When do the fish bite today?

Often in the hours around sunrise and sunset, and in cold water usually around midday. If the pressure sinks before the weather turns, those hours are worth catching. The bite table gives the times for the day where you stand.

The part built on the moon has little to support it, and Finnfisk promises nothing from it. Light, water temperature and a pressure drop before the weather turns weigh more. Use the table to pick hours on a day you are going out anyway, not as a reason to stay home.

What are major and minor periods?

The two kinds of period in solunar theory. A major period sits around the time the moon is at its highest or lowest, a minor one around the time it comes up or goes down. The theory says fish take better in them. There is little to show that it holds.

Does falling air pressure mean better fishing?

Often. Pressure that sinks before the weather turns often goes with good fishing, and pressure that climbs just after the turn often goes with slow fishing. The bite table marks the hours of sinking pressure for seven days.

Why does the table say polar night or midnight sun?

Because the sun does not rise or does not set that day where you are. With no sunrise or sunset there is no first light or dusk to work out, so the table says what the sun is doing instead.

Bite table for all of Norway: sun, pressure and moon

What is a bite table?

A bite table lists the times of day when the fish should take best, day by day.

The classic bite table is built on the moon. It puts major periods around the times the moon is highest and lowest, and minor periods around moonrise and moonset. Such tables are also called solunar tables.

The bite table here turns the order round. The sun and the pressure come first, because they are what the guide to bite times builds on. The moon comes last, with the caveat that the evidence is weak.

What the table is built on

The sunSunrise and sunset are worked out on your device, for the point the table is for. First light runs from 45 minutes before sunrise to a good hour after. Dusk runs from a good hour before sunset to 45 minutes after.
The pressureThe air pressure at the surface, hour by hour, from the Open-Meteo forecast, today and six days ahead. Where the pressure has moved by at least 1 hPa in three hours, the hours show as falling or rising. Less than that we count as noise.
The moonMoonrise, moonset and the times the moon is highest and lowest, worked out on the device. The major periods are two hours around the highest and lowest point. The minor periods are one hour around moonrise and moonset. Solunar tables do not all use the same widths.
The moon phaseHow much of the moon is lit, at 12:00 each day. It tells you how light the night is.
The clockAll times are Norwegian time. They are checked against the sunrise service of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø, and they differ by less than two minutes.

What the evidence says

First light and dusk: often bestThe light is low enough that the fish dare come onto the shallows. For trout in summer, dusk is the strongest window.
Cold water: middayIn cold water midday is best, because the fish need the warmest hours to get active. That goes for spring and late autumn, mountain lakes early in the season, and ice fishing.
Falling pressure: often the best of the weekThe hours while the pressure falls ahead of a change in the weather are often the best of the week. Rising pressure just after a front is usually the slowest.
The moon: weak evidenceThe evidence that the moon phase or the moon periods govern the bite is weak. We show the phase because it tells you how light the night is, and the periods because many people look for them. Neither predicts the bite.

No row in the table is a promise of fish. Water temperature and weather decide more than the clock.

How to read the table

One row per dayToday and six days ahead. First light and dusk come first, with the sunrise and sunset they are built on.
Midnight sun and polar nightIn the north the sun does not set for weeks in summer, and does not rise for weeks in winter. In Tromsø, each lasts more than a month. Then the day has no first light or dusk, and the table says so instead.
The pressure“Falling 11:00–22:00, −7 hPa” means the pressure falls by 7 hPa from 11:00 to 22:00. The table counts a fall or a rise of at least 1 hPa in three hours. With none, the cell says “Steady”. The forecast gets less certain the further ahead it goes.
The moon periodsSome days lack a major or a minor period. The moon takes about 24 hours and 50 minutes to come round, so once a month one of the times falls outside the day. Far north, the moon can also stay up or stay down for a whole day.
Water, spot or municipalityFor a water the table is for the centre point of the water, and for a fishing spot the point the spot has on the map. For a municipality it is the mean position of the named waters in the municipality, as on the municipality page.

Use it with the weather

Water temperature firstCold water: fish midday. Warm water: fish the night, first light and dusk. It decides more than the table does.
Cloud and windOvercast with a little ripple opens the whole day, and then the windows matter less. Clear and calm makes first light and dusk count for more.
Falling pressureIf you see falling pressure ahead of a change in the weather, those are the hours to try to be at the water.

The table says when it may be worth fishing, not whether you may. Season, closed periods and fishing cards are set by the rights holder and local rules.

The weather where you are The full guide to bite times

Common questions

When do the fish bite today?: Often in the hours around sunrise and sunset, and in cold water usually around midday. If the pressure sinks before the weather turns, those hours are worth catching. The bite table gives the times for the day where you stand.
Do bite tables work?: The part built on the moon has little to support it, and Finnfisk promises nothing from it. Light, water temperature and a pressure drop before the weather turns weigh more. Use the table to pick hours on a day you are going out anyway, not as a reason to stay home. What decides when fish bite
What are major and minor periods?: The two kinds of period in solunar theory. A major period sits around the time the moon is at its highest or lowest, a minor one around the time it comes up or goes down. The theory says fish take better in them. There is little to show that it holds.
Does falling air pressure mean better fishing?: Often. Pressure that sinks before the weather turns often goes with good fishing, and pressure that climbs just after the turn often goes with slow fishing. The bite table marks the hours of sinking pressure for seven days.
Why does the table say polar night or midnight sun?: Because the sun does not rise or does not set that day where you are. With no sunrise or sunset there is no first light or dusk to work out, so the table says what the sun is doing instead.

The week where you are