Interesting read on moon's effect on wildlife

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
Dewey
Moderator
Posts: 36727
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:57 pm
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Online

Interesting read on moon's effect on wildlife

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:11 am

I posted this in the moon thread but thought I would start a seperate one so everybody would see it.

This article is very interesting and explains the moon's effect on fish and game peak times.


ABOUT THE SOLUNAR THEORY

The times each day that fish and game are most active vary by date and geographical location based on the position of the sun and the moon. The Solunar Theory was originally developed by John Alden Knight in the 1930's. An avid outdoorsmen and sportswriter, Knight perfected his theory of fish and game activity over a period of many years making observations while hunting and fishing.

He found that all fish and game - including deer, turkey, bass, and trout - are more active during different times of the day and night. He examined 33 variables to see their effect on hunting times and fishing times. Of the 33, the position of the sun, moon, and tides were determined to be of the utmost importance. He noted that there are two 'major' time periods and two 'minor' time periods each day that fishing and hunting are most likely to be productive. Because of the effect of the sun and the moon, he named these times 'Solunar Periods,' which have been used by outdoorsmen for almost 8 decades now.

"Other conditions not being unfavorable, fish will feed, animals will move about, birds will sing and fly from place to place, in fact, all living things will become more active, more alive, during Solunar periods than at other times of apparent equal value. Those anglers who have had the breadth of vision to follow the schedule, have found that it is a guide to the best fishing of each day, and the quality of their sport has improved..." - from "Moon Up, Moon Down" by John Alden Knight

The Solunar Periods
The Major Periods last 2-3 hours and peak when the moon is positioned overhead (transit) and positioned underfoot. This is when the combined gravitational forces of the sun and moon are the strongest. The Minor Period times occur roughly half way in between when the moon passes the horizon at moonrise and moonset. Minor Periods generally last half as long as the Major Periods.

The best hunting times and best fishing times occur at the peak of the Major and Minor Periods. These roughly correlate with high tide and low tide times. Tides occur roughly every 12.5 hours, but because they are caused by a complex set of interactions - the sun and moon's gravitational forces, rotation of the Earth, and the shape of the near-shore bottom - the tide times will vary somewhat from the solunar table periods. Solunar periods have been equated to 'equilibrium tide times', which are the times that tides would occur for a specific longitude if the entire Earth was covered by water.

Effects of the Lunar Cycle, Lunar Phase, and Moon Calendar
The best hunting times and best fishing times also vary day to day throughout the month depending on the phase of the moon - with the best activity occurring around a Full Moon and New Moon. This is when the Moon and the Sun's gravitational forces are the strongest. Conversely, around the First Quarter Moon and Last Quarter Moon, activity levels are the least intense.

The lunar phase refers to the percent illumination of the moon as viewed from the Earth. The lunar cycle (time between two full moons) averages 29 1/2 days and varies month to month because the moon's orbit is elliptical. Because the average month is ~30.5 days, the lunar cycle shifts by approximately one day each month. As a result, there is one calendar day each month that the moon doesn't rise and one day that the moon doesn't set. This affects the solunar tables such that there will be two days each month during which there is only one Major Period and two days in which there is only one Minor Period.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


User avatar
backstraps
Moderator
Posts: 10110
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:44 pm
Location: Tennessee
Status: Offline

Re: Interesting read on moon's effect on wildlife

Unread postby backstraps » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:11 pm

Good read, interesting!
User avatar
Stanley
Honorary Moderator
Posts: 18734
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:18 am
Facebook: None
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Interesting read on moon's effect on wildlife

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:10 pm

Thanks for posting it up. Good read.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
User avatar
Dewey
Moderator
Posts: 36727
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:57 pm
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Online

Re: Interesting read on moon's effect on wildlife

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Sep 04, 2016 5:41 am

Bump

Been much discussion on this lately.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Dewey, MartyMoose and 71 guests