The solunar fishing forecast is something that many fishermen search about, and that is that fishing calendars based on the solunar theory is a topic that always causes discussion in the fishing community. The relationship between Fishing and the solunar tables always provokes a debate, just make a comment to any group of fishermen or hunters about the influence of the moon on our fishing day to automatically raise opposing opinions.
That is why from WeFish we want to shed some light on the matter and explain how the position of the sun and moon can affect the behavior of the fish, in order to discover how to catch more fish thanks to the solunar forecast.
The Solunar Theory
The Solunar Theory was formulated by the North American John Alden Knight, and it establishes a series of periods produced by the conjugate or antagonistic attraction of the Moon in which living beings show greater activity. It is assumed that in these periods the need of living beings to search for food increases. Knowing at what time these periods occurred, Alden Knight devised the so-called solunar tables that have been used by hunters and fishermen to determine the ideal times to achieve a greater catch of pieces. These tables have been published in the United States since 1934 as “Solunar Tables.”
Between Sunrise and Sunset (of the Sun and the Moon), there are other intermediate time periods of activity. These two more obvious periods of activity were called major periods (in tables MT1 and MT2) and the two intermediate periods, shorter in duration, were called minor periods (in tables mt1 and mt2).
The longer periods are the times when all the ideal conditions for maximum activity meet. They last approximately two hours, the one indicated in the tables is the midpoint of the event, which means that the period covers an interval of +/- 1h. The shorter periods, although they are not as active as the previous ones, will be deferred from the rest of the day and their duration will be shorter, not exceeding the hour.
The interval that we must consider is +/- 1 / 2h. The longer periods alternate with the shorter ones, with a longer period occurring on average every twelve hours and fifteen minutes, with a mismatch between a longer period and a shorter one of approximately five hours.
For example, in the following image, we can see the solunar fishing forecast in Miami Beach on March 10, 2021. We see the fishing activity for each period according to the Solunar Theory.
Solunar Fishing Forecast
Many experienced fishermen plan their fishing day based on the phases of the Moon and attribute their largest catches to the movement of the star and its position with respect to our planet. We can find a multitude of apps and webs that show calendars and solunar tables, even if we read some magazines we can find a lunar fishing calendar.
An increase in activity does not necessarily mean that the fish will bite your hook precisely at those times. But given that it is when the activity of living beings is greatest, the fish will dedicate themselves to looking for food and this can only mean one thing for many fishermen, “it is time to fish”.
You may think that the solunar theory is not fulfilled on many of the days, that you do not get the expected catches, and that is that there is another factor that you must consider, choose the correct moon phase. There are four lunar phases anglers should think about: new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter.
Many fishermen assure that 90% of the catches will be obtained in the phases of the full moon and the new moon. This is where the tides intervene, with more influence on coastal fishing but also influential on continental fishing. The idea behind lunar phase fishing is that the larger the tide, the more active the fish are. The strongest tides occur twice a month: during a new moon when the sun and moon are pulling in the same direction, and during a full moon, they are pulling on both sides of the planet.
Discover the best solunar fishing forecast with WeFish
WeFish app is one of the best options to know the best solunar fishing forecast. There are several utilities in this app that can help you achieve your purpose:
- The first option is the ‘Plan your journey’ section. With it, you will be able to know all the weather conditions that will be in a certain place for a specific day. This also includes a solunar forecast; You will be able to know the state of the sun and the moon, the lunar phase that will be at that moment, the luminosity level of the moon, and the exact hours at which the sun and the moon will rise or set.
- Another of the functionalities that WeFish offers, and perhaps this is the most accurate to know the solunar fishing forecast, is the FishLab. With this tool, you can perform experiments with all your catches based on different meteorological variables, including the lunar phases. These are data and statistics adapted to each fisherman and the catches he has recorded in his fishing log, so he can know in which moon phase he has obtained the greatest number of catches and thus take it into account for his next outings. For example, in the image below we see that in the case of this fisherman his maximum catch number is obtained in the lunar phases of crescent and crescent gibbous. In addition, we can be even more precise in the experiment and filter by location, type of fishing, and even species.
- And that’s not all, WeFish offers another piece of information in relation to the solunar fishing prediction. You can see the statistics and weather data of all your catches and of any community catch (the last one only with the Premium – Ambassador version). Imagine that you see a photo of a really large bass that a user in your area has caught, you also want to catch it, what can you do? Easy, tap on the photo to know all the information about the catch, including the sun and moon conditions that were at the exact moment and place of the catch.
Periods and phases are two halves of a whole. Our recommendation is that you try yourself, plan your fishing day during an important period (Major or Minor Times) and a full moon, record your catches, do the same in the new moon period and in other phases and compare your records. You may be surprised.
There are other factors that you must consider so that you can statistically compare the fishing days, and these are not minor factors, the weather and the air pressure have a much stronger effect than whatever the moon is doing. If you are interested in knowing how other atmospheric variables affect fishing, and how to know how to control them thanks to Fishlab by WeFish, we recommend reading the following post: What is the Best Barometric Pressure for Fishing?
For this reason, you should use WeFish app, which allows you to record your catches based on all these meteorological parameters that we have discussed, compare them and discover what works best for you. So you can know the best solunar fishing forecast!
