Moon phase.. myth or magic?


Whatever your beliefs may be in regard to moon phases, I remain convinced that it affects carp behaviour far more than is generally believed, and certainly far more than I had once assumed myself


It is not without good reason that all life on earth is affected by or even controlled by the gravitational affects and other factors such as reflected light from the sun. The words lunatic and lunacy


are derived from noted abnormal behaviour in humans caused by the moons influence, and there exists a factual and statistically significant correlation between the solunar effect and many human ailments. In regard to other life forms the evidence is clear, with some creatures being affected far more than others or in different ways for different reasons. That aside for the moment, for many


years I tried to unlock many of the mysteries that I was confronted with in relation to carp angling in general and, gradually, piece by piece, I discovered new information that fitted into the vast


overall conundrum. The main problem with trying to pinpoint and understand exactly why carp do certain things, or react in specific ways, is that there are so many variables to consider but, undaunted by the enormity of the task I kept chipping away at different elements as each presented itself. The search for information led me


A moon landing .. an encounter of the preferred kind


in many directions over the years and like a never-ending maze it offered a tantalising choice of paths, some of which were interesting and would lead me on to the next junction, but many were dead ends of no significance. There is no question here, to understand just one element you may need to fully understand a number of others before you can even begin to comprehend where it fits in to the bigger picture.... Like a jig-saw puzzle, where you need to be able to determine a common denominator, a shape, characteristic or colour in combination, and you need to refer back to the bigger picture for clues. One of these paths led me to an


aspect that enthrals me; the concept that not all carp are caught, and that known, uncaught mystery fish exist in almost every body of water. This could be that not all carp eat the same food and, as 99% of anglers offer virtually the same thing, boilies, the 5% of fish that never fed on them were very unlikely to ever be caught by the 1% of anglers’ not using boilies. - Put in simple terms, we don’t actually use bait which is acceptable to them and they don’t recognise what we do offer as being food. But could


there be other reasons I had yet to discover? The subject of certain carp


being only natural feeders is a very interesting one in itself, but there are several aspects that can be alluded to that confound many theories. The most basic explanation I can offer here in limited space, from what I can determine, it’s mostly genetics at work and that common carp make up a very large proportion of the uncaught mystery fish.


My desire to understand this aspect indeed led me on and required me to learn other aspects, and what I discovered was quite revealing. Not only were these uncaught


monsters feeding differently, on a natural food source, but due to this habit they most often fed in vastly different areas, for obvious reasons. Not being shoal fish, or more specifically, being large fish in possibly very small groups, demands a different routine. This led me on to explore other avenues of thought. Natural feeding fish have a


heightened or more natural usage and dependency on their sensory devices, and the ability to use electro- magnetic detection to hunt for food is crucial to any predatory natural feeder. Every living organism emits an electro-magnetic signature and many predatory fish are fully dependant on a sensory ability to detect this field. It was also interesting to discover that light-emitting bacteria existing in fresh water are not only bioluminescent but, in mass give off a significant electro- magnetic footprint. It is reported to take three days to proliferate, I learned, and that fact posed another question about our own 3-day bait theory. It is often said that, especially on big waters, it can sometimes take three days before carp will move in on a bed of bait - is that perhaps because these carp are wilder in nature and are more in tune with natural feeding? It is surely possible that, after the three days, carp unfamiliar with angling bait are attracted by the massive electro- magnetic footprint or bioluminescence produced by the bacteria on our bait and not to the bait itself which, by


then has depleted inbuilt food signals anyway. Apart from natural feeding habits


there are of course many other aspects that determine where carp will be and whether or not they will feed. Environmental aspects are certainly a major influence in that respect and that is another area I concentrated my research on. I cannot accept the philosophy of others without understanding how their theories were formed and what factual elements were used to base them on. I much prefer to research available sources, hopefully discovering aspects along the way to determine things for myself and form my own theories. We all pretty much understand that


weather conditions directly affect the aquatic environment and therefore the fish, which are immediately affected by every small change. We also know that oxygen levels, water quality and many other elements determine where carp will be. It is now generally accepted that barometric pressure has an influence in all of that too. Likewise, many anglers believe in the phenomenon of the affects of moon phase, and even if it remains a bit of a mystery to most ‘why’ it has an effect, many anglers are happy to believe in it because, through results, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that it does.


My own theories are constantly challenged by me to determine if they are correct and in relation to the moon phase theory, I now believe there is a correlation to water pressure, pretty much as if it alters or adds to the affect of barometric pressure. I monitored the affects of moon


phase during the course of a one- month fishing session on a large, deep water in Spain and going by the timing of my captures in relation to the position of the moon, it revealed something very interesting indeed. The bottom line is that I now believe


that as far as having an effect on carp goes, the moon phase is on a par with barometric pressure, which I consider to be of great significance in my angling. My theory may seem a little raw, but there was a noticeable pattern


which allowed me to think more clearly about the moon phase phenomena, in particular the claim of it producing big fish at certain phases. This factor became very clear to me over this, albeit short period of time. In fact, it was so obvious that it left


me scratching my head as to why I had not noticed it previously. Firstly, to understand my theory on big fish captures on certain moon phases, you may need to know my beliefs on barometric pressure; it drops, so do carp, it rises and so do carp. As water pressure increases or decreases it affects a carp’s ability to maintain neutral buoyancy and causes it to naturally rise or fall in the water accordingly. It’s largely a question of carp not adjusting their swim bladders and temporarily moving for what may be a short-term barometric change. Basically a full moon, because of


its gravitational pull, has the affect of decreasing water pressure, which is effectively an increase in barometric pressure, and all carp will respond to that by rising in the water, up off the bottom and thus away from your bait. When the moon is directly overhead the affect is much more noticeable, and as the moon drops lower toward the horizon the affect lessens. In fact, what occurs is a gradual but continuous change in water pressure and carp move up or down in the water accordingly. As the moon drops in the sky they will drop in the water and, dependant on the depth you are fishing at, begin to feed on your bait once more. By fishing baits at different depths the results proved this to be the case beyond question. Now, this is where the really


interesting bit is for me. Larger carp, being required to feed at different times and/or in different areas because of the natural food source, I think, respond differently to the reduction in water pressure and whereas shoal fish rise in the water, the needs of a big, hungry carp may demand that it takes the opportunity to feed whilst the smaller shoal fish have vacated the baited area. Not only this, but it is likely that a large carp may well live most of its life in the deeper parts of a water, and its constant search for food may


dictate that rather than move directly up in the water in response to water pressure changes, it moves laterally into shallower areas to continue feeding, and that would include the type of depths that we are fishing. In the course of the month that I


studied this, noting the affects around the clock, there was a distinct and predictable pattern that emerged. This pattern corresponded with the position of the moon, so as each day passed, the timing of noticeable feeding action (runs) shifted. There was a definite correlation between the two that was only interrupted on one occasion... one particular time when I would have expected action only from big fish, only small fish were forthcoming. That fact, far from being a negative, can be easily explained by the presence of a huge drop in barometric pressure which to all tense and purpose nullified the less significant lunar pull allowing the smaller carp to continue feeding. For me, this session proved


beyond any doubt that the moon phase has a direct and significant effect on carp, and according to the position of the moon I could predict with some confidence whether I would catch smaller shoal fish or their larger brethren. From now on, big moon, big fish is


my motto. Tight lines to all competitors for the World Carp Classic 2011.


Steve Howard


‘In the course of the month that I studied this, noting the affects around the clock, there was a distinct and predictable pattern that emerged’ Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com


Moonstruck.. A rare mirror carp of 44lb, one of several big carp caught at moon rise and sun fall


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