Home › Does solunar fishing work?
Does solunar fishing work?
Short answer: the evidence for solunar tables predicting catch rates is weak. The longer answer is about what has and has not been tested, and how you can check it for your own water.
What solunar theory claims
The solunar theory, popularised by the American writer John Alden Knight in the early 20th century, says fish and game are more active around certain lunar events: the moon overhead or underfoot (the major periods) and moonrise or moonset (the minor periods). Apps and almanacs turn this into daily tables with ratings. Many anglers and hunters trust them. The question is whether they predict anything measurable.
The test we can point to
A 2023 paper in SN Applied Sciences (Quigley, Murcia and Kauwe, "Popular solunar tables fail to predict fishing success in North American recreational freshwater trout fisheries", vol. 5, article 162, DOI 10.1007/s42452-023-05379-8) compared catch per unit effort with solunar ratings from seven web and app services.
| Design | Detail |
|---|---|
| Angler | One experienced angler |
| Place and species | Rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs in and around Utah, USA; trout and related salmonids |
| Period | September 2013 to February 2019 |
| Sample | 361 trips on 221 days, 1,355 hours, 2,141 fish |
| Compared | Daily ratings, trips overlapping predicted peaks, moon phase and illumination, temperature, wind |
Findings. The daily solunar ratings agreed with each other and tracked moon phase, but none predicted catch rates after correcting for multiple tests. Trips overlapping predicted major or minor peaks showed no consistent benefit; two significant results were negative. Air temperature was the only variable positively related to catch rate.
What this does not show
- It is one angler, one region and mostly trout. It says nothing certain about saltwater, other species, or other places.
- Absence of evidence is not proof of absence. A small effect could exist and be hard to detect.
- It tested published tables, not the astronomical windows themselves, although the two overlap.
- We know of limited peer-reviewed testing. If you know of other well-designed studies, please tell us and we will add them, including ones that disagree.
Why people still believe it
Memory favours hits: a great bite in a window is remembered, a dead window is forgotten. Windows also overlap with dawn and dusk, which are good for many species, so time of day can look like a moon effect. And if you only fish when the table says so, you cannot compare.
How to test it on your water
Log your trips with start and end times and every catch. Then compare catch per hour inside and outside the windows. That is exactly what Moonlog's Moon Test does, with a confidence interval so you can tell luck from a real difference. Around 30 trips make a reasonable start.
Frequently asked questions
So is solunar fishing a myth?
Not proven either way for your water. The one study we know of found nothing for Utah trout. Test it yourself.
What did predict catches in the study?
Air temperature, with about a 1% increase in catch per 10°F, in that dataset.