The moon is one topic that both songwriters and fishermen find fascinating. How many moon tunes can you name? The list is endless. Likewise, anglers have pondered the mysterious influence of the moon on fish for centuries. Today, many fishermen steadfastly believe that since the moonâs gravitational pull is powerful enough to influence ocean tides, it stands to reason that a full moon exerts a superpowerful mojo on fish that makes them bite like crazy. But is this the cold, hard truth or mere lunar lunacy? Elite Series pro Randy Sullivan accepted our DOTL challenge during the full moon in May. Did he find the moonâs impact on Lake Xâs bass to be good, bad or indifferent? What follows should shed more light on this enduring puzzle.
6:29 a.m. Sullivan and I arrive at Lake Xâs boat ramp. Itâs clear and 64 degrees as we prep his boat for launching.
7 HOURS LEFT6:40 a.m. We launch the Triton. Lake X is 82 degrees and stained. Sullivan pulls several McCain rods fitted with Sixgill reels from storage. âWeâre heading into summer and Iâm expecting bass to be transitioning to their postspawn mode. Iâm seeing plenty of flooded wood cover on the banks; that, plus the likelihood that bluegill are spawning tells me there should be some bass up shallow. Of course, postspawn fishing is notoriously unpredictable because bass can be anywhere from 6 inches to 30 feet deep. And did I mention that today is the full moon? I know guys who plan all their fishing vacations around the full moon, but Iâve found it makes for a slow daytime bass bite and creates a very narrow feeding window, usually around midday. I hope Iâm wrong and the bite will be fast and furious all day long, but Iâm prepared to grind it out until that window of opportunity cracks open!â 6:48 a.m. Sullivan races uplake to a long rock point and makes his first casts of the day with a shad-pattern Berkley Cane Walker topwater stickbait. âMost guys use this plug in saltwater, but Iâve caught some huge bass on it.â 6:55 a.m. He moves shallower and cranks a sexy shad Strike King 1.5 squarebill around a gravel launch ramp. âNever bypass a launch ramp, especially an old, gnarly one like this â the more busted up they are, the better. Crawfish and minnows love âem.â 7:03 a.m. Sullivan continues down the bank with a pearl Zoom Salty Super Fluke soft stickbait. 7:08 a.m. Sullivan cranks the 1.5 down a stretch of riprap bank. âI havenât seen any shad or bluegill up shallow yet.â 7:14 a.m. He pitches a 1/2-ounce blue jig with a matching Rage Bug trailer (both Strike King) to a dock. 7:19 a.m. Sullivan spots what appears to be a pile of sunken tires on his electronics and hits them with the blue jig. No takers. 7:21 a.m. He bangs a chartreuse sexy shad Strike King 5XD crankbait over the sunken tires. âI spotted some bluegill hovering over them, but no bass.â 7:24 a.m. Sullivan casts a green Spro frog to a seawall and twitches it across the surface. 7:34 a.m. Sullivan ties on a 1/4-ounce Cayuga Craw (olive green) Vertical Lures JigX jig with a watermelon Xcite boot-tail trailer. âI call this my finesse swim jig. Itâs my go-to tournament lure â some days, itâs the only lure Iâll throw. The jigâs design is unique; your line passes through a hole in the head to a line tie hidden in the âthroat.â I fish it pendulum style with slow, gentle rod lifts so it hops up, then the swimbait trailer flutters back to the bottom.â
6 HOURS LEFT7:40 a.m. Sullivan resumes chunking the frog to the seawall. A small fish swirls on it.