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July 8, 2002
The stars say Wednesday is best fishing day of year
Scott Bernarde/Atlanta Journal Constitution
If you pick only one day to go fishing this year, you've got to go Wednesday.
That's when the cosmos will look most favorably down on anglers, when the Earth, sun and moon will be in tune with nature --- in a straight line, in fact --- making it theoretically the best fishing day of the year. It's all about gravitational pull, electromagnetic energy and celestial positioning.
Or so say those who make a business out of wildlife forecasting based on solar and lunar phases.
To some people, it's questionable science.
"I completely ignore them," said Tommy Mike of LaGrange, a fisheries biologist who has been a fishing guide on West Point Lake for almost 30 years. "I'm not saying I don't believe there's something to them. I'm saying there are other factors that have a stronger influence. . . . [Some of the theories] are getting a little far-fetched to me."
To others, it's a great reason to play hooky Wednes- day.
"I plan to be out there all day," said Lake Chatuge guide Lee Howard of Upper Hi-Fly Outfitters in Hiawassee, who plans to be on his honey holes during the forecasted peak time between noon and about 3:30 p.m. "I can't wait to see what happens."
Neither can Rick Taylor, whose Iowa-based company PrimeTimes rates Wednesday a 96 out of 100, the highest rating of the year. Taylor's Astro Tables 2002 is a game and fish forecaster that runs in BASSMASTER magazine and other publications.
Ever since Pennsylvania banker John Alden Knight published the first solunar table in 1936, hunters and anglers have used them to predict when wildlife is most active. Such tables are found everywhere --- in magazines, newspapers and even on the nightly news. WSB-TV Channel 2 shows a Datasport Fish and Game forecast graph to end each night's 11 p.m. newscast that local anglers swear works.
The question is, do they work or are they just mumbo jumbo? The answer lies somewhere between absolutely yes and no.
Few question that the moon cycle has an effect of some sort. Saltwater fish are atune to the rising and falling tides caused by gravitational pull of the sun and moon in their search for food. Many fish species' spawning cycles often coincide with full moons.
"I don't think there's any room to doubt that the moon influences the behavior and mating or hatching habits of small creatures, like bugs," said Ken Duke, a Gainesville angler . "But I'm not sure of their influence on anything larger, except as part of a domino effect chain of events. I mean, if there's a big mayfly hatch because the moon is full, then the bluegills are going to feed voraciously. Is that because of the moon or the forage? I think it's the latter."
Mike agrees, especially when it comes to dozens of man-made freshwater reservoirs in Georgia.
He finds the best summertime fishing on West Point usually occurs when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers generates electricity through the dam, which causes a water flow throughout the lake. To West Point's fish, the daily 3 p.m.-to-dark generation that coincides with people getting home from work and switching on air conditioners is their dinner bell.
Taylor has made a career out of using sun and moon data to predict fishing, including books, a Web page (www.primetimes2.com) and calendars. He says wildlife is first tuned into the sun --- many fish seem to be most active feeding at dawn and dusk --- but when a strong moon period overlaps, like on Wednesday, "you get a double-whammy."
That's when the Earth will be directly in line with the sun and moon. The electromagnetic energy passing between the heavenly bodies and its influence on the fish will be high, he theorizes.
"It's like bar magnets," Taylor said. "The more lined up they are, the higher the energy passing between them."
That energy, for still unexplained reasons, has an impact, he says. He has seen and documented enough data to convince him that his tables, which pinpoint peak times when the moon is directly overhead and directly underfoot, are accurate. He calls it the rhythm theory; when the sun and moon are in sync at the right time, wildlife reacts accordingly, although other factors like a strong cold front or heavy rain can change everything.
"Everything being equal, this would be the best fishing day of the year, but there's a big asterisk on that," said Taylor, who says the fish in the pond outside his office react to the sun and moon like clockwork. "We always say don't live and die by this chart. Put it into your game plan before you go."
The stars say Wednesday is best fishing day of year
Scott Bernarde/Atlanta Journal Constitution
If you pick only one day to go fishing this year, you've got to go Wednesday.
That's when the cosmos will look most favorably down on anglers, when the Earth, sun and moon will be in tune with nature --- in a straight line, in fact --- making it theoretically the best fishing day of the year. It's all about gravitational pull, electromagnetic energy and celestial positioning.
Or so say those who make a business out of wildlife forecasting based on solar and lunar phases.
To some people, it's questionable science.
"I completely ignore them," said Tommy Mike of LaGrange, a fisheries biologist who has been a fishing guide on West Point Lake for almost 30 years. "I'm not saying I don't believe there's something to them. I'm saying there are other factors that have a stronger influence. . . . [Some of the theories] are getting a little far-fetched to me."
To others, it's a great reason to play hooky Wednes- day.
"I plan to be out there all day," said Lake Chatuge guide Lee Howard of Upper Hi-Fly Outfitters in Hiawassee, who plans to be on his honey holes during the forecasted peak time between noon and about 3:30 p.m. "I can't wait to see what happens."
Neither can Rick Taylor, whose Iowa-based company PrimeTimes rates Wednesday a 96 out of 100, the highest rating of the year. Taylor's Astro Tables 2002 is a game and fish forecaster that runs in BASSMASTER magazine and other publications.
Ever since Pennsylvania banker John Alden Knight published the first solunar table in 1936, hunters and anglers have used them to predict when wildlife is most active. Such tables are found everywhere --- in magazines, newspapers and even on the nightly news. WSB-TV Channel 2 shows a Datasport Fish and Game forecast graph to end each night's 11 p.m. newscast that local anglers swear works.
The question is, do they work or are they just mumbo jumbo? The answer lies somewhere between absolutely yes and no.
Few question that the moon cycle has an effect of some sort. Saltwater fish are atune to the rising and falling tides caused by gravitational pull of the sun and moon in their search for food. Many fish species' spawning cycles often coincide with full moons.
"I don't think there's any room to doubt that the moon influences the behavior and mating or hatching habits of small creatures, like bugs," said Ken Duke, a Gainesville angler . "But I'm not sure of their influence on anything larger, except as part of a domino effect chain of events. I mean, if there's a big mayfly hatch because the moon is full, then the bluegills are going to feed voraciously. Is that because of the moon or the forage? I think it's the latter."
Mike agrees, especially when it comes to dozens of man-made freshwater reservoirs in Georgia.
He finds the best summertime fishing on West Point usually occurs when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers generates electricity through the dam, which causes a water flow throughout the lake. To West Point's fish, the daily 3 p.m.-to-dark generation that coincides with people getting home from work and switching on air conditioners is their dinner bell.
Taylor has made a career out of using sun and moon data to predict fishing, including books, a Web page (www.primetimes2.com) and calendars. He says wildlife is first tuned into the sun --- many fish seem to be most active feeding at dawn and dusk --- but when a strong moon period overlaps, like on Wednesday, "you get a double-whammy."
That's when the Earth will be directly in line with the sun and moon. The electromagnetic energy passing between the heavenly bodies and its influence on the fish will be high, he theorizes.
"It's like bar magnets," Taylor said. "The more lined up they are, the higher the energy passing between them."
That energy, for still unexplained reasons, has an impact, he says. He has seen and documented enough data to convince him that his tables, which pinpoint peak times when the moon is directly overhead and directly underfoot, are accurate. He calls it the rhythm theory; when the sun and moon are in sync at the right time, wildlife reacts accordingly, although other factors like a strong cold front or heavy rain can change everything.
"Everything being equal, this would be the best fishing day of the year, but there's a big asterisk on that," said Taylor, who says the fish in the pond outside his office react to the sun and moon like clockwork. "We always say don't live and die by this chart. Put it into your game plan before you go."
