Pier fishing during a full moon night
The solunar theory was initially proposed by the American John Alden Knight in 1926 and has been supported by the systematic analyses of scientists and biologists in subsequent years.
It is based on experimental incidents from which it can be deduced that the action of the sun and the moon influences the activity of all living beings in nature. The times of day in which living beings show greater activity are the so-called solunar periods.
We can distinguish two types of solunar periods:
Major periods:
They have approximately 2 hours duration although on certain occasions they may exceed 3 hours. They begin the moment of the lunar transit (when the moon is overhead) and the opposing lunar transit (when the moon is under our feet). Normally these are the moments of greatest fish activity during each day. The most fervent supporters of this theory state that there is not one species of sport fish that cannot be found eating during a major Solunar Period.
Minor periods:
They are intermediate periods of lesser duration (approximately 1 hour) which coincide with the rising and the setting of the moon. During these periods there is also an increase in fish activity in relation to the rest of the day.
We can also observe a notable increase in the activity of fish if the sunrise or sunset takes place during the solunar period. In these cases, in which we may expect more action than that initially forecast, the solunar periods are reflected in green on the solunar chart.