Using Solunar Tables Together with Tide Charts

What a Solunar Table Actually Tells You

A solunar table predicts periods when fish are statistically more likely to feed, based on the position of the moon and sun relative to your location. Each day is split into major periods (roughly when the moon is overhead or directly underfoot, usually lasting 1.5 to 2 hours) and minor periods (moonrise and moonset, typically shorter). Sunrise and sunset overlap with these windows on many days, and when they do, most anglers around Sydney treat that as a priority session.

What a solunar table does not tell you is where the water will be moving. That is the job of the tide chart. Used alone, a solunar table is a rough guide; used alongside tide times, swell height and wind direction, it becomes a practical planning tool for offshore boat trips, estuary sessions and rock ledges alike.

Overlaying Solunar Windows on the Tide Chart

The method is simple. Print or note the day's tide times for your area, then mark the major and minor solunar periods on the same timeline. You are looking for overlaps between three things:

• A major or minor solunar period.
• Strong tidal movement — usually the middle two hours of a run-out or run-in tide.
• Low light, meaning the hour either side of sunrise or sunset.

When all three line up, that is your first choice session. When two line up, it is still worth fishing. When none line up, you can still catch fish, but you may need to work harder, fish deeper structure or change baits more often.

Worked Example

Suppose the low tide falls mid-morning and a major solunar period sits an hour before it. On an estuary flat, that combination pushes bait out of the shallows into the deeper channel edge, and predators sit at the drain mouths waiting. You would fish the last two hours of the run-out rather than dead low, casting into moving water and letting lures drift with the current.

Applying It to Offshore Boat Fishing

Offshore, tide matters less for water level and more for current over structure. On reefs and pinnacles out of Sydney, the run of current determines whether berley trails work and whether baits sit naturally. Plan to arrive on a mark before a major solunar period so you are anchored, drifting or set up on the sounder when the window opens rather than still running out.

• Neap tides (around the first and last quarter moon) give gentler current — better for anchoring, bottom bouncing and holding a precise position over a lump.
• Spring tides (around new and full moon) push harder water — often better for pelagic action, trolling and wide drifts, but heavier sinkers and more attention to anchor scope.
• Full moon nights can mean fish have fed overnight, so an early morning session may be slower and a late afternoon bite stronger.

Don't Let Solunar Override the Weather

No solunar window is worth a dangerous crossing or an exposed rock ledge in a rising swell. Check the swell height, swell period and wind forecast first, and only then choose which solunar and tide window to fish. A long-period swell of moderate height can be far more hazardous on a low rock platform than a short, choppy sea. If wind and swell rule out one option, use the same solunar window in a sheltered estuary or on a protected beach instead.

Building Your Own Records

Solunar theory is a starting point, not a law. Keep a simple log for each trip: date, location, tide stage, moon phase, solunar period, wind, swell, water temperature and what you caught. After a season you will start to see which combinations actually produce in your local spots — and those personal patterns will outperform any generic table.

Questions About Local Conditions

If you want help interpreting a tide chart or planning a session around a solunar window near Sydney, contact Tide Fishing on +61292658222 or at [email protected] during Mon–Fri: 09:00 – 17:00 (AEST). Always cross-check current official forecasts and safety warnings before heading out.