Solunar Fishing Times: Major & Minor Periods Explained

Solunar fishing times tell you when the fish are most likely to bite. Instead of guessing, you plan around the windows when feeding activity peaks. Here is exactly what “major and minor times” mean and how to read today’s table.

What solunar theory is

In 1926, John Alden Knight collected the old angler’s wisdom that fish and game feed on a schedule tied to the moon — not just the sun — and named it solunar (sol + luna). The core claim: animals are most active when the moon is at the meridian (directly overhead or directly underfoot) and, to a lesser degree, at moonrise and moonset. Every day produces four of these feeding windows.

You can see today’s windows for any spot with the home page calculator — enter a city or use your location.

Major vs. minor periods

This is the heart of it. Each day has two major and two minor periods:

• Major periods (~2 hours each) are centered on the lunar transits — the moment the moon is highest in the sky (overhead) and, about twelve hours later, directly underfoot on the far side of the Earth. Majors are the strongest windows.
• Minor periods (~1 hour each) are centered on moonrise and moonset. Shorter, but still productive — especially in low light.

So “today’s major and minor fishing times” are simply those four windows, calculated for your exact latitude, longitude, and time zone. They shift roughly 50 minutes later each day as the moon moves.

How to read the daily table

On every forecast, majors are the tall amber bars on the 24-hour timeline and minors are the shorter green bars; the daylight band and sun markers show sunrise and sunset.

1. Check the day rating. A 1–4-star score tells you whether today is worth the trip (see moon phases below).
2. Find the “best window.” It is the single highest-value period — usually a major that overlaps dawn or dusk.
3. Be in position early. Activity builds into a period, so arrive 30–45 minutes before it starts and fish the whole window.

See it in action for a destination like Tampa, FL, Islamorada, FL, Port Aransas, TX, or Myrtle Beach, SC.

Best moon phases for fishing

The four daily windows are layered on top of the monthly lunar cycle. Feeding activity is strongest around the new moon and full moon (syzygy), when the sun and moon align and their pull combines, and weakest at the quarter moons. That is why a major period on a full-moon morning is the one to take off work for. The day rating bakes this in — high near new and full, lower at the quarters.

The dawn/dusk bonus

The single biggest force multiplier is a major or minor period that overlaps sunrise or sunset. Low light plus a feeding window is the classic “magic hour,” which is why we add a bonus to the day rating whenever a period lands within an hour of a sun event. When you scan the table, prioritize those overlaps first.

Fishing and hunting

Solunar times are not just for anglers. The same feeding rhythm that switches on a fish’s appetite nudges deer and other game out of bedding areas, so hunters use the very same major and minor periods — again, the dawn/dusk overlaps are the highest-odds sits. One table works for both.

The honest caveat

Solunar theory is a planning aid, not a guarantee. Weather fronts, water temperature and clarity, barometric pressure, and the season still decide whether fish actually feed. Use the windows to choose when to go — then let local knowledge do the rest. For the exact math behind the periods, see our methodology.

Ready to check today’s major and minor times for your spot? Open the forecast →