My recent trip to Queensland chasing the elusive metre barra offered yet another insight into the value of bite times like those found in the legendary Angler’s Almanac.

While fishing with two of the best impoundment fishing guides in Queensland, both stressed the importance they placed on using bite times to guide their planning while on the water.

Of critical importance to both was being in the right place at the exact time of the predicted bite windows, to offer the best chance of catching big fish.

And invariably the inquiries we did have were almost always around those bite times.

When two anglers who are at the top of their craft are so committed to the value of bite times, it is impossible to ignore the benefits.

Personally, I am more of a fish-when-I-can kind of guy, due to family and work commitments.

Albeit, I get to fish more often than most, but even so it is not that often I can plan my fishing outings around anything other than opportunity.

However, it does make sense to consider the value of bite times like those in the Almanac, which were devised by Peter Layton decades ago and have been proven over many years.

Peter researched carefully to come up with his formula and these predictions have been proven to be successful, and more accurate than those found elsewhere.

I have often compared my good days on the water to the Almanac predictions, which are largely based around the moon, and it has been uncanny how often the predicted best days for fishing marry up with my most productive outings.

On one day at the Mackerel Islands last year, Glenn Edwards and I were struggling to get a bite, and then all of a sudden we had coral trout hitting everything we threw at them for around 30 minutes, including lures aimed at Spanish mackerel.

Glenn pulled the Angler’s Almanac out and it corresponded precisely to the predicted bite time for the day.

On the other hand, it is often the case that the days where I can’t get a bite are rated as poor in the Almanac.

The Almanac is available each year from many tackle shops, news outlets and the Western Angler website, and includes bite times for every day of the year, and also rates each day’s expected fishing from poor to best.

Gun Exmouth charter skipper Craig White from Evolution Fishing is another firm believer in the Almanac predictions and discussed this on the Tall Tails podcast with Mark LeCras and Jake Rotham recently.

Whitey and I have talked about this before and he reiterated those thoughts on the podcast.

He said he first noticed the correlation while camping at Warroora Station, and trying to find consistency in hot bites, and has since become a disciple.

He used the bite times in planning his charters each day, so that he is at prime locations when high fish activity is predicted.

“There is going to be a time when the fish are biting better than other times,” he explained.

“You want to make sure that you are fishing those times, not travelling those times.

“The Almanacs available now that give you … bite times are number one.”

Working a predicted bite time from the Angler’s Almanac paid off for Andrew Jarvis while chasing Queensland barramundi.