Full Moon and New Moon Fishing: Why Those Days Rate Higher
Look at the best fishing days list on any spot page and you will see a pattern: the highest rated days bunch up around the new moon and the full moon. This guide explains why, using one real month and real numbers.
The moon pulls harder twice a month
Tides are caused mostly by the pull of the moon, with the sun adding its own pull on top. Twice each month, at the new moon and at the full moon, the sun, the moon, and the earth line up in a row. When they line up, the two pulls add together, and the tides run bigger: higher highs, lower lows, and stronger currents in between. These are called spring tides, and the name has nothing to do with the season. Halfway between, at the quarter moons, the sun and moon pull at right angles to each other, partly canceling out, and the tides run small. Those are neap tides.
Bigger tides mean more moving water, and as the guide on moving water explains, moving water carries food and switches on feeding fish. That is the physical half of why new and full moon days rate higher on this site.
The numbers, from one real month
Here is what NOAA predicted for San Francisco (Golden Gate) in November 2026. The new moon fell on November 9. That afternoon and evening, the water dropped from a high of 6.2 feet at 10:35 AM to a low of minus 0.5 feet at 5:24 PM: a fall of 6.7 feet of moving water. One week later, on November 16, close to the first quarter moon, the same stretch of day looked completely different. The morning high was 4.5 feet at 5:33 AM and the late morning low was 3.4 feet at 10:38 AM: a fall of just 1.1 feet. Same harbor, same month. Around the new moon the water moved six times as far.
Our ratings for San Francisco that month told the same story. November 9, the new moon day itself, rated 75 out of 100, the highest score of the whole month and the only day rated Best. The full moon day, November 24, rated 74, a whisker behind. The days right around them scored close behind: November 23 rated 72, November 8 rated 71, November 10 rated 61, and November 25 rated 60. Down in the thin days between the last quarter and the new moon, where the phase points run low, the scores fell away: November 4 rated 35 and November 5 rated 39, the two lowest marks of the month. You can see the whole month on the San Francisco spot page and read the scoring rules on How we pick the best times.
Notice what the shoulder days prove. November 8 and November 10 are not the new moon; they sit one day to either side of it, and they still scored 71 and 61. The phase points fade gradually over several days, not overnight. So if the peak day itself is a workday, the day before or after it keeps most of the advantage, and there is no need to treat the exact new or full moon date as sacred. Fish the shoulder if the shoulder is what your week allows.
The day and night difference
There is one more wrinkle, and it matters if you fish after dark. At the new moon, the moon is in the daytime sky. At San Francisco on November 9, 2026, the moon overhead time, one of the two best times, fell in the middle of the day: 11:19 AM to 1:19 PM. The moon was working the daytime shift.
At the full moon it flips. The full moon rises at about sunset and crosses the sky at about midnight. On November 24, 2026, at San Francisco, the moonrise good time was 4:14 PM to 5:14 PM, right across the 4:55 PM sunset, and the moon overhead best time ran from 10:32 PM to 12:32 AM, in the middle of the night. Bright moonlight also lets some fish feed after dark, and many fishermen swear the full moon bite happens at night, not at noon. Our rating counts the full moon days high either way, but if you only fish in daylight, the new moon days are the ones that put the best windows in your hours. If you fish at night, circle the full moon.
How to use this
When you plan a trip a few weeks out, start with the calendar, not the clock. Open your spot from the Florida spots, the California spots, or your own state list, look at the best fishing days for the month, and pick a day near the new moon or the full moon. Then check that day's best times and plan around them. The moon phase is worth up to 30 of the 100 rating points on this site, the single biggest piece of the score, and this guide is the reason why.
One honest caution to finish. A high rating is an estimate from the moon and sun. A new moon day with a storm blowing through can fish worse than a quiet quarter moon day. The calendar tells you which days start ahead. The weather still gets a vote.