HOW THE SOLUNAR TABLES WORK
Understand the Major & Minor activity periods and learn how to use John Alden Knight’s Original Solunar Tables to plan your time outdoors.
Trusted by hunters and anglers for over 90 years.
John Alden Knight developed the Solunar Theory after years of studying the feeding and activity patterns of fish and game.
He discovered that certain positions of the moon and sun correspond with periods of increased activity.
The Original Solunar Tables use these relationships to identify the probable Major and Minor activity periods for each day.
Your Solunar Tables can be adjusted for your location and local time and be used anywhere in the world.
THE SOLUNAR THEORY
WHAT IS A SOLUNAR PERIOD?
Dawn and dusk are well-known times of increased wildlife activity. But hunters and anglers have also observed periods of increased activity at other times of the day and night.
Long ago, hunters and fishermen noticed that these “odd-hour” activity periods appeared to follow the moon's daily movement. They planned their time around when the moon was directly overhead or directly underfoot — a practice known as “Moon Up – Moon Down.”
John Alden Knight studied these observations and developed them into the Solunar Theory, using the relationships of the sun and moon to forecast probable periods of fish and game activity.
The name SOLUNAR comes from the combination of SOL (sun) + LUNAR (moon).
UNDERSTANDING MAJOR & MINOR PERIODS
MAJOR PERIODS
Major Periods generally last about two hours. Under ideal conditions, activity may continue for up to three hours.
MINOR PERIODS
Minor Periods generally last 45–90 minutes. Don't overlook them — some of the best activity of the day can occur during a Minor Period.
FOUR PERIODS EACH LUNAR DAY
There are generally two Major Periods and two Minor Periods during each lunar day.
Because a lunar day is approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes, all four periods may not always fall within the same calendar day. When this occurs, a blank space may appear in the Solunar Tables.
NOTE: In the Original Solunar Tables, Major Periods are shown in bold type, while Minor Periods are shown in regular type.
READY TO PLAN YOUR TIME OUTDOORS?
Get John Alden Knight’s Original Solunar Tables adjusted for your location.