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Column: Making plans by the sun and the moon

The Great Outdoors/James Murray
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Sunrise, sunset, the phase of the moon and tides may indicate when it’s best to go fishing. (Martin Impey photo)

Sometimes, on particularly warm summer evenings such a those we’ve had lately, I like to sit in my backyard, look up at the moon, listen to the creatures of the night and hope that, just maybe, a cool breeze will come along to help cool things down.

On such evenings, when my mind is free to wander, I will also often plan out my next fishing trip. As I contemplate the where, when and why of such trips, I invariably take into consideration something called the Solunar Tables.

The word ‘solunar’ comes from sol (sun) and lunar (moon). The basis for the Solunar Tables comes from the concept that the sun and moon effect the tides and tidal fishing, and that the rise and fall of the tides are caused by the force or pull exerted by the moon.

While there are those who view the Solar Tables with a jaundiced eye, there are plenty of anglers, myself included, who genuinely believe they are onto something. I will do my best to explain the whole idea/theory behind the tables.

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Credit for the whole Solunar Tables theory goes to a fellow by the name of John Alden Knight, author of The Modern Angler: Including the Solunar Theory, 1936. The word ‘solunar’ comes from sol (sun) and lunar (moon). Initially, Knight compared 33 factors which seemed to influence the behavior of fish and caused them to become more active. Of those, he further examined three: sunrise and sunset, phase of the moon and the tides. From those he developed the Solunar Tables. To substantiate his theory, Knight systematically compared the timing of 200 record catches and found that more than 90 percent were made during a new moon (even when one was not visible). This is the time when the influence of solunar periods is strongest. Because of the interaction of many solar and lunar cycles, no two days, months or years are ever the same. June has a greater combined solunar influence than any other month. During a full moon, the sun and moon are nearly opposite each other and throughout the course of the day either one is nearly always on the horizon.

Whereas, during a new moon, both celestial bodies are in near-perfect alignment, traveling through the sky together with their forces and influences combined. If one is willing to concede that the sun and moon effect the tides in the oceans and seas, then it should not be too much of a leap of faith to believe they exert a similar influence on inland bodies of water. Another, more scientific study conducted by a group of professors at Northwestern University in Illinois in the mid-1950’s stated, “it has been known for many years that numerous kinds of organisms which live in the intertidal regions of the oceans have similar clear cycles of tidal frequency.”

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The study went on to say, “it has been firmly established that the frequencies of these cycles are characteristically definable from hour to hour and day to day… It has also become more and more evident that all animals and plants have ‘average’ solar and lunar fluctuations.”

So what do these statements mean?

Well, to put things in simple terms, it would seem that scientists concur that the many creatures inhabiting this planet, including fish in both tidal and non-tidal waters, are effected by the sun and moon at specific times of the day. The Solunar Tables were developed from this relationship.

In effect, each day was divided into four periods: two in the morning and two in the afternoon. There are two types of periods, one known as the major period and the other referred to as the minor period. The major period is usually of approximately two hours duration and the minor lasting one to one and a half hours. Each day has two major and two minor periods which, in effect, when it comes to the periods of active feeding for fish could easily be compared to our lunch and dinner times. The trick is to know when these periods will occur on any given day, and then, plan your fishing trips accordingly.


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