Ask 100 fishers if they will brave fishing full moons and you’ll likely get about 10 honest answers. I’ll fish any time, but I am a card-carrying member of dock fishing at night for crappie and cats with my camping chair, two Coleman battery lanterns, Coke Zeros, three rods (one reserved for a conflicted channel catfish swimming by), my sack lunch, and a big bucket of minnows. No radio; we wait in quiet as a nearby bullfrog lulls us as he sings the night away.
My personal best crappie weighed 1.4 pounds, caught during an Oconee Derby pulling crankbaits in 40 feet of water over timber. The lake record is 3.12 pounds, so I’ve got some work to do. A 34.8-pound fatbelly channel catfish rules Oconee.
How many of you remember the first time you held a rod and reel and hoped you would catch the biggest fish of your life with that first cast? Or dipping a cane pole into a dark pocket and hoping not to get pulled in.
The full moons remaining in 2026 are on Sept. 26, Oct. 26, Nov. 24, and Dec. 23. We’d love to share some of your photos with Lake Country. For the time being, email photos and descriptions to m.leecoleman367@gmail.com.