What are solunar tables, and do they actually work?
Short answer: solunar tables predict when fish and game are most active from the position of the moon and sun. They are a useful planning tool, and the honest way to know if they work for you is to log what you see and compare.
How solunar times are calculated
- Major windows (about 2 hours): when the moon passes directly overhead (upper transit) or underfoot (lower transit).
- Minor windows (about 1 hour): around moonrise and moonset.
Most days have two majors and two minors. Because the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, the windows drift later day by day.
What makes a day rate higher
- A window that overlaps sunrise or sunset — first and last light are already high-activity times.
- Days near the full or new moon, when the sun and moon pull together.
Why reviews disagree
Some hunters swear by solunar times; others see deer on "poor" days. Both can be right: weather fronts, barometric pressure, wind, hunting pressure and the rut all shift movement. The moon is one input, not the whole story.
How to test it at your spot
- Log every sighting, catch or trail-cam photo with the time.
- After 20 or more logs, check how many fell inside a predicted window.
- If the share is well above the roughly 25% of the day the windows cover, the moon matters where you hunt or fish.
Doing it with Feedcast
Feedcast calculates major and minor windows for any spot and any future day, and its field log matches every sighting to the predicted windows so your own hit rate builds up automatically.
FAQ
Who invented solunar tables?
John Alden Knight published the first solunar tables in 1926, based on the idea that fish and game are more active when the moon is overhead, underfoot, rising or setting.
Why does the app say a poor day when I saw lots of deer?
Solunar times are one factor. Weather fronts, pressure, hunting pressure and season matter too. Logging your sightings shows how much the moon matters at your spot.
Do I need GPS for solunar times?
No. A spot within a few kilometres gives practically the same times, so a place search or typed coordinates are enough.