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General => General Topwater & Jigging Discussion => Topic started by: Mark Harris on March 18, 2011, 06:14:02 PM
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There is a fair bit of (very) woolly science and astrology-babble flying around about the lunar perigree on March 19th.
In case any of you have missed this, a lunar perigree (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsis)) occurs when a full moon is unusually close to earth. Tomorrow's will apparently be closer than at any time since 1996. So there is an increased effect of the normal magnetic forces associated with a full moon. That should equal higher high tides, lower low tides and stronger currents.
It struck me that this could be an especially good time to be fishing for GTs. I will certainly be out throwing lures into the spin cycle currents tomorrow. Anyone else planning? It could be very interesting to see if results during this phenomenon are notable in any way.
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Hi Mark, interesting read, hopefully will be heading down to Ningaloo Reef here in WA for a few days popping. Personally I much prefer a new moon for popping but still definitely worth a crack. My tide chart shows the most tidal movement around tuesday next week so aiming to get down there on Monday at this stage.
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Not to mention plenty of nut jobs running around like lunatics.. ;)
With a life cycle governed by the moon I'm sure the potential impact of this on fish activity is too important not to exploit. Let us know your results!
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Good luck at Ningaloo Jay. A place I have dived and to my shame, not fished :( . Full Moon and just after seems to provide better fishing more often than the New Moon cycle up here.
Sure David, nut jobs everywhere! Trying to cut through all that and look at the science. Logically, extreme tide levels and the strongest of strong currents = all the right things. Locally here, we also have a very convenient mid morning high tide time, and wave direction running opposite to the forecast surface winds. Can't think of a better set of circumstances really.
It will be interesting to see the results for sure.
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Out and about today, 2 boated, 10 or so missed...same as a couple of weeks ago, slower actually.
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Cheers for that Travis. Are moon cycles usually a big factor in your usual fishing spots?
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Out again today, nothing out of the ordinary. Mark, the tidal run is the important part so since that's so strongly linked to the moons then yeah our fishing is dependant on the moon phase I suppose.
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How did you fare today Mark?
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2 to 3 days out from the full moon has always got the biggest fish for me. Especially in the morning. YFT go nuts as well for surface lures.
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Well I set myself up for a fall right? :-[ Bloody awful fishing, the worst full moon day for a long time. 2 little Wahoos and a Barracuda to show from the effort of 3 solid anglers. 1 missed GT strike, that was it.
We did notice a definite phenomenon though. There were FAR more baitfish at the surface than is usually the case, probably the most I have ever seen at this site in Bali. Also truly huge numbers of schooling fish on the finder at depths of 10 to 25 metres. How all of that equals GTs refusing to come out to play beats me.
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Probably the same reason why I have to unbutton my belt and limp away from seafood smorgasbords! ;D
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Mark,
I agree with Ben....Maybe they still had room for sweets though?
I worry about the size of the tide rather than the particular moon phase. Lots of run needed for local spots, mid to neap tides further north towards Shoalwater Bay as a big tide up there is just too big and dirties the water too much....so we basically have somewhere to go every weekend....yeah!!!!
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I'm more wary of low atmospheric pressure than the moon phases... personally
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I'm more wary of low atmospheric pressure than the moon phases... personally
I would agree with you there boss. Low or sharply falling pressure so often equals hard fishing.
At sites where getting GTs to the surface seems to be all about strong currents and high tidal range though, Full Moon and New Moon normally help a lot.
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Hi Mark,
Check this out. Recent monster class GT caught by Fumio Suzuki in Bali.
This is a FISHERMAN advert in the current issue of Saltworld, the full report was in previous issue.
Huge! Captain is Pak Salin from Serangan Dive.
Tight lines
MarkR
(http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/0c7806c677.jpg) (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)
(http://s1.postimage.org/26amspjus/f_GTbali.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/26amspjus/)
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Sadly, I cannot see that that picture Mark.... sounds very exciting! Anyway you could stick it up as an attachment?
Pak Salin is the best captain here outside of the few specialist fishing guides, so I am not surprised he picked up a very good fish.
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Can now see it.. thanks a lot Mark. Very nice fish! It is not the fattest but VERY long... 55 to 60kg?
I have NO idea where that is though - it is not any part of Nusa Penida I know, unless it is in the Ceningan Channel. Would be very interesting to know. I am even thinking that it looks more like Lombok.
(and a gripe.. why is such an experienced angler holding a GT by the tail like that? Horrifying :( ).
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Yeah, they think it's 60kg!
Yes, not the best handling techniques.
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I will whizz that picture around a few likely sources and see if the location can be identified :) .
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I'm happy to try out new spots if you are!
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Yes, not the best handling techniques.
Fisherman should know better. Using a picture like that in an advertisement sets a terrible example >:(.
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Mark R and anyone else interested: I got some comments on this from someone who was familiar with that picture.
The location is western Nusa Ceningan (MarkR - i.e. where we fished late on Day 2 in November 2010 and where Ken caught a nice GT). The picture is 4-5 years old and that's what threw me as the low cliff-front in the background is now developed with several houses on it and looks completely different! Yes, the fish is certainly big, but if it were really monstrous one person would surely not be able to lift it like that? The fish is quite a way off the deck.
Mystery mostly solved it seems! It is an old pic.
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Hi Mark,
It's not an old picture, the fish was caught in Nov 2010 (see link below) around the same time we were fishing together in Bali. That was a good month for GTs!
Note the K guides on the FISHERMAN Rod and the Delta 10 lure. I thought it was an old pic too until I spotted the K guides.
You are right about Suzuki's monster GT caught 4-5 yrs ago. This is his second monster GT from Balinese waters and probably at Ceningan. Pak Salin loves that spot!
The write-up was in the Jan 2011 issue of Saltworld and browsing through the FISHERMAN website I found this:
http://www.gt-fisherman.jp/11deruta.htm (http://www.gt-fisherman.jp/11deruta.htm)
Must make it up to Bali soon, perhaps with Pak Salin this time ;D
cheers,
MarkR
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Ah! So same place, same fisherman, same captain, same size fish but different pics! Those factors fooled both messrs Adhek and Agus who I showed it to.
You are dead right about the K guides - that is a giveaway. The background is still freaking me out a bit though as I am sure there are now houses built in that spot :o
That spots deserves more attention though for sure. It is rarely fished. The major surf break just to the northwest and all that water rushing through the narrow Ceningan Channel creates a lot of messy current action. Fishing with Pak Salin is definitely no bad thing. Cheers.
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Hi Mark ,
This Nusa Ceningan , is it on the Lembongan side of Toyapakeh strait ? ???
Jon .
Ah! So same place, same fisherman, same captain, same size fish but different pics! Those factors fooled both messrs Adhek and Agus who I showed it to.
You are dead right about the K guides - that is a giveaway. The background is still freaking me out a bit though as I am sure there are now houses built in that spot :o
That spots deserves more attention though for sure. It is rarely fished. The major surf break just to the northwest and all that water rushing through the narrow Ceningan Channel creates a lot of messy current action. Fishing with Pak Salin is definitely no bad thing. Cheers.
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Hi Mark ,
This Nusa Ceningan , is it on the Lembongan side of Toyapakeh strait ? ???
Jon .
Yes Jon. It is the tiny island between Penida and Lembongan - west side of the Toyapakeh Strait. This spot is on the south western tip.
On this map, the spot is just above the final "n" of the Nusa Ceningan label: http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:Bali-Southeastern-Islands-Region-Map.png (http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:Bali-Southeastern-Islands-Region-Map.png)
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Hi Mark ,
Strong current in Toyapakeh strait so big GTs do lurk in that area , a friend of mine went diving around the floating platform of the Quicksilver boat and was flanked by a couple of big GTs almost as long as him + the flipper , that is around 2m in length ! ::) , according to the crews of the Quicksilver , these 2 big GTs are residents of the floating platform .
Jon .
Hi Mark ,
This Nusa Ceningan , is it on the Lembongan side of Toyapakeh strait ? ???
Jon .
Yes Jon. It is the tiny island between Penida and Lembongan - west side of the Toyapakeh Strait. This spot is on the south western tip.
On this map, the spot is just above the final "n" of the Nusa Ceningan label: http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:Bali-Southeastern-Islands-Region-Map.png (http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:Bali-Southeastern-Islands-Region-Map.png)
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Yes Jon many stories of monster GTs in that channel, all the way from the Quiksilver terminal in the north down to that spot where Suzuki-san hit the big ones. Personally I have never caught or seen one caught there much over 20 kgs. Equally, the spot is not really convenient if you are fishing at Batu Abah which is where most anglers including myself gravitate to. Therefore it is very under-fished. Must make a mental note to make the effort to stop there and try a few casts more often.
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There is a fair bit of (very) woolly science and astrology-babble flying around about the lunar perigree on March 19th.
....snip....
It struck me that this could be an especially good time to be fishing for GTs. I will certainly be out throwing lures into the spin cycle currents tomorrow. Anyone else planning? It could be very interesting to see if results during this phenomenon are notable in any way.
well what is the consensus now? Did it make any difference in either catch rates or average size of the fish?
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There is a fair bit of (very) woolly science and astrology-babble flying around about the lunar perigree on March 19th.
....snip....
It struck me that this could be an especially good time to be fishing for GTs. I will certainly be out throwing lures into the spin cycle currents tomorrow. Anyone else planning? It could be very interesting to see if results during this phenomenon are notable in any way.
well what is the consensus now? Did it make any difference in either catch rates or average size of the fish?
Well, I caught way less than would be expected at Full Moon and they were small!
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...snip..
Well, I caught way less than would be expected at Full Moon and they were small!
Same thing actually happened when i fished during a total eclipse. Expected mass suicide when the fish internal clocks went haywire....:)
Perhaps we needed to kill a fatted cat (usually a fatted goat, but the cat not only for the sacrifice bit, it also rids the world of 1 more cat :D) and dance around naked with feathers where the sun don't shine :D :D
Then again, in my case it could have been that I am just a lousy fisherman :-[
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Good action here on the west coast of OZ... got a new PB and they were pretty thick, that's if you could get past the plagues of reef fish. At the peak times they were pretty much biting their faces off ;D