Solunar Table & Best Fishing Times by ZIP Code
Enter a US ZIP to see solunar periods, sun, and moon for 7 days.
What are solunar periods?
Solunar periods are clock times taken from the moon's place in the sky. A major period lasts two hours, centered on the moon overhead or the moon underfoot. A minor period lasts one hour, centered on moonrise or moonset. John Alden Knight published this calendar in 1936. A lunar day runs about 24 hours and 50 minutes, so a calendar date can miss one of the four periods.
- How It Works, Solunar Sales Co.
- How to read Solunar Times, Solunar.com
- astronomy-engine
- U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications
Background reading
Is it science?
Solunar periods are a traditional fishing calendar, first published by John Alden Knight in 1936. They are worked out only from the moon's position. They are not a scientific forecast of fish activity, and they don't account for weather, water temperature, light, pressure or fishing pressure, which often matter more. Use them as one input when planning a trip.
Solunar tables are also used by hunters.
Method and limitations
Times are calculated with astronomy-engine and tested against U.S. Naval Observatory data for 19 location-dates and 86 rise, set, and transit events. The largest difference was 30.8 seconds. The nearest principal moon phase differed by at most 1 minute 15 seconds. Moon illumination is the percent lit at local noon.
On DST switch days USNO shifts the whole day's time zone and can omit one event; we show each event at the clock time it actually happens.
ZIP coordinates are internal points from the U.S. Census Bureau 2025 ZCTA Gazetteer. A ZCTA is a Census statistical area. It is not a USPS delivery area.
A major period is 2 hours, from 1 hour before the moon overhead or the moon underfoot until 1 hour after. A minor period is 1 hour, from 30 minutes before moonrise or moonset until 30 minutes after. Solunar Sales Co. says minor periods generally last 45–90 minutes. This page uses 1 hour, the length in the Solunar.com reading guide.
Questions
Why is there no moonrise today?
The moon can stay below the horizon for a whole calendar day, or it can rise before midnight and not rise again until the next day. A lunar day is about 24 hours 50 minutes, so some dates have no moonrise, no moonset, or only one transit. The page says “No moonrise today” when the moon does not rise, and a dash for any other missing event. We do not invent a time.
What's the difference between major and minor?
A major period lasts 2 hours and is centered on the moon overhead or the moon underfoot. A minor period lasts 1 hour and is centered on moonrise or moonset. Some published tables use 45–90 minutes for a minor period. This page uses 1 hour.
Why do other solunar tables differ by a few minutes?
Tables can use a different moon position, a different point inside the ZIP code, or a different length for the minor period. Our rise, set, and transit times were checked against U.S. Naval Observatory data. One degree of longitude is four minutes of clock time.
Do I need to be on the water the whole window?
No. The period is the two-hour or one-hour span around the moon event. Knight's tables mark that span. They do not say you must fish every minute of it. Weather, water temperature, light, and fishing pressure are separate from this calendar.
Is this a bite forecast?
No. These times are only the moon's position, turned into the traditional solunar periods. They are not a prediction that fish will bite.
Why doesn't my ZIP match a point on the map?
Some ZIP codes, including many PO Box and single-organization codes, have no Census ZCTA. We say so and use the average location of ZCTAs that share the first three digits. If that area is also missing, we do not guess from an online geocoder.