January of 2018 will have two very big, bright full moons. The moon on the first of January is commonly called a wolf moon.  Both moons are considered supermoons because they are visible along the moon’s closest orbital point around the earth, giving it a larger appearance than if it were a full moon further from earth along its orbit. If you’d like to know more about supermoons you can read about the phenomenon on the NASA website: Supermoons and the Moon’s Orbit Around the Earth.

Honeymoon Island/Caladesi Island Tides
Jan 1st full moon:

Jan 31st full moon:

How Full Moons Impact Fishing
Full moons can have a huge impact on fishing.  When targeting various species the amount of water movement that is involved in the gravitational pull of the moon plays a big role in the hunger and activity of fish species. When there is more water movement many fish congregate in certain places, places that suit the needs of the fish species. Additionally, fish will find themselves in schools, with some fish species along different shelves of the water column.  For example you might find a school of pilchards along the surface of the water congregating around a dock or some sort of structure.  Behind that structure, waiting for one of those whitebait to break off from the pack, get washed down current, or become injured, a snook will wait along an ambush point just along that same depth.  Sitting just below or behind that apex predator, you’ll find other bottom feeding species waiting for an even easier meal than the whitebait that nearly swims into the snooks mouth.  A snook ambushes its prey along the surface and often breaks the whitebait into various pieces, losing parts of the fish to the current pulling downstream.  Those bottom feeding flounder and catfish often sit just below the ambush predator in the water column along the bottom (it’s usually pretty shallow) waiting for those pieces, making for an easy meal.   A chain of events that feed many different fish species occurs through one small event mediated or caused by the tide. The food chain is highly dependent on these tidal movements, and the tides play an important role in how and when various fish species find a meal.