Ohio Best Fishing Times Today
Solunar major and minor periods, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and the moon phase for every Ohio county, today and for the next 7 days.
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Pick any of the 88 Ohio counties and the card below redraws with today’s major and minor periods, then the week ahead.
Today’s solunar periods, sunrise, sunset and the moon for Franklin County, Ohio load here.
Ohio times are worked out in your browser with SunCalc for each county’s internal point in the Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer, shown in that county’s local time. Check any Ohio day against the US Naval Observatory sun and moon tables.
What the Ohio fishing times mean
The idea behind these Ohio times goes back to John Alden Knight’s solunar tables of 1926. A major period runs about 2 hours around the moment the moon crosses overhead or passes underfoot, and a minor period about 1 hour around moonrise or moonset. Treat them as a traditional guide rather than a promise; on Ohio water a cold front or muddy runoff matters more.
Because the moon runs about 50 minutes later every day, the Ohio periods drift through the week; the cards make it easy to spot a day when one meets sunrise or sunset.
Solunar tables traditionally rate the days around the new and full moon highest; the phase and the share of the moon lit are on every Ohio day card.
All 88 counties keep Eastern time. Clock sunrise is not the same across Ohio: on June 21 it ranges from 5:49 a.m. in Ashtabula County to 6:13 a.m. in Hamilton County, 24 minutes apart.
Around Columbus daylight lasts 15 hours 1 minutes on the June solstice and 9 hours 20 minutes on the December solstice, so the same solunar period can fall in daylight in summer and in the dark in winter. From Ashtabula County in the north to Lawrence County in the south the county centres are 3.3 degrees of latitude apart; on June 21 that is 15 hours 14 minutes of daylight against 14 hours 52 minutes.
Ohio sunrise, sunset and day lengths above are computed for the 88 Census 2023 Gazetteer county internal points with the same SunCalc formulas the widget uses.
Ohio fish to plan around today's times
Where to find each fish in Ohio, with its limits and records.
- Black Crappie
- Blue Catfish
- Bluegill
- Bowfin
- Brook Trout
- Brown Trout
- Buffalo Sucker
- Bullhead
- Burbot
- Chain Pickerel
- Channel Catfish
- Chinook Salmon
- Coho Salmon
- Common Carp
- Flathead Catfish
- Freshwater Drum
- Green Sunfish
- Hybrid Crappie
- Hybrid Striped Bass
- Hybrid Sunfish
- Lake Trout
- Largemouth Bass
- Longear Sunfish
- Longnose Gar
- Muskellunge
- Northern Pike
- Paddlefish
- Pink Salmon
- Pumpkinseed Sunfish
- Redear Sunfish
- Rock Bass
- Sauger
- Saugeye
- Smallmouth Bass
- Spotted Bass
- Steelhead
- Striped Bass
- Suckers
- Sunfish
- Tiger Muskellunge
- Walleye
- Warmouth Sunfish
- White Bass
- White Crappie
- White Perch
- Yellow Perch
Lakes in Ohio to fish in the next period
Every Ohio lake page has access points, species and a level box where a gauge sits on the lake.
- Acton Lake
- Adams Lake
- Alum Creek Lake
- Amick Reservoir
- Antrim Lake
- Aquilla Lake
- Archbold Reservoir Number Two
- Atwood Lake
- Beaver Creek Reservoir
- Belmont Lake
- Berlin Lake
- Bresler Reservoir
- Buckeye Lake
- Bucyrus Lake #1
- Bucyrus Lake #2
- Burr Oak Lake
- Grand Lake St. Marys
- Indian Lake
- Lake Milton
- Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir
- Mosquito Creek Lake
- Portage Lakes
- Rocky Fork Lake
- Tycoon Lake
Questions on Ohio fishing times
What are the best fishing times today in Ohio?
In Ohio, the major periods: about 2 hours around the moon overhead and underfoot, then the minor periods around moonrise and moonset. Pick your county above; the list starts on Franklin County.
How many Ohio counties does the list cover?
All 88 Ohio counties, each with its Census 2023 Gazetteer internal point and its own time zone.
Does Ohio have more than one time zone?
No. All 88 counties keep Eastern time. The widget still uses each county centre, so Ohio times shift a few minutes from east to west.
How much does sunrise differ across Ohio?
On June 21 the earliest sunrise is 5:49 a.m. in Ashtabula County and the latest 6:13 a.m. in Hamilton County, a 24 minute spread.
How long is the longest day around Columbus?
15 hours 1 minutes on the June solstice in Franklin County; the December solstice gives 9 hours 20 minutes.
Is a major period better than a minor one in Ohio?
For Ohio anglers, solunar theory rates major periods (moon overhead or underfoot, about 2 hours) above minor ones (about 1 hour at moonrise and moonset). It is a traditional guide; Ohio weather and water conditions matter as much.
Why is there no major period on some Ohio days?
Over Ohio the moon passes overhead or underfoot about 50 minutes later each day, so roughly once a month one of the two falls just past midnight and that county day card shows a single major period.
Do solunar times change Ohio fishing rules?
No. Seasons, limits and hours come from the Ohio regulations; see the license and regulations page for Ohio.
Can I check the Ohio times against an official source?
Yes. The US Naval Observatory publishes sun and moon rise, set and transit times for any place and date; enter the county centre coordinates for a Ohio day.