Ontario Shore Fishing Forum

Hey guys/gals,

Have you tried Frenchman's Bay lately? Is there a prime spot to look for?

Next weekend has good potential based from the lunar table that I follow. I believe on moon phase as it gives me better chance to land a fish. The moon controls the tides, which play a big role in fishing conditions. Full moon, new moon or quarter moon are the best!

If you are interested to learn about moon phase, try these links:
http://www.outdoorcanada.ca/times
http://canadianangling.com/lunar-tables-4/
http://www.wikihow.com/Find-the-Best-Time-for-Fishing

Anyhow next Friday I may head out to Frenchman's Bay after 6pm.
I never really tried to fish here but when I was there last summer, fishermen were seen under the bridge (nearby the restaurant and parking lot).

Tell us your story!
Abu Garcia

I haven't fished Frenchman's Bay, so I don't have any to share.

However, I would like to clarify the effects of moon on the tides.

As any Grade 9 student knows, tides are created by the gravitational forces from the moon and the sun. Gravity causes the water to bulge toward the planetary bodies exerting the force. However, this only occurs in oceans where the water is connected around the globe. In smaller bodies of water that are cut off from the ocean, or severely restricted access to the ocean, tides are much too small to be appreciated, and thus exert no influence. The water in a small body of water simply cannot be drawn and move about in the same way as it occurs in the oceans.

Lake Ontario landlocked, and it is too small, to experience any significant tidal changes, and thus it is considered as non-tidal.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gltides.html

So the argument that the moon phase affects tides and fishing conditions in Frenchman's Bay is unfounded.

However, the amount of light at night could affect some species, such as walleye, on their feeding pattern. For example, walleye may feed more aggressively during dark nights when their sensitive eyes give them an advantage over the prey; while on a bright night, the walleye lose some advantage when prey use the brighter condition to avoid predators.

Personally, except for night fishing, I've noticed little influence of the moon on fishing. I find other factors much more important.

Saltwater fishing, however, is strongly driven by the tides.

Good point MuskieBait about the tides - indeed lakes does not produced that many. Maybe I should have rephrased with "moon rise" and "moon set"

Though based from my experienced - moon phase does help.
Otherwise the Canadian web sites that publish these lunar phase will not bother providing the information on which days are best to fish.

(05-26-2016 11:27 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]I haven't fished Frenchman's Bay, so I don't have any to share.

However, I would like to clarify the effects of moon on the tides.

As any Grade 9 student knows, tides are created by the gravitational forces from the moon and the sun. Gravity causes the water to bulge toward the planetary bodies exerting the force. However, this only occurs in oceans where the water is connected around the globe. In smaller bodies of water that are cut off from the ocean, or severely restricted access to the ocean, tides are much too small to be appreciated, and thus exert no influence. The water in a small body of water simply cannot be drawn and move about in the same way as it occurs in the oceans.

Lake Ontario landlocked, and it is too small, to experience any significant tidal changes, and thus it is considered as non-tidal.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gltides.html

So the argument that the moon phase affects tides and fishing conditions in Frenchman's Bay is unfounded.

However, the amount of light at night could affect some species, such as walleye, on their feeding pattern. For example, walleye may feed more aggressively during dark nights when their sensitive eyes give them an advantage over the prey; while on a bright night, the walleye lose some advantage when prey use the brighter condition to avoid predators.

Personally, except for night fishing, I've noticed little influence of the moon on fishing. I find other factors much more important.

Saltwater fishing, however, is strongly driven by the tides.

(05-27-2016 10:49 AM)Abu Garcia Wrote: [ -> ]Good point MuskieBait about the tides - indeed lakes does not produced that many. Maybe I should have rephrased with "moon rise" and "moon set"

Though based from my experienced - moon phase does help.
Otherwise the Canadian web sites that publish these lunar phase will not bother providing the information on which days are best to fish.

Believe what you may. The fact that these charts are published does not make the prediction factual.

From personal experience, I've learned that solunar charts are not accurate. In fact, often the fishing experience seems to be completely opposite of what was predicted.

Much of fishing success depends on understanding the fish behaviour. If a moonrise causes a particular tide change and forces fish to move off the flats into deeper water, you may find luck if you happen to fish in the deeper water areas, but completely out of luck if you happen to fish on the flats.

Thus, the "prime activity" predictions are manifested based on where you fish and what you fish for. It is heavily dependent on the species as well as the location.

It is also a self-fulfilling prophecy when you concentrate your fishing efforts based on the "prime periods", as opposed to simply fishing all day and critically review on the activity throughout the entire day. A lot of people will only fish muskies on new moons or full moons, proclaiming that these two periods produced the best bite and biggest fish. But if you only fish during these periods, and only catch fish during these periods, are you able to rule out that any other time of the month can't be just as good? By fishing only during the predicted "prime time", you are essentially biased and the data collected is biased.

Often, more detailed observations, and deeper thinking, can yield fish even when you are fishing during periods that is not "prime". For example, many people think that steelhead fishing is best during morning and evening. Yes, fish are indeed more active during low light period, but that's mainly due to their restricted ability to see an imperfect presentation with heavier line, bulkier split shots, larger hooks and an unnatural drift. Fish also move out of cover to feed when the low light conceal your presence much more. Adjusting your rig to eliminate any spook factor, adding stealth to your approach and fishing locations where steelhead retreat for protection during midday, you can still do just as well, if not better, for steelhead between morning and evening.

The same can be said of solunar charts and tide changes. Understand where fish relocate at certain phase of the tide, and how their feeding activity and prey items change with the tide, is more important than believe "prime activity" predictions.

At the end of the day, my advice is simply to go fishing when you can. Don't worry too much about the factors that could affect fishing. Adjust your technique based on what is given or presented to you that day, and be proactive to reactive to any changes that may come.

If you worry too much, you will never get to wet a line. You can't catch fish with the lines out of the water.

I'm not a big believer in solunar fishing charts in freshwater either. And as MB says in the salt they simply reflect the effects of tides and their heights, which do influence saltwater surf or tidal river fishing.

In freshwater I've seen more influence from such factors as water temperature, barometric pressure, water O2 content, and its clarity.

Even so........... sometimes you get skunked when all the so called factors call for a bucket full of fish. Or vice versa ............... That randomness of reward is one thing that keeps us coming back.

Cheers,

OldTimer

I've always thought that solunar tables are like horoscopes - pseudoscientific BS. Might be wrong, but I'm not certain that anyone has ever done a proper scientific study.

The way I see it, the more you add anything in your favor, wouldn't you like to take that chance? of course everything has to take into consideration. Lure, weather, forage, bait fish presence, structures, fish habitat etc.

I just want to add some flavor guys that's all and contribute to this forum. This is what it's all about right?
It may not work 100% of the time but the probability is there based from my experience.

According to the solunar charts, yesterday (May 29, 2016) was the middle between the two monthly peak activity periods (a span of 5 days around the full moon and the new moon).

We were fishing between 11:30pm to 3:30pm. We had some great initial Gar action for an hour, then it completely shutdown. I sight fished a Silver Redhorse after guiding my friends to the Gar and then we all picked at Rockbass after Rockbass. The Redhorse action really picked up an hour just before we left...with much more feeding behaviour observed than the hours prior. We also concentrate on catching them and I was actively helping my friends to locate fish, guide them to bait presentation, and even notify them when I can observe a bite. That was also a contributing factor to our success.

If I went by the solunar chart again for yesterday, there was a minor peak at 12:50pm and a major peak at 7:03pm. Yet, the slowest fishing we had was during the predicted peak, and the best fishing we had was between the two peaks...

http://ontarioshorefishing.com/forum/Thr...1#pid16601

Just something to ponder.

(05-30-2016 08:55 AM)Abu Garcia Wrote: [ -> ]The way I see it, the more you add anything in your favor, wouldn't you like to take that chance? of course everything has to take into consideration. Lure, weather, forage, bait fish presence, structures, fish habitat etc.

I just want to add some flavor guys that's all and contribute to this forum. This is what it's all about right?
It may not work 100% of the time but the probability is there based from my experience.

I used to be like you when I started fishing some 20 years ago. For a while, I even check religiously with the solunar charts to see if I can find any patterns.

Today, I don't even bother to check anymore. In fact, I would say fishing based on the solunar chart doesn't add anything to your favour if you are basing your fishing solely on the position of the sun and moon. On the contrary, it is detrimental since you are biasing too much on the charts themselves, which discourages you from fishing on the non-prime days.

As I mentioned above, just go fishing when you can. The only environmental factor that should stop you from fishing is inclement weather that threatens your safety...or, unless you know under certain circumstances that fish will not bite. For example, it's a bit foolish to fish for Gar when the water is less than 50F as Gar activity is largely dependent on their metabolism, and their metabolism is largely influenced by water temperature.

Appreciate that you try to add flavour and discussion to the forum, which is great. I'm just offering my experience on the topic and help members open their minds when possible.

this is very good info guys, for me i just want to catch fish !! moon .. no moon .... i know one thing that the fish are always there in the water, its just which is the best spot and how patient you are ...

so does anyone has fished on frenchmans bay and was it a good outing ?

cheers,
sandy