Big Carp Magazine Big Carp 314 Back Issue

Harvest Moon Issue
September has always been a favourite month for me and many carp anglers across the UK. The kids are back at school, the August heat wave has cooled making day and night time fishing much more bearable and moon phases can mean night time action increases.
We've all heard of the harvest moon, but what is it? Why should it be associated with big carp. Especially big commons? And when is the best time to fish this month?
Well, at this time of year the moon appears to be particularly bright, it rises very early, enabling farmers to harvest well into the night. This moon is also known as the ‘Barley Moon’ and is usually the closest moon to the autumnal equinox which gives it the name ‘Harvest Moon’.
This year the full Harvest Moon reaches its peak in the morning hours of September 10th, so it will appear just after sunset on September 9th. It will reach maximum illumination at 5.58am on Sunday 10th September, drifting below the horizon shortly thereafter. However, this very bright moon is present between the 3rd and 16th of September.
The ‘Full Moon’ names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American, and European sources.
Traditionally, each full moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred and through all of the Moon’s phases – not only the full moon. The Harvest Moon, however, is a bit different!