Solunar calendar — major and minor fishing times
Major and minor feeding periods for a month ahead, worked out from the moon's transit and its rise and set at your own coordinates, printed in your water's local time.
See today's bite forecastThis month's feeding periods
Pick a point or let the browser find you. Every time below is computed in the page itself — nothing is fetched, so the month redraws instantly and cannot fail to load. Times are local to the point you picked, which matters more than it sounds: the moon crosses the meridian at a time set by longitude, so across the width of Texas the same day's major period moves by roughly forty minutes.
| Date | Major periods | Minor periods | Moon | Windows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Tue | 03:29–05:29 · 15:54–17:54 | 10:51–11:51 · 21:52–22:52 | Windows are faint | |
| 2 Wed | 04:21–06:21 · 16:49–18:49 | 11:57–12:57 · 22:35–23:35 | Windows are ordinary | |
| 3 Thu | 05:17–07:17 · 17:47–19:47 | 13:05–14:05 · 23:26–00:00 | Windows are clear | |
| 4 Fri | 06:18–08:18 · 18:49–20:49 | 14:12–15:12 | Windows are ordinary | |
| 5 Sat | 07:20–09:20 · 19:52–21:52 | 00:25–01:25 · 15:15–16:15 | Windows are clear | |
| 6 Sun | 08:23–10:23 · 20:54–22:54 | 01:31–02:31 · 16:11–17:11 | Windows are faint | |
| 7 Mon | 09:23–11:23 · 21:52–23:52 | 02:40–03:40 · 16:59–17:59 | Windows are faint | |
| 8 Tue | 10:19–12:19 · 22:46–00:00 | 03:50–04:50 · 17:41–18:41 | Windows are faint | |
| 9 Wed | 11:11–13:11 | 04:57–05:57 · 18:17–19:17 | Windows are faint | |
| 10 Thu | 00:00–01:36 · 11:59–13:59 | 06:01–07:01 · 18:50–19:50 | Windows stand out | |
| 11 Fri | 00:23–02:23 · 12:46–14:46 | 07:03–08:03 · 19:21–20:21 | Windows stand out | |
| 12 Sat | 01:08–03:08 · 13:31–15:31 | 08:03–09:03 · 19:52–20:52 | Windows stand out | |
| 13 Sun | 01:53–03:53 · 14:16–16:16 | 09:02–10:02 · 20:23–21:23 | Windows are ordinary | |
| 14 Mon | 02:39–04:39 · 15:02–17:02 | 10:01–11:01 · 20:57–21:57 | Windows are faint | |
| 15 Tue | 03:25–05:25 · 15:49–17:49 | 11:00–12:00 · 21:35–22:35 | Windows are faint | |
| 16 Wed | 04:14–06:14 · 16:39–18:39 | 11:58–12:58 · 22:16–23:16 | Windows are faint | |
| 17 Thu | 05:04–07:04 · 17:30–19:30 | 12:55–13:55 · 23:03–00:00 | Windows are clear | |
| 18 Fri | 05:55–07:55 · 18:21–20:21 | 13:49–14:49 | Windows are ordinary | |
| 19 Sat | 06:47–08:47 · 19:12–21:12 | 00:00–00:54 · 14:38–15:38 | Windows are clear | |
| 20 Sun | 07:37–09:37 · 20:02–22:02 | 00:49–01:49 · 15:22–16:22 | Windows are clear | |
| 21 Mon | 08:26–10:26 · 20:50–22:50 | 01:45–02:45 · 16:02–17:02 | Windows are faint | |
| 22 Tue | 09:14–11:14 · 21:37–23:37 | 02:43–03:43 · 16:37–17:37 | Windows are faint | |
| 23 Wed | 09:59–11:59 · 22:21–00:00 | 03:41–04:41 · 17:10–18:10 | Windows are faint | |
| 24 Thu | 10:43–12:43 | 04:39–05:39 · 17:41–18:41 | Windows are faint | |
| 25 Fri | 00:00–01:05 · 11:27–13:27 | 05:37–06:37 · 18:11–19:11 | Windows stand out | |
| 26 Sat | 00:00–01:50 · 12:12–14:12 | 06:36–07:36 · 18:41–19:41 | Windows stand out | |
| 27 Sun | 00:35–02:35 · 12:59–14:59 | 07:37–08:37 · 19:14–20:14 | Windows stand out | |
| 28 Mon | 01:24–03:24 · 13:49–15:49 | 08:41–09:41 · 19:51–20:51 | Windows are clear | |
| 29 Tue | 02:16–04:16 · 14:43–16:43 | 09:48–10:48 · 20:33–21:33 | Windows are faint | |
| 30 Wed | 03:12–05:12 · 15:41–17:41 | 10:57–11:57 · 21:23–22:23 | Windows are faint |
What major and minor periods are
The solunar theory, published by John Alden Knight in 1926, ties bursts of feeding to where the moon is rather than to the weather. A major period is the hour either side of a lunar culmination — the moon directly overhead, or directly underfoot on the far side of the earth. A minor period is the half-hour either side of moonrise and moonset. Four windows on a normal day; occasionally three, because the moon's day is 24 h 50 min long and a calendar day can miss one entirely.
How these times are computed
From ephemerides, on the spot — no lookup table and no external service. Culminations come from the moon's hour angle directly, not from the midpoint between rise and set, and that choice is the whole reason the calendar still works above the Arctic Circle: at 71° north the moon can spend a week without crossing the horizon at all, yet it culminates every single day. Rise and set times agree with Open-Meteo's independent model to within five minutes across eight test points from Florida to Alaska, both hemispheres included.
What the moon changes in the bite score — and what it doesn't
The bite model was calibrated against real catches and weighs pressure, wind, water temperature and each species' own daily rhythm. The moon is in it by phase, and that carries real weight: at new and full moon the score comes out about a third higher than at half moon, and the daily peaks sharpen. The moon's transit — the thing solunar theory actually rests on — now takes part too, but strictly through the shape of the day: feeding windows lift their own hours against the rest, while the day's overall level stays exactly where the model put it. Put plainly, the transit decides when the fish bite and never touches how much. The caution is not ceremony. Solunar theory dates to 1926, and we have nothing to measure its contribution against: our catch sample is monthly, the windows are hourly. So the contribution is small, isolated, and switched off by a single number — and the score we can stand behind is not subject to it. What this means on the page: "peak bite hours" and the feeding windows no longer argue, because they are one answer instead of two. If you want the model itself, every chart behind it is on one page, and the forecast for your water shows both blocks side by side.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best fishing times today?
The two major periods — the hour either side of the moon's upper and lower culmination — plus the two minor ones around moonrise and moonset. Pick your point in the table above and today's row gives all four in local time.
Are major periods better than minor ones?
Solunar tradition treats majors as the stronger of the two, which is why they are an hour wide against the minors' half hour. Both are worth fishing; a period that also lands on dawn or dusk is the strongest of all, and that overlap is part of how the table rates how pronounced a day's windows are.
Does the moon phase change the periods?
It does not change their times — those follow the moon's position. It changes how pronounced the windows are: new and full moon are the days the theory calls prime, and the window rating in the table rises within three days either side of them. The bite score does not follow it — the moon reaches that through phase, which is counted separately.
Do I need an account or an app?
No. The calendar is computed in your browser from your coordinates, with no subscription, no sign-up and nothing to install.
Do the solunar times match the peak bite hours on the forecast page?
They do — it is one answer now, not two. The forecast accounts for the feeding windows alongside weather and the species' daily rhythm, so within those hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The day's own level still comes from the catch-calibrated model, which is why the moon's position cannot turn a weak day into a strong one.