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EmailHere's a list of the best fishing days and times for 2013, when the Moon is between new and full (EDT).
Got any fishing tales? Share below and check out other readers' tips!
2013 Best Fishing Days
- January 11–26
- February 10–25
- March 11–27
- April 10–25
- May 9–25
- June 8–23
- July 8–22
- August 6–20
- September 5–19
- October 4–18
- November 3–17
- December 2–17
For your customized Moon times, see our Moon Phase Calendar.
The Sun, Moon, tides, and weather all influence fish activity. For example, fish tend to feed more at sunrise and sunset. During a full moon, tides are higher than average and fish tend to feed more.
However, most of us go fishing when we can get the time off, not because it is the best time!
Best Times for Fishing
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One hour before and one hour after high tides, and one hour before and one hour after low tides. Inland, the times for high tides correspond with the times when the Moon is due south. Low tides are halfway between high tides.
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During the "morning rise" (after sunup for a spell) and the "evening rise" (just before sundown and the hour or so after).
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When the barometer is steady or on the rise. (But even during stormy periods, the fish aren't going to give up feeding. The smart fisherman will find just the right bait.)
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When there is a hatch of flies—caddis flies or mayflies, commonly. (The fisherman will have to match his fly with the hatching flies or go fishless.)
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When the breeze is from a westerly quarter rather than from the north or east.
- When the water is still or rippled, rather than during a wind.
Tackle Box Checklist
Be prepared! See our list of what to put in your fishing tackle box.
More . . . Reader Suggestions
- The best way to fish in South Texas with chicken liver, is to let it sit a while in the good Texas sun, sprinkle a little garlic powder and a little chili powder. This combination makes the liver pasty and it will stay on your triple or single hook with little to no problem. I do offer a warning, that pow you will feel on your line is going to be one big Texas size catfish, so get ready and have some good Texas fishing fun. –Ramiro Vela
- A really good bait I have found is hot dogs with chicken meat. Cut them in desired pieces and set in the sun to 'dry up'. When they are 'dried', they will stay on the hook better. You can put them in a bag in the freezer to keep. Brim and catfish will bite this bait. –Jean Cannon
- The best catfish bait are catalpa worms. You can put what you don't use in the freezer with a few catalpa tree leaves. When you are ready to fish again, take them out and they come back to life. Start reeling in the big cats. –Joey Brown
- To find the big cats, it would help out if you knew the underwater structure of the pond, river or lake. Find DEEP holes with lots of cover as in over-hangs. Gravel pits are a great place to fish for cats. –Todd Heil
- The best catfish bait that I have found fishing for catfish anywhere bar none is shrimp, yeah it's a little costly but let me tell ya somethin' friend, it's worth it. –Chuck Hubbard Jr.
- I am Blackfoot American Native. We live to fish and hunt our meals. A true hint in catfishing is never to use any type of scents (Cologne, powders, perfume, etc.) Don't handle cigarettes or any type of tobacco products without washing your hands before applying baits, hooks, sinkers, new line, etc. The fish know these things. –Tommy Bays
- The absolute best way I know to keep your liver on your hook while fishing is: Buy 1 or 2 old plastic ice trays. Go ahead and bait your hook the best you can. I use a "threading" action. Place the hook and liver into the ice tray and let it freeze throughout the night before you go fishing. When you are ready to go fishing, just twist the old ice trays and take the liver cubes and pack them in a bag and put them in a container of ice. –Chris Payne
- In Kentucky where I live we use bait store crickets and mill worms floated with a bobber. Put three or four crickets and a couple of mill worms on a hook and hold on! You have you try different depths until you find the fish. Once you find them you can have a lot of fun catching all sizes. I have caught them from squeakers to 62 pounds on this bait, so good luck! –Kenny Conley
- I'm 68 years old and fish every chance I get. My daddy always told me to watch the cows. If they are up and eating, go fishing. If they are down resting, you might as well stay home. So far this has worked pretty well. –Edna James
- The best bait I have used here in Bradenton, Fla. is fresh mullet that has never been frozen. Catch them late afternoon or at night. Catch them as long as your leg. Good Luck! –Bill Suggs
- As the water in your minnow bucket warms the minnows will slowly die. They need a very cool temperature to survive. Never put ice cubes in with live minnows. The chlorine in the water stays and will kill your bait. Freeze water bottles then gently place them in the bucket. Usually one will be enough. –Alec Plummer
- Try it all, love the outdoors and keep a bait in the water. You won't catch anything if you aren't out there! –Jody Wolf
Add your own suggestions or comments below!
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best catfishing is right
best catfishing is right before a rain and while river is raising use chicken liver on a straight hook after you thread it on hook,get some sewing thred out of the old ladys tool box and wrap it around and around the liver then pull thight abd break thread it will stay on till a fish is on your hook
Yeah. I was once fishing for
Yeah. I was once fishing for bass on Bessie's Creek in Brookshire, Texas. A terrible storm came up. I was using an 8 inch Broken Back Mirror lure and made one last cast and retrieved it parallel to the grass line When WHAM ! At first I thought it was a bass but it kept running my drag hard. Well it finally turned around. Believe me I didn't turn it around, I was using 10lb test and am surprised it didn't break. She kept swimming towards me and went under an old wooden bridge with fallen pilings. I jumped in the creek to wanagle her around the obstacles, ever so diligently as not to break the line. When she came up she literally scared me. She was a 55 pound channel cat. I finally gilled her and rushed home. It was storming remember? On a giant top-water lure being reeled in at lightning speed. Such fun. On Lake Conroe I was wade fishing and I cast a chartreuse, willow leaf, spinner bate into about 4 inches of water and caught a 17 lb male Florida bass. In Sam Rayburn reservoir, I caught a 7 lb spawning bass....in...a tree stump. I missed my mark casting, but caught her anyways. I wished I could have seen my eyes when I did that. My advice is to go bass fishing. You may end up catching the biggest catfish ever. Ha ha.
best way to fish on the river
best way to fish on the river is to keep your bait alive after you hook it so always hook your bait in front of tail fin. remember in day perch are in the open and at night they hide in coves and in morning theyre in rocks and weed
As strange as it sounds, we
As strange as it sounds, we used to use softer brands of dry dog food to catch catfish at a few ponds in the DFW area of Texas.
We used treble hooks and fished on the bottom with weighted lines and occasionally with bobbers if we got bored.
We never did find one dog food that worked better than others...it usually depended on how hungry the catfish were and if we were in the right place at the right time (just like any fishing!).
I did try baiting out a creek or two with a full bag of the dog food in a medium to large sized mesh bag from onions or potatoes. That worked out pretty good! The creeks were at the "bottom" part of the lake on the map, if that made any difference.
Channel cats and the mud cats seemed to like the dog food best. We also used hot dogs quite often. Good luck, y'all!
Where I grew up in the middle
Where I grew up in the middle of Virginia....I would go down to the rail road river trestle and put a piece of sliced cheese(1"x1" square) on a barbed hook with a bobber set at about 3-4' in depth....I would put the bobber in between the pilings in the middle of the river(22' deep) and just wait.....the bobber would slowly just start to sink.....and lo & behold....I would catch blues, flatheads, mud cats and other assorted fish!!! The hotter the day.....the better the cheese would work....just let it set out and dry in the sun....it would get hard and of course smell that much more pungent.
dont use to big of bait most
dont use to big of bait most people think that biggers better now always worlds biggest catfish well was..was caught on a chunk of spam no bigger then your thumb...
ALL THESE ARE GOOD IDEAS,BUT
ALL THESE ARE GOOD IDEAS,BUT IF YOU FISH WHERE THE BIGGER CATS ARE,YOU WILL NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH LIVER COMIN OFF,BIGGER CATS WILL EAT IT FAST,I ALWAYS GET THE FRESH LIVERS,TWO DAYS LONGER ON EXPIRE DATE MAKE LIVERS ALOT BETTER,DONT HOOK THE LIVER TOO MANY TIMES,2 OR 3 AT MOST,HAPPY FISHIN
crawfish has always worked
crawfish has always worked for catfish goldfish works also.
The last two times I've been
The last two times I've been crappie fishing I have brough a cooler full of crappie home the bite is good now on Logan Martin lake I'm headed back today to catch some more crappie and maybe some bass to
What about trout? Any tips?
What about trout? Any tips?
Check the local laws on types
Check the local laws on types of bait you can use. And if it's legal in your area? But I have tried most everything and never found anything better than fresh is best but frozen will work also. Trout either slab's or chunk's or the very best is the gill's and gut's. Good luck and leave some for seed.
a bad day fishing is better
a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work (school in my case).
soap is one of the best
soap is one of the best catfish baits in the world!! every year i catch hundreds of pounds of fish on SOAP..give it a try, you will be happy camper..
It may sound weird but in I
It may sound weird but in I use rotten chicken breast this is very effective give it a try
windy days are the best in
windy days are the best in pockets that seem calmer on the out side direction of the wind due to baitfish. well thats seems to be tha case on lake jocassee if u have naver fished there u need to great seenarie an good fishin..... good luck and good fishin ttyl.
Best way to fish for catfish
Best way to fish for catfish is with Liver = its easy to do = We at our lesure get ready to fish by taking a pair of old used panty hose and cut it into about 3 to 4 inch squares and put a bloob of liver on one and tie it up = then stick it on a hook = it want come off very easy = you can make you up a bunch and freeze it and take what ya need as you go = the cool thing is after the original mess = it isnt bad
i have posted same thing
i have posted same thing pantyhose work grate !!
chicken liver is grate,i get
chicken liver is grate,i get some pantyhose cut in 2-3 inch peaces and wrap them around the liver and hook !! even if they don't get the hook set it hangs in they teeth ! good luck !!
all these sound great but
all these sound great but here in kentucky we use pretty much whatever we can get our hands on!!!
but the best things would be
but the best things would be fish eyes
I have found threw my 52
I have found threw my 52 years,we all try any and everything to catch ole mister whiskers.A rule of thumb is to use what te lakes provide for us,the best bait on texas lake's is shad.keep in mind that when they are biting slow or your getting robbed of your bait use a old trotline trick of mine just put a small piece of shad about half inch square and you will get better results,hope this helps everyone.
Here in Southern West
Here in Southern West Virginia we fish in slow moving shallow rivers. There are a lot of bends in the rivers, and deep holes. Mostly flatheads, and channels. Blues are in the bigger rivers up north. The best bait to use are live minnows on a slip egg sinker. Creek chub, shiner or whatever you catch. TIP: Take scissors, and cut the top half of his tail fin off. Reason 1: puts a blood trail in the water. Reason 2: The bait struggles, and because you trimmed the top half of the fin; when he trys to swim foward his tail will automatically push him up from the bottom. Making him a very noticable snack! WHAM!!!!!!!!!!!
Out here in Idaho we use
Out here in Idaho we use sucker as cut bait yup wanna big catfish use sucker!!
For the big flatheads i have
For the big flatheads i have used nothing but bluegill perch on a limb line.
Get a minnownet catch a few
Get a minnownet catch a few shad cut in haf and enjoy u caint loose when fishing 4 monsters
Get a minnownet catch a few
Get a minnownet catch a few shad cut in haf and enjoy u caint loose when fishing 4 monsters
keep this calender coming
keep this calender coming each mouth.
The best way i have found to
The best way i have found to keep chicken liver on the hook . Get a large piece of tin foil place it on the roof lay your chicken liver on it . Give a a good coat of salt or garlic salt .let dry for 3 hours flip it over and repeat. It work great
The best way to keep liver on
The best way to keep liver on your hook is... panty hose! Yep. Wash them in plain hot water until they no longer smell like anything, then drop it in the toe, tie it, and cut it off, then you can fish all night on ONE LIVER! Kinda tough to get off the hook at the end of the night, though.
if they are legal in your
if they are legal in your state, goldfish are a great catfish bait, especially for jug fishing or trotlines. these are not like the ones you put in a fishbowl. they are silver with a copper tinted back and i have found them just as alive after 5 hours on a hook as when they were put on. hook through just below dorsal fin.
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