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Predictor Test

DougMo says:
Alrighty! The predictor says the fishing will be excellent for the next four days in my area. So, I'll go this evening (minor time), tomorrow morning (minor time), and tomorrow afternoon (major time). My son and son-in-law will have to go without me Wednesday and Thursday.

I'll let you know what comes of it!
Likes: 0 Login to reply 8 years ago
Caught one measly bass. So much for "excellent" time to fish.

Will try again tomorrow morning and afternoon.

Very disappointed.
That is a shame.

What results did you have last time you fished that spot on a poor day ?

Maybe one bass is excellent for that location...I mean even on the best of best of excellent days, I could toss lures into a bath tub and not catch a thing !

Do you have a base line for test comparison ?

Just because the chart says excellent day, does not mean you are going to catch anything. You still need to bring all your skills into play. An excellent day on the chart just means those days tend to be better than other days.

So many other factors come into it, I could write a book about it...For example. Fish have smelling ability that puts any bloodhound to shame. Was your clothing rinsed properly or did it still have an aroma of laundry detergent? Did you have a shower within 24 hours of going fishing? Soap on your body is more than enough to turn the fish off. Or yet another example. Did you measure the colour of the water? If you don't match the colour of your lure or bait to the colour of the water, the fish might not even see it and they certainly wont go for a second look if it does not smell right.

We look forward to seeing what tomorrows results are.

Cheers
Went out this morning at the time prescribed by the predictor, and fished for two hours. Nothing. I used buzz bait, crank bait, spooks, and swim bait.

Will soon head out for afternoon session, the "major" time. Report to follow.
This is the first time I've planned a trip around the predictor, and I don't remember all the previous dates I've fished. However, I usually haul in at least three keepers every trip.

Last night I used all of my most productive lures - crank bait, swim bait, buzz bait, and spooks. I tried shallow, medium, and deep. I tried middle of the lake and along the shore.

I understand that even the most esteemed predictor is still just a predictor, and some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you, and some days you both go hungry. I was just hoping the predictor was reliable so all the theories could be proved right.
Hi DougMo,

Hmm - doesn't sound good. Looks like the predictions are not for you then.
How did you choose your fishing times in the past? If you had more success before then it might be better to stick to it.

Solunar Fishing Times are usually not tested in on or two outings.
The people who initially developed the Solunar Theory observed this over years and cross checked the times with their fishing logs. Having lots of data available they figured that fish will bite better during the Solunar Times.
It doesn't mean you never catch fish during a bad day or always catch fish on good days. 

Let say 100 people went out fishing on a good day. 80 catch fish and 20 don't. Does that mean the theory is wrong?
From the point of view of the 20 I guess yes. But the majority would say the theory is right. There is no 100% right or wrong. It's about statistics.



That all makes sense.

I usually go when I have time, without regard to predictions. I usually go home with a respectable haul.

I don't mean to seem disrespectful to the predictor chart I hope I didn't mean to come off that way.

I'm enjoying this site, and I know it'll be a great help to my son and me.
no worries 😉 Give it a few more goes with the times - maybe it'll work better next time.
Don't forget that there's also always a bit of luck involved with fishing. 
That's what makes it all so interesting and fun :-)
Hello

I think that even if the conditions are excellent but the fish are not in that particular spot, I'm not going to catch anything no matter how hard I try.  Three times conditions were suppose to be good last week and when I arrived on the river bank the fish were jumping allover the place, but on the other side of the creek!  I couldn't reach them and four hours later all I had caught was one fish and my lure was almost as big as the fish!  Lol  And in another instance all was quite the whole time I was there, even tho it was supposed to be an excellent day for fishing.
Image
that's true indeed. 
Finding the fish or getting to them can be quite difficult.
Especially in larger bodies of water, rivers or the sea.
It takes a bit of experience to predict where the fish might be on a given day during the season.

I have a few hot spots that produce quite well during different times of the year. 
But if I go there at the wrong time of year, even during best times, they will produce bugger all fish.
If it's the right time of year and the weather has been favourable I'll most likely get my bag limits during the best times and then it goes pretty quiet in between the bite times.


Afternoon report: The main purpose of this trip was to take my four-year-old grand daughter. She caught her first fish!Image

She caught another soon after this one.

I had a good-sized white crappie, but the hook was too small and he threw it just as I brought him to surface. I also pulled in this one:
Image

I've never before pulled this kind of fish out of the lake, and can find no pics of it. Can anyone tell me what it is? About ten inches long, decent fighter.
It looks like a silver carp...Not 100% sure but worth a closer look.

I think they have another name for them there but I don't remember what.

If it is a carp and you have not seen one in the lake before, they might be a new arrival. They will be or should be classed as a noxious pest. If carp have moved in it will affect all fishing.

They are safe to eat but do have a few small bones.
It is definitely a European Carp!  I used to catch hundreds of these on the Murray river in South Australia (bloody pest ) kill it do not return it to water!
Hi guys, I think the more you go fishing the more the bite times become more noticeable. It may not seem like much at the time, but it will eventually add up. I believe that some times you should go fishing regardless and have a look at the bite times when you get home and see how it correlated. If it didn't work out at that time in that spot try another spot. Just little pieces of the big puzzle. Happy fishing:)