During the summer months, when the weather is hot, plan on fishing in the early morning or in the evening. During the winter, great fishing can be had during the middle of the day using data found on Feeding Times that detail major and minor moon phases. What are major and minor moon phases for fishing?
Major periods occur when the moon is directly overhead or directly below a reference latitude. Minor periods happen when the moon is positioned 90 degrees on either side. The movements of the earth and moon mean that majors and minors will occur a little more than six hours apart.
Many top anglers place great faith in solunar theory, planning to be in prime spots during major and minor periods. For example, veteran Oklahoma pro-Tommy Biffle has consulted tables in planning fishing tournament strategies. He now uses the FishMate app on his iPhone as a source of major and minor feeding times wherever the Bassmaster Elite Series takes him.
Major and Minor Moon Phases for Fishing
According to John Alden Knight’s famous Solunar Theory, fish become more active, and feeding increases during two major periods each day and increases to a lesser extent during two minor periods each day.
Major Feeding Times occur when the moon is directly overhead a point on the Earth’s surface or directly below and Minor Feeding Times occur during the moon’s rise and moon set when the moon is on the horizon.
Fish are more active and feed more aggressively based on the moon phase in the positions of the moon during the day. Some fish like Largemouth Bass time their spawning activity according to the moon phase. Some fishermen say that during the full moon phase, the bright light that is added by this phase can penetrate deep water making fish aggressive and allowing nocturnal feeders to see better making more opportunities to feed.
To narrow the best times to fish even further down from the lunar day is called major and Minor Moon Phases. The theory is called Solunar Theory and you can take advantage of this knowledge to improve your catch rate and the size of fish you will catch.
The “Sol” in Solunar means “Sun” and “Lunar” stands for “Moon”. Basically, this theory describes how Sun and Moon will affect animal feeding behavior, especially Salt and Freshwater Fish but also land-based wildlife.
Hunters will often use Solunar times to their advantage. We all know that the moon’s gravitation has a massive impact on life on Earth. It’s responsible for tides, currents, insect hatches, spawning, and bait movements and essentially affects all bodies of water here on Earth. Nature evolves around the phases and cycles of the moon.
These Major and Minor Moon Phases for Fishing are considered the most powerful times to fish when the moon is located directly over your head or under your feet.
Do Moon Phases Affect Fishing?
Yes-Most anglers on salt & freshwater use moon phases & the lunar cycle to plan fishing trips because they believe that the best times for fishing are during a new moon phase or a full moon cycle.……………………………read more
Major periods occur when the moon is directly overhead or directly below a reference latitude. Minor periods happen when the moon is positioned 90 degrees on either side. The movements of the earth and moon mean that majors and minors will occur a little more than six hours apart.
When days and nights are about equal in length, around spring and fall equinoxes in March and September, a
- major period at dawn places a minor at noon
- major period around dusk, likely making this a prime day to be on the water.
- In winter, a noon major is surrounded by minors before dawn and after dark, likely not prime times to fish.
Is Fishing better during a Full Moon?
Fishing during a full moon can be very productive, mainly near sunrise or sunset. The fish are usually more active during those times, and they will be looking for food to eat.…………….read more
How Are Feeding Times Determined
- Firstly to find the Best Fishing Times for a day, Fishing Reminder calculates the Moon Up and Moon Down Times for that day. The fishing Times are calculated from Moon Rise and Moon Set, which are specific to your longitude, latitude, and current timezone.
- Secondly, Fishing Reminder calculates the current Moon Phase and Moon Age.
- And thirdly we calculate Sunrise and Sunset times.
This data is now analyzed in the following way:
Major Times (Best bite times): Moon Up and Moon Down Times
Minor Times (Second best bite times): Moon Rise and Moon Set Times
Extra Time Ratings: if the Major or Minor Times occur within one hour of Sunrise or Sunset those times get an extra rating added because this means better feeding action.
Peak Days are those days when Sun and Moon are closest to Earth.
Those days occur during New Moon and Full Moon and get a day rating of 3 stars.
Other day ratings include predictions from the ancient Maori Fishing Calendar which has a specific rating for each day in a moon cycle.
Finally, The Ultimate Best Fishing Times are those Major or Minor Periods that are close to Sunrise or Sunset during a New Moon or a Full Moon. If that is going to happen you most certainly want to be reminded!
Solunar tables predict four periods of feeding two Major and two Minor every 24 hrs. corresponding to the moon’s position relative to Earth and to a lesser degree, the sun’s position.…………………………..read more
JimGalloway Author/Editor