The moon
FolkloreThe moon & solunar theory
Solunar 'feeding windows' tied to the moon have no credible evidence for freshwater trout — so we show the moon, but keep it out of your fishing plan.
Why
The moon genuinely runs the sea, through the tides, and some coastal and migratory species do key off it. Freshwater is different: a lough or a river has no tide for the moon to pull, and the proposed mechanisms for a lunar effect on lake and river trout have no physical foothold.
The evidence agrees. A recent study tracking over 1,300 hours of trout fishing found no link between solunar 'peaks' and catch rates — and anglers who fished a popular app's 'minor peaks' actually caught fewer fish. Temperature, light and the day's conditions swamp any lunar signal.
That is why LoughLogic shows the moon phase — people find it interesting and some swear by it — but it is deliberately walled off from your tactical plan. It never changes the advice.
On the water
- Plan around the things that demonstrably matter — temperature, light, wind, the season — not the moon calendar.
- Note the moon if you enjoy it; just don't let it talk you out of a good evening or into a bad midday.
- The one honest exception the science allows: a bright full-moon night can extend feeding into the dark — mostly because there is more light to hunt by, a light effect, not a mystical one.
How LoughLogic uses this
The solunar card in the app is display-only by design and never touches the engine. Quietly, every session you log records whether it fell in a moon window — so one day we can test the theory against your own catch data rather than argue about it.
How sure are we?
Folklore. There is no credible peer-reviewed evidence for a lunar effect on freshwater (non-tidal) trout feeding, and the best recent test found none. We're honest about it — and we've built the hooks to test it properly on real catch data before we would ever trust it.
Related
Sources & how we know this (1)
- A study of 1,300+ hours of trout fishing found no link between solunar peaks and catch rates; fishing predicted 'minor peaks' reduced catches.
ProFishology — Fishing by the moon? Science says it's just moonshine · 2026-07-16