Lunar Tables Drive Me Nuts.. 2025
OCdockskipper reply :
I have a love/hate relationship with the various solunar or lunar tables available which give their view of the best times for fishing & hunting. On one hand, like everyone else, I want to be on the water at a time when it is most productive. On the other hand, I don't want the negativity in my head that I am fishing what is supposed to be a less productive time, I believe that too easily leads to a self fulfilling prophecy.
With that in mind, I adjusted my work schedule in order to be on the water this past Friday (the 10th). I had noticed that the BASS lunar tables had that day rated very high, with the best times being 10:30 am - 1:30 pm. Additionally, the 3 days before Friday had been sunny, warming the lake up to 62 degrees (from 57 the week before), Friday was forecast to be overcast all day and there was a full moon. I felt I was stacking the odds in my favor and had very high expectations for the entire day.
The first hour went as expected. 7 bass in 60 minutes, three on moving baits (spinnerbait & squarebill), the others on a T-rigged craw. Then, over the next 3 hours, it slowed, just 4 bass (all on plastics) and a 12lb carp that I tail snagged with a small swimbait. No problem I thought, I hadn't hit the peak time starting at 10:30 yet, then it will be lights out.
So from 10:30 to noon, not a single bite on anything. Apparently the fish in my lake don't wear a watch. I was getting disgusted with myself, think how crappy a fisherman I must be to have these perfect conditions and not be able to produce anything. Just after noon, I pick up a fish on the entrance to the largest cove (pocket?) on the lake, so I continue in, throwing a TRD Ned rig and dragging it through the first breakline in the cove in 7-8 feet of water (cove is 10 feet deep). Over the next 60 minutes, I caught 13 keepers. It wasn't a school all in one place, the fish were dispersed around the cove, albeit all near the same depth. About every 2 or 3 casts resulted in a hookup, but not if I kept repeating the cast.
So now I am questioning was it the time or the place or both. As the clock slowly passed 1:00, I decided to make a 2nd pass through the same cove. 30 minutes of fishing resulted in no bites. Really??
I wrapped up the last hour or so picking up 3 fish at the entrance to another cove (2 going in, one when leaving), but nothing in the cove itself.
So I know these fish are prespawn, both by the location of most of them and the depth. What I don't know was if the productive cove was an isolated hot spot, one that the fish had moved into first or did they just have a lunar-lunch-bell go off and spent an hour cruising inside that cove before exiting back out to the main lake/cove entrance transition. And what was up with the 10-noon time frame, were the fish busy watching MLF?
I so want to just ignore those lunar tables...
Darren. reply :
I'm with you. I paid attention to them pretty regularly for a few years only to come away disappointed that the bass weren't reading the charts on the web like I was, LOL. I know @WRB had his chart. Maybe he can give some more insight.
Team9nine reply :
I don't have any kind of relationship with the various solunar or lunar tables available - never have, outside of studying a few large caches of data for any patterns. They are what you make them out to be. There are many respected anglers who will tell you they can be important, even accurate, and for those anglers they probably are. For myself, I never even look at them, and don't think twice about it. I feel local weather, water and forage conditions will always trump any supposed "best" feeding times/days. I fish quite a lot, but of all the things to consider when trying to get out on the water, trying to schedule days and times around some lunar feeding calendar is about at the bottom of my list.
-T9
Jeff H reply :
On 2/13/2017 at 5:23 AM, Team9nine said:I don't have any kind of relationship with the various solunar or lunar tables available - never have, outside of studying a few large caches of data for any patterns. They are what you make them out to be. There are many respected anglers who will tell you they can be important, even accurate, and for those anglers they probably are. For myself, I never even look at them, and don't think twice about it. I feel local weather, water and forage conditions will always trump any supposed "best" feeding times/days. I fish quite a lot, but of all the things to consider when trying to get out on the water, trying to schedule days and times around some lunar feeding calendar is about at the bottom of my list.
-T9
Not on any list of mine at all. I'm right there with ya in the bold above!
Gundog reply :
I agree with Team9nine and Jeff H. Go with the current weather patterns. Fish don't own computers, cell phones, watches or any other stuff we go. Don't put too much importance in voodoo. I've had people tell me lunar tables are important and always site a specific day. But they never give any examples of when it didn't work so I'm very skeptical about their findings.
lonnie g reply :
don't know about the tables . but sounds to me like you had a pretty good day! do hope your local weather forecasters are better than mine. they can say sunny and warm, and I see clouds and rain. keep swinging your doing something right!
wdp reply :
I agree with everyone else. I think the solunar tables can be a helpful tool, but are secondary to other conditions happening, mainly weather.
Now that being said, if you can get the right weather, time of year, and time of day to all align with the peak day & prime fishing time..... it can be lights out.
I've gone on a day that was pre-frontal in late spring with cloudy skies and some wind and it was the peak fishing day for month with the prime time being close to sunset. Absolutely slayed em! It was like the perfect storm of bass fishing. Won't say the solunar peak data affected it all that much, but I bet it helped.
Likewise, going fishing on a peak day according to the Astro Tables but in post front, blue bird sky conditions with no breeze....... gonna be a tough day.
Smokinal reply :
Like some above, I used to pay attention to them but agree that weather outweighs moon scale in every instance. WDP said it very well in that, if everything lines up right, it can be the best day of the month for sure.
RoLo reply :
FYI: "Lunar" is the root word for "lunatic" 
TnRiver46 reply :
Dude, I want to tell you that you are thinking waaaaaay too much about it. But then I read that you caught 13 keepers (+ more fish)!! So instead I will say keep on keeping on! Nice job. I have never paid attention to the tables but maybe I should because I don't know if I have ever caught 13 keepers. Also, to find the answers to all the questions you are pondering, you will have to interrogate a caprtured fish. A lot of people think they know exactly why animals/fish do certain things but in reality we will never know all the answers
OCdockskipper reply :
On 2/13/2017 at 12:41 PM, TnRiver46 said:Dude, I want to tell you that you are thinking waaaaaay too much about it. But then I read that you caught 13 keepers (+ more fish)!! So instead I will say keep on keeping on! Nice job...
Yeah, that is my personality. I enjoy figuring things out, using information to put together the puzzle that results in catching bass. I wish that the tables were a piece of information to help with that, but it seems like they give off more false flags than anything else. And for a headcase like me, that is no fun... 
Bluebasser86 reply :
I fish when I can, often when I know it probably won't be great fishing. Catching is just a bonus some days.
Sam reply :
Use solar tables for the spawn.
Learn how the bass respond to the full moon during the spawn.
After that, too many variables effect the bass to relate to only one variable.
jbw252 reply :
Solunar or lunar tables never coincide with my "I want to go fishing" table. Fishing is supposed to be fun, don't make it more complicated - that's my take on it.
scaleface reply :
I never have paid the slightest attention to them . The only time I check the moon is when I'm night fishing . I like to go on bright nights .I catch a lot more bass on full moons than other times . I'm speculating because the water is heavily stained around here .
TOXIC reply :
While I never let lunar tables stop me from going fishing, I do pay attention during the spawn. The big girls spawn on the full moon and usually the first full moon when all of the other factors come into play. It's like my grandfather used to say on the way to the lake..."If the cows are laying down, the fish won't bite". I have since learned why there is some truth in that observation.
Scott F reply :
On 2/13/2017 at 10:47 PM, TOXIC said:While I never let lunar tables stop me from going fishing, I do pay attention during the spawn. The big girls spawn on the full moon and usually the first full moon when all of the other factors come into play. It's like my grandfather used to say on the way to the lake..."If the cows are laying down, the fish won't bite". I have since learned why there is some truth in that observation.
Why do you say that bass spawn on the full moon? Several studies have shown that moon phases have no connection to bass spawning.
Catt reply :
On 2/13/2017 at 9:36 AM, RoLo said:FYI: "Lunar" is the root word for "lunatic"
I think Roger & others will agree on lunar tables the only time they apply is when fishing tidal waters!
TOXIC reply :
I have been fishing for 40 years and have traveled all over the country doing so. I have to rely on my experience and Biologists that I know. For the last 13 years I have gone to Lake St Clair in Michigan for the smallmouth spawn. We track all of our conditions. There are multiple factors that go into the spawn...water temp., water clarity, lunar cycle, winter lead up (rough vs mild), wind, etc., Not doubting you but it's been standard that lunar cycles affect both feeding and spawning for years. I've read some of the conflicting info. but it is just an opinion. There are a few tracked studies that prove it makes a difference...Here is a cut and paste.
Bass Facts & Figures — Anglers have long believed that lunar phases affect fishing results, but there has been little catch data to test that assumption. Data presented by Lake Fork biologist Kevin Story at the Texas Chapter, American Fisheries Society, Bass Management Symposium showed graphically that in March 2003 and March 2004, lunker bass catch rates at Fork were apparently linked to moon phase.
March is Lake Fork’s most productive month for bass over 7 pounds. Catches go up when bass are in or near spawning areas, and large bass tend to spawn earlier than smaller adults. Large bass, presumably on or near spawning areas, were caught most often on the full moon. Secondary peaks occured around new moons if water temperature was 61F to 63F. The lunar-tied cycle of bass catches then fades until the spawn is over.
Biologists postulate that moonlight illuminates shallow nests and allows bass to more easily lay eggs and later to guard the nest against raiders. Thus, spawning on the full moon with a clear sky may aid fry survival. Once the temperature has exceeded about 65F at nest depth, the light of the full moon doesn’t appear to be as important, since subsequent spawns were scattered around the intervening new moons (dark nights) and next full moon.
Read more: http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/lunar-phases-and-bass-fishing-results/#ixzz4YZy98g00
RoLo reply :
On 2/13/2017 at 11:19 PM, Catt said:
I think Roger & others will agree on lunar tables the only time they apply is when fishing tidal waters!
Ain't that the truth.
In tidal waters, the Tide Tables is our bible.
Catt reply :
@TOXIC is there not a time frame in which the roe in bass reach "maturity"?
Is it not true that until the roe reaches " maturity" the female will not lays her eggs?
TOXIC reply :
On 2/14/2017 at 12:20 AM, Catt said:@TOXIC is there not a time frame in which the roe in bass reach "maturity"?
Is it not true that until the roe reaches " maturity" the female will not lays her eggs?
Yes, but if other conditions are not right for example water temperature....the female in that wave of spawners will not deposit her eggs. There are females with eggs that mature at different times....there are multiple waves of spawners or possibly more than 1 spawn per year. So if that first wave doesn't spawn, the females reabsorb their eggs. Same thing happens when you pull one off a bed before spawning and transport her far enough away that she will not be able to find another nesting male.
Catt reply :
I've worked closely with Kent Cook & Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling, here a little insight
Cook believes that the female often moves on and off of the bed to deposit more eggs (hatchery studies support this claim). Few females drop all of their eggs at once. Instead, they expel a portion and then move off to a near by breakline, bush or grass edge.
It is this sporadic purging of eggs and the ability to spawn with different males on several nests that keeps the annual spring bedding season from being severely impacted by large tournaments. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning.
GET A LOCK ON THE SPAWN By Tim Tucker
TOXIC reply :
That could very well be. There is a difference between species as well Largies vs Smallmouth.
Team9nine reply :
No offense, but the I-F report from Texas is pretty weak - and one could even argue the data "cherry picked." The anecdotal evidence ("experience") is compelling at times, but there is still very little in the way of credible data/studies supporting this supposed effect. I'd say at best, you've got a secondary (lunar) factor that comes into play once other more important variables are considered/met. Just my opinion though.
-T9
RoLo reply :
I have yet to find a scientific treatise that substantiates the influence of the sun or moon
on bass spawning. With regard to the timing of the spawn, 'photoperiod' displays a greater influence
than lunar phase or water temperature. In the vegetable kingdom as well,
‘photoperiod’ is the event trigger, while air temps and water temps are just coincidental indicators.
Shaw Grigsby & Peter Thliveros earned a living in Florida by catching bedding bass.
Based only on calendar period (day-length), they've taken bedding bass during all moon phases
and in water temperatures in the 50s. To appreciate that feat, some years in central Florida (e.g. this year)
the water temperature never reaches the 50s. Furthermore, temperature changes that occur
during the actual spawn are generally well-tolerated by spawning bass, unless of course
they exceed deadly extremes. From all appearances, 'high winds' are more damaging to spawning success than water temperature change, and windblown bedding flats appear to be
the major cause of missing year-classes.
Roger
Catt reply :
I believe full moon & the spawn is just coincidental; a length of time.
Like water temperature the wide range of tolerable temperatures appears to be low 50s to upper 60s.
This wide range of acceptable "parameters" insures a healthy spawn.
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