big moons. The problem is it congregates the fish around the passes where large crab flushes are happening. This type of fishing is not conducive to throwing chicken feathers at them but it's great for bringing novice anglers or folks with little patience.