Sol Lunar tables

[TAZ]

Hi guys. Just yesterday was going through some stuff and came across a fishing time watch my misses gave me years ago. You put the relevant Long & Lat into it and it calculates the Sol Lunar tables for that area. So got a battery for it and set it this arvo. My previous thoughts were this, on days it showed top fishing times, as long as the weather was ok it seemed to have something to it. But if it showed top times but weather was crap it just didnt matter. Medium times, low fishing times the same it seemed weather dependent. By dependent I mean wind, lows, highs etc. So I wonder, was it really just weather dependent and the Sol Lunar had nothing to do with it or does the Sol Lunar really have merit? I could go on an try to explain more of what I mean but I reckon you'll all get where I'm coming from. Thoughts? 

[noelm]

First off, when you see a fish with one of these watches that tells them when to eat, let me know, secondly, regardless of whether it works or not, you don't go fishing, you won't catch fish, go as often as you can, leave the watch at home, and you will catch fish.

[TAZ]

11 minutes ago, noelm said:

First off, when you see a fish with one of these watches that tells them when to eat, let me know, secondly, regardless of whether it works or not, you don't go fishing, you won't catch fish, go as often as you can, leave the watch at home, and you will catch fish.

😁 I'll have to "watch" out for those "clock" fish. Hopefully given "time" ill catch one. 

Jokes aside, yeah I'll admit they were lame. Hunters swear by the Sol tables too. But there are moon phases that fish bite best on so I do wonder, if it all aligns, moon phases, weather etc if that would equate to peak times. Even heard that, and had been verified, that farmers planting crops so that emerging seedlings/sprouts, dont emerge on full moonlit nights, grow better than those that are planted so they are newly emerged on those nights, reason is that growth is inhibited by weak day night cycles. A strong one is bright day, dark night. But fish ain't plants we know. Im still gonna test it though. 

[wazatherfisherman]

I have had Casio "Fishing Time" watches for years, am on 3rd one. You need to change the Lat/Long coordinates when you venture away from your "home area" to keep the data in "real-time", but they are a great fishing "tool" and my old group all used them. The best feature of it in my opinion is, by simply pushing a few buttons on the watch, you can check tide phase, moon phase and "best fishing time" up to a year in advance- pretty handy when planning future trips while with your mates away from charts, calendars etc. It's like a multi-purpose chart on your wrist, regardless of "Best fishing time" graph feature

Always a 'matter-of-opinion" whether any of these type of things work, but we have used it for trip-planning for many years. The watches are hard to find now by the way, but the "Fishing Time" has served us well as a planner. The boys always ask "What does the watch say?" whenever we were planning a trip.

 

[kingie chaser]

Plenty of people swear by moon phase affecting fishing so I don't think its all pie in the sky.

Ive been meaning to get myself an Almanac, there are a few around.

 

Still not sure I would follow it to a T as sometimes I just want to get out regardless when I have an opportunity but you never know it might help with coming home with a fish so if it works its worth the $8 👍

 

Also PM sent Taz

[wazatherfisherman]

31 minutes ago, kingie chaser said:

Plenty of people swear by moon phase affecting fishing so I don't think its all pie in the sky.

Ive been meaning to get myself an Almanac, there are a few around.

 

Still not sure I would follow it to a T as sometimes I just want to get out regardless when I have an opportunity but you never know it might help with coming home with a fish so if it works its worth the $8 👍

 

Also PM sent Taz

Hi kingie chaser By all means get an almanac, but even better is keeping your own logbook, which is "location-specific" for where you go. Doesn't need to be too complex, just basic info like tides, moon, weather, gear, bait/lures etc, and of course results and a couple of lines to what you think happened and why. A "picture/pattern" develops over time and is your own personal reference book. 15 or so minutes to fill in a pre set-up logbook gives you your own almanac and something you can use for reference in years to come.

Mrs Swordie suggested also that many folk use Fishraider in the same way

Regards Waza

[Ah Me Ting]

Don't need a watch or printed almanac, everything is on the interwebs these days:

https://tides4fishing.com/

[frankS]

I have a fish watch but have not got a clue how to set it so it sits on a shelf gathering dust. I have had several young people try to set it for me but they all give up and hand the watch back to me. I used to keep records of my trips for years and when I got a computer made a program ( before windows ) that allowed me to use it.

Then some time in the 80's I bought this which does the job , tells you exactly what you need to know and it really works. Haven't used it now for years buy every now and then I put a battery in it and have a play with it.

Magic tool.

Frank

[Berleyguts]

I had a Casio Fishing watch. Loved it. I think I still have it but the outer casing broke off, so I don’t wear it any more. I haven’t been able to find another one the same. I can find digital watches but this was both analogue and digital, which I prefer. It was easy enough to program if you follow the instructions. I lost the manual but downloaded another one online. It was interesting to note that my best sessions tended to correspond pretty closely to the prime fishing times shown on the watch. Weather conditions and other factors still come into play, of course. What was annoying about it was that I’d be at work and I’d check the time and the watch would be flashing at me...”FISH! FISH! FISH!”. Bloody frustrating knowing it was prime fishing time and I was stuck at work.

Have a look at the Fishing Pro app. It works on the position of the sun and moon relevant to your location and you can plan well ahead. You can also record your catches with photos and the circumstances relating to the capture including weather, lure, bait used etc. I should use it more often as it would be good to go back over the history.

[JonD]

7 hours ago, frankS said:

I have a fish watch but have not got a clue how to set it so it sits on a shelf gathering dust. I have had several young people try to set it for me but they all give up and hand the watch back to me. I used to keep records of my trips for years and when I got a computer made a program ( before windows ) that allowed me to use it.

Then some time in the 80's I bought this which does the job , tells you exactly what you need to know and it really works. Haven't used it now for years buy every now and then I put a battery in it and have a play with it.

Magic tool.

Frank

I also have one of these which has proven its self time and time again for me. I must admit from using this so much in the past I don't really need it so much as I now know the exact moon phases for jews which was what I mostly bought it for. 

Unlike watches and gps units that state general peak times, these units take it further by categorising certain species such as predators, prey and those that feed more agressivly on falling or rising barrametric pressure etc.

Those who don't believe the solar phases effect feeding times should maybe talk with commercial long line fishermen or perhaps do what I did and closely monitor fish catch figures through Sydney fish markets. I spent every morning at the markets before work for over 12 months keeping diaries of when and where mullaway were being caught and what moon phases increased catches. All this info is available from the fish markets for a fee, back when I did it I was able to roam the auction floor. 

[TAZ]

Great. Thanks for all the replies guys. Yes mine is a Casio Forester Fishing Time watch. Still in good nick too. Ha ha, took me an hour of mucking around with the buttons to find where I set the Lat & Long, but got it figured out, lost the manual for it ages ago. Yeah, shows moon phases, sunset sunrise, peak fishing times and peak/high, low tides. Weather is garbage here in country Vic at present, had severe weather warnings last couple of days. Hanging out so badly to get down to the saltwater at Port Fairy for a week with the misses. Plan to go, rain, storms, big seas, gale force winds. I'll get there eventually. Got the Forester set for down there. Gear all ready,some the misses doesn't even know I've got yet 😁 , just need a good break in the weather. 

Edited July 23, 2019 by TAZ

[wazatherfisherman]

41 minutes ago, TAZ said:

Great. Thanks for all the replies guys. Yes mine is a Casio Forester Fishing Time watch. Still in good nick too. Ha ha, took me an hour of mucking around with the buttons to find where I set the Lat & Long, but got it figured out, lost the manual for it ages ago. Yeah, shows moon phases, sunset sunrise, peak fishing times and peak/high, low tides. Weather is garbage here in country Vic at present, had severe weather warnings last couple of days. Hanging out so badly to get down to the saltwater at Port Fairy for a week with the misses. Plan to go, rain, storms, big seas, gale force winds. I'll get there eventually. Got the Forester set for down there. Gear all ready,some the misses doesn't even know I've got yet 😁 , just need a good break in the weather. 

Best of luck fishing down there- Port Fairy is one of the nicest towns on the G/O Road, didn't have a fish while I was there, and the wharf looked like squid fishers paradise to me also

[TAZ]

Sounds good. Never been there before. Been from Point Lonsdale down to Apollo Bay and in between over the years but not there. Looking forward to it. Cheers mate. 

[wazatherfisherman]

23 minutes ago, TAZ said:

Sounds good. Never been there before. Been from Point Lonsdale down to Apollo Bay and in between over the years but not there. Looking forward to it. Cheers mate. 

Sorry made a mistake with the location! It was Port Campbell that I thought was beautiful spot

[Ah Me Ting]

6 hours ago, TAZ said:

..... Gear all ready, some the misses doesn't even know I've got yet 😁 ...

Don't we all? 🤗

But. It does remind me of that old saying:

My only concern is that when I die my wife will sell all my fishing gear based on the price I told her I paid for it!

Edited July 23, 2019 by Ah Me Ting

[fragmeister]

23 hours ago, frankS said:

I have a fish watch but have not got a clue how to set it so it sits on a shelf gathering dust. I have had several young people try to set it for me but they all give up and hand the watch back to me. I used to keep records of my trips for years and when I got a computer made a program ( before windows ) that allowed me to use it.

Then some time in the 80's I bought this which does the job , tells you exactly what you need to know and it really works. Haven't used it now for years buy every now and then I put a battery in it and have a play with it.

Magic tool.

Frank

I have the same one Frank.  Pulled it out the other day and put batteries in it.

Fired it up and checked the fishing for the day and it told me I should have been out on the water and not behind my desk!

Cheers

Jim

 

[JonD]

Turns out having just checked mine, I have the pro version. Good to see a few of us still have them.

 

[Berleyguts]

I’ve been looking at Casio fishing watches and have found some “duo” styles (analog and digital) online at reasonable prices. Might invest in another one. I’d still like to see one in store though. Can’t find a store that sells them.

[Scratchie]

Can someone tell me what was Monday 22nd predicted bite like? 

[Berleyguts]

21 minutes ago, Scratchie said:

Can someone tell me what was Monday 22nd predicted bite like? 

For Broughton, 14% fishing efficiency. Minor peak period 08:43-10:43. Major peak period 14:50-16:50. How does that sit with your catch times? I’ve found it best if I can get a predicted peak time to align with low light times, tide changes and neap tides.

[Scratchie]

51 minutes ago, Berleyguts said:

For Broughton, 14% fishing efficiency. Minor peak period 08:43-10:43. Major peak period 14:50-16:50. How does that sit with your catch times? I’ve found it best if I can get a predicted peak time to align with low light times, tide changes and neap tides.

Thanks Baz. Very interesting! 

We actually caught nearly all our fish between 10:30 and 2:30. 

Ive never really believed in the almanac. This sort of proves it. It was hands down the best snapper session I’ve ever had. 

My only lame time is the day of a full moon and the water is super clear and I still manage one or two! 

I guess if your lines not in the water you ain’t catching anything! 👍

[Berleyguts]

34 minutes ago, Scratchie said:

Thanks Baz. Very interesting! 

We actually caught nearly all our fish between 10:30 and 2:30. 

Ive never really believed in the almanac. This sort of proves it. It was hands down the best snapper session I’ve ever had. 

My only lame time is the day of a full moon and the water is super clear and I still manage one or two! 

I guess if your lines not in the water you ain’t catching anything! 👍

So, an hour or two either side of the tide change then. I only fish when I can, which is not often enough but when I do get out, I seem to think that my better days occur on “better” days predicted in the tables, I probably don’t fish enough to have sufficient data but at the rare times when I have been on holidays and fished every day over 2 weeks, the best days seemed to coincide with the better predicted days, if weather and other conditions were also good.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Berleyguts