Full moon, new moon or somewhere in between ...... by Sam Rowley

ABOVE: The author took a 91cm barramundi on a Shads 6” in Silver Flash.

It’s a fairly widely held consensus among most impoundment barramundi anglers that the lead up to and, in particular, the few days before a full moon are the best times to chase barra.

Now, there may be some truth to this, but the moon cannot be relied on entirely when choosing the best time to book a trip to Lake Monduran.

Water temperature, wind and other environmental factors are much better indicators of a good bite, in my opinion.

The following information is more relevant to the hottest months of the year – generally October to March – as, for me, the moon has less of an influence on fish behaviour over colder months.

Bruno Merlini with a 86cm barramundi on a Jackall DD Squirrel Hank Tune 79mm in Uroko Vision Wakasagi.

Full moon

The full moon is a great time to fish Lake Monduran, particularly on warm summer nights.

The hotter the weather, generally the better the fishing will be at night.

Barramundi have excellent vision in low light and can feed on the darkest of nights.

Though the full moon is so effective at night because it gives barra the perfect amount of light to ambush their prey.

However, the question of what makes before the moon better than after still remains.

This can be easily explained – it’s much easier to fish into the night before the full moon because the moon has already risen prior to darkness setting in.

Every night after the full moon, you can expect it to rise about an hour later – meaning you are virtually blind fishing for a period of time.

The fishing can still be great after the full moon, given the right conditions – though you must be willing to put in later nights.

One error I see many people make is that they plan a trip on the full moon because they’ve read it’s the best time to go.

They launch the boat in the morning and are out trying to tempt fish that have spent the overnight hours feeding.

The fishos soon give up, after enduring scorching temperatures, and are off the water by mid-afternoon.

If you are going to come up on a full moon between October and March, you need to plan to fish from mid-afternoon into the night.

If night fishing, it is important to have the correct navigation lights fitted to your boat, as well as a spotlight or light bar to help you navigate the lake safely.

A sounder with quality mapping technology is also very helpful, but should never be relied upon solely.

Clay Litherland scored a monster 96cm barramundi on a Molix Shad 140mm in Perch.

New moon

The new moon is a great time for anyone who loves daylight fishing.

Though fish can still be caught at night on the new moon, particularly through the hottest part of summer.

The key with daylight fishing during these months is to work out at what point during the day the fish are feeding.

This has a lot to do with water temperature.

The hotter the water temperature gets, the more likely the fish will be to feed in cooler low-light periods.

Generally, this is once the water temperature reaches about 27-28C first thing in the morning.

A mistake many people make is that they completely rule out the potential for barramundi to be feeding through the middle of the day.

These feeding habits are particularly noticeable during cooler months, however can often be relevant during periods of cooler weather in late spring and summer too.