Deer (Animal) Activity
from Solunar Moon Sun
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Contents
What is the Solunar Theory?
Peak Days
Peak Times
Peak Months
Watch the Moon
Best Fishing Days
Length of Periods
Proving the Theory
Watch the Weather
Watch the Barometer
Calculating Solunar Times
Area Covered by Solunar Times
WHAT IS THE SOLUNAR THEORY?
In 1926 John Alden Knight* postulated some folk lore he picked
up in Florida and proceeded to attempt a refinement, giving it the name Solunar (Sol for
sun and Lunar for moon). Knight compiled a list of 33 factors which influence or control
day-to-day behavior of fresh and salt-water fish. Everything was taken into account that
could possibly have any bearing on the matter.
One by one the factors were examined and rejected. Three of them,
however, merited further examination. They were sun, moon and tides.
Surely the sun could have no effect since it’s cycle was the
same
day after day, whereas the observed activity periods of fish were apt to be present at
most any time of the day or night. The moon had already been weighed and found wanting.
Tides? Surely there could be no tidal movement in a trout stream.
But the fact remained, however, that the tides had always guided
salt-water fishermen to good fishing. Could it be that the prompting stimulus lay in the
influence of the sun and moon which cause the ocean tides, rather than the actual tidal
stages or flow?
When the original research was being done only the approximate
time of moon up - moon down were considered. Gradually, it became evident that there were
also intermediate periods of activity that occurred midway between the two major periods.
Thus the more evident periods were called MAJOR
PERIODS and the two intermediate periods, shorter in length, were
called MINOR PERIODS.
One convincing experiment was when Dr. Frank A. Brown, a biologist
at Northwestern University, had some live oysters flown to his lab near Chicago.Oysters
open their shells with each high tide, and Dr. Brown wanted to see if this was due to the
change in ocean levels or to a force from the moon itself. He put them in water and
removed them from all sunlight. For the first week they continued to open their shells
with the high tides from their ocean home. But by the second week, they had adjusted their
shell-openings to when the moon was directly overhead
or underfoot in Chicago.
Knight first published his Solunar Tables in 1936. Then, and today,
one must calculate the precise times from each table taking into account the geographic
location (east or west) of a base point (Time Zone), and adjusted for Daylight Savings
Time when appropriate. The tables are rounded to the nearest 10 minutes.
An example of the deviation in time in a particular state would be
Texas here the times from El Paso on the western border and Hemphill on the eastern border
is 51 minutes (Hemphill is 51 minutes earlier than El Paso).
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PROVING THE THEORY
To substantiate the Solunar Theory, insofar as fish are concerned,
John Alden Knight attempted a systematic inquiry to acquire complete details surrounding
the capture of record catches. Both individual large fish ... and large numbers.
He examined approximately 200 of these catches. Over 90 percent were
made during the dark of the moon (new moon) when the effects of of the Solunar Periods
appear to be greatest, and, more important, they were made during the actual times of the
Solunar Periods.
Initially, only the behavior of fish was considered. During 1935 to
1939 Knight made extensive studies of game birds and animals. As had been suspected, these
also responded to the prompting stimulus of the Solunar Periods.
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PEAK DAYS
It is now known that the sun and moon are the two major
sources of the astral energies that daily bombard the Earth and all her life forms. The
closer they are to you at any given moment,
the stronger the influence. The day of a NEW or FULL MOON
will provide the strongest influence in each month.
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PEAK MONTH
June always has more combined sun-moon influence than
any other month. During a FULL MOON the sun and moon are
nearly opposite each other and very few minutes pass without one or the other being in our
sky. During a NEW MOON, both bodies are in near-perfect rhythm traveling the skies
together with their forces combined. Because of the interaction between the many lunar and
solar cycles, no two days, months or years are identical.
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PEAK TIMES
When a Solunar Period falls within 30 minutes to an hour
of sunrise or sunset you can anticipate great action! When you have a moonrise or moonset
during that period the action will be even greater.
And, finally, when the above times occur during a NEW or
FULL MOON, you can expect the best action of the season!
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LENGTH OF PERIODS
Every fisherman knows that fish do not feed all the time. He
knows, also, that for some reason fish often go on the feed and take most any offering, be
it live bait or artificial. This sort of thing happens, according to John Alden Knight
(the originator of the theory) during a Solunar Period. To be sure, fish usually feed
actively at sunrise and sunset, but generally, the real fishing of the day is at the
“odd hour” feeding periods. If the weather and feeding conditions are favorable
the fish will be active for one to two hours.
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BEST HUNTING/FISHING DAYS
For those fishermen hunters who enjoy fishing and hunting at
sunrise and sunset here are the absolute best dates to be on the water at your favorite
spot.
These are the Major or Minor Solunar Periods that fall
near the times of Sunrise or Sunset during a Full or New Moon.
It has been documented that when this condition exists fish will bite on anything they see
or smell. Limits are almost guaranteed
provided there are fish in the vicinity.
It’s no secret that fish and game tend to feed during dawn
and dusk (sunrise and sunset). What amplifies the activity is the effect of a moonrise or
moonset plus the specific monthly periods of New (dark) and Full (light) Moons.
When the times coincide with a moon-rise or a moon-set the
action can be spectacular.
Finally, a change in the local weather coinciding with the periods
will further enhance the activity.
For an interesting article on this subject, visit "The Real Scoop" on
using the theory to your advantage.
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WATCH THE WEATHER
For best results the tables must be used intelligently. Every
day will not show a clear-cut reaction to a Solunar Period. In the
case of fish, barometric fluctuations, particularly when the trend is
down, often ruin fishing. All wildlife knows what to expect of the
weather, and any bird, animal or fish can sense the approach of a
storm. Cold fronts moving through drive all fish deeper and render them inactive.
Adverse temperature, abnormal water conditions, all sorts
of things will offset the effects of Solunar Periods. However, every
sportsman knows that it is beyond all reason to expect good fishing or hunting every day.
The Solunar Theory will point the way to the best in sport that each day has to offer, but
in no sense is it a guarantee.
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WATCH THE BAROMETER
Intensity of activity also varies from day to day, according to
conditions in general. If the barometer happens to be steady or rising, if the temperature
is favorable (15 degrees higher than water temp) then long and active response to a
Solunar Period can be expected.
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WATCH THE MOON
Another thing to remember in dealing with Solunar Periods
is that solunar influence will vary in intensity according to the position of the moon.
The times of new moon (the dark of the moon), and there is no moon in the sky, is the time
of maximum intensity.
Ocean tides reflect this intensity in their magnitude. This
maximum will last about three days, and wildlife respond with
maximum activity. Thereafter the degree of intensity tapers off
until it is at its minimum during the third quarter phase of the moon.
Salt-water anglers argue that tides have a greater influence on fish
feeding habits than the moon itself. It must be understood that the tides are governed by
the phases and transit of the moon. Certain marine phenomena occur with precise regularity
during the lunar month and solar/lunar cycle.
Research has shown that a natural day for fish and many other
animal species differ from our own. Their biological clock
appears to coincide with lunar time, which is the time that it
takes for the moon to reappear at a given point during one
complete rotation of the earth (an average of 24 hours and 53
minutes. This is called a Tidal Day and explains why the
ocean tides are about an hour later each day - and why most
fish, fresh water species included, will feed up to an hour later
(in relation to our solar clock) each day.
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CALCULATING SOLUNAR TIMES
The key to accurate Solunar Times is the ability to chart
the relative solar and lunar positions with respect to a particular
location. The major periods coincide with the upper and lower
meridian passage of the resultant gravitational (tidal) force.
The minor periods occur when these forces are rising or
setting on either horizon, i.e., the right ascension of the resultant
force and the local sidereal time vary by 90 or 270 degrees. The
major periods occur when these forces are at 0 and 180 degrees
apart.
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AREA COVERED BY SOLUNAR
TIMES
The times produced are known as EQUILIBRIUM TIDE
TIMES, i.e., the times of low and high tides if the Earth were
completely covered by water. Our program calculates the solar
and lunar positions with an accuracy of .25 degrees allowing
accuracy to be within 1 minute in time. The times will change
one minute for each 12 miles east or west of the base point.
There is one day each month (near the last quarter of the
moon) on which there is no moonrise. This is normal and occurs
because the moon’s average period between two rises and sets
is approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes. Thus there will always
be a day on which a moonrise (and a Solunar Time) will not fit.
Note also that moonrise can occur at any time during the day
or night.
The quantities required for computing Solunar Times are eliptic
longitudes of the Sun and Moon, the right ascension (RA) of
the moon, and the local sidereal time of the observer's position.
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CONCLUSION
It goes without saying that if there are no fish or game
present, you will not be successful. Plan your days on the water
or in the field so that you are where the game is most likely to be
during the Solunar Periods.
We hope that we have been able to improve your understanding
of the Solunar Theory - and how you can use it to improve your
hunting and angling success.
But always remember ... the BEST
time to go huntin' ... is
whenever you can!
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*Moonup~Moondown ... Library of
Congress #72-93383
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