Lunar Periods for Fishing

Throughout history, anglers have sought to determine the best times for productive fishing. These peak periods seem to revolve around cycles of the moon and the sun--a method described by fisherman and author John Alden Knight in the 1920s when he began to formulate the Solunar Tables. “Solunar,” a term coined by Knight from the Latin words for sun and moon, was Knight’s “scientific adaptation” of the old fisherman’s concept of “moon up, moon down,” in which the position of the moon--and thus, its varying gravitational influence--is an indicator of peak fish activity. Such peaks are likely to be productive times for anglers.

  1. Solunar Theory

    • In his 1942 book “Moon Up-Moon Down: The Story of Solunar Theory,” Knight described his theory by stating, “Other conditions not being unfavorable, fish will feed, animals will move about, birds will sing and fly from place to place, in fact, all living things will become more active, more alive, during Solunar periods than at other times of apparent equal value.” Knight theorized that peak activity times for fish occurred when the moon was either directly overhead or “underfoot”--on the opposite side of the planet from the perspective of the angler. He described these peak times in the Solunar Tables as “major” periods, or times when fishing activity was likely to be excellent. Two other daily periods of increased activity, described as “minor” periods, occur when the moon is halfway between the overhead and underfoot positions. Major periods last for about 2.0 to 3.3 hours; minor periods last for about 0.75 to 1.5 hours.

    Local Variability

    • Knight determined that moon phase and longitude also contributed to the variation of major and minor periods. Solunar Tables are customized for different locations to take into account moon phase, longitude and the gravitational pulls of both the moon and the sun at different times of year. An angler will consult the Solunar Table that has been produced for his specific location.

    Application

    • A comprehensive Solunar Table is printed in both map and tabular form. The map divides the country by time zones; each time zone is further subdivided into four-minute vertical segments. Each subdivision displays a positive number at the top and a negative number at the bottom. To use the table, an angler finds the four-minute segment that is nearest to his location. If that location is to the left of the nearest time-zone division, he adds the positive number, which corresponds to minutes, to the times listed in the tabular portion. If his location is to the right of the time zone, he applies the negative number, subtracting those minutes from the times in the tabular portion. The resultant times are the peaks of the major and minor periods calculated to be most productive for fishing in the angler’s location. Alternative, localized versions of the tables, often printed in local newspapers and fishing guides, may simply display the major and minor activity times for a given period, such as the week following publication, for that particular location.

    Legacy

    • No calculation can guarantee if an angler will or will not catch fish, but the Solunar Tables have proved fruitful for generations of fishermen. "Solunar Tables" is a registered trademark of Knight’s family; the tables continue to be published in daily newspapers and in fishing and outdoors magazines. In a nod to the computer age, versions of Solunar calendars are available as applications for smartphones and other portable devices.