Solunar Theory

How the moon and the sun affect the activity of all animals is and interesting topic. The solunar theory was pioneered by John Alden Knight and explained in his book, "Moon Up, Moon Down". His studies showed that activity peaks when the moon is overhead (Moon Up) and underfoot (Moon Down). These major periods of activity were found to last about two hours.

In between these major periods, Knight found two shorter periods of increased activity that usually lasted about an hour and a half. These minor periods were not as good as the major periods, but showed a definite increase in activity.

This theory has been studied by other notable anglers including Doug Hannon, author of "Big Bass Magic". Tracking the times that large bass over ten pounds were caught led to the conclusion that there were definitely periods of increased activity. While he found daily periods of increased activity, he also found that most big bass were caught within three days of either the full or new moon. He expanded the theory to forecast the relative fishing success for given days within the month.