How Will the Solar Eclipse Impact Game and Fish?

If you haven't already heard, the Great American Eclipse of 2024 is coming to a spot in the American heartland on April 8, 2024.

As long as you live in the right part of the continental U.S., that is—in the 115-mile wide path of totality (total eclipse) that stretches from Mexico through Texas, on across middle America, and into Maine and the Canadian Maritime provinces. 

With turkey-hunting seasons open or about to open and the spring bass bite on fire in places like Texas, it's intriguing to think about how those species react to the eclipse, and whether it's paternable enough for hunting or fishing success.

We put that idea to an unscientific G&F test in August 2017, the last time parts of the U.S. experienced a total eclipse. While bass fishing through the solar event on a local bass lake, we did see the bite pick up when the shadows arrived, then proclaimed, "The next time a total solar eclipse crosses the country — April 2024 and August 2045, according to scientists — you gotta be at the lake fishing."

I totally agree, and if you'll hang with me for a few more moments, I’ll explain why.

Solar Eclipse Explained

Just what is a solar eclipse? The best explanation I've seen is from Astronomy Magazine, which says that "a solar eclipse is an alignment of the sun, moon and Earth — in that order. The moon, directly between the sun and Earth, casts a shadow on our planet. Its shadow has both an inner and an outer part. If you’re in the dark inner part of that shadow, called the umbra, you’ll see a total eclipse. If you’re in the light outer part, the penumbra, you’ll see a partial eclipse.”

Other interesting facts from Astronomy Magazine is that total eclipses only happen during a new moon and they happen on average 2.38 times per year somewhere on the planet. Even so, given the Earth's huge surface—much of that including the vast oceans—actually seeing a total solar eclipse is exceedingly rare.

For an example, at the University of Texas, UT president Jay Hartzell issued a social media post recently telling students and alumni about Austin being in the path of totality. The last time Austin experienced a total eclipse was in 1397. Yeah, that’s pretty rare.

"A total solar eclipse is a rare spectacular event that everyone should witness at least once in their lifetime. April 8 is an unmissable opportunity for those in North America—so start planning now," wrote noted journalist Jamie Carter in a recent Forbes story.

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Carter, considered an expert on the subject, also said that having a total solar eclipse at any one specific location happens about once every 366 years on average. And even more astounding is that only about one in 10,000 people ever get to witness a total solar eclipse in their lifetime.

While I've seen a partial solar eclipse—the eclipse in 2017, when I wrote about its effects for Game & Fish Magazine's sister publication, In-Fisherman—that's the closest I've ever come.

Eclipse in My Backyard

This time, I'm much closer to the eclipse’s path since I live in North Texas, my home lying only about 15 miles from the back edge of the path of totality. So on April 8, my wife and I will be making a moderate drive east of our home to get into the middle of the path, where the total eclipse will last just under five minutes. And yes, springtime cloud cover could ruin the whole thing. I'm hoping and praying for clear skies and sunny weather that day.

If you live outside that zone, never fear since the University of Dallas says that everyone in the continental U.S. will experience at least a partial eclipse. But don’t expect to see the street lights come on in the middle of the day, or the fabled “ring of fire” experience as the sun gets blocked by the moon. To see that—and the “diamond ring” phenomenon as the last of the sun gets obscured—you’ll have to be in that path of totality.

Now, with that backstory complete, on to the main idea here and what effect the solar eclipse might have on hunting and fishing in the American outdoors world in just a few days.

Impacts on Hunting and Fishing?

One thing that will be different this time for the total eclipse’s shadow that will cross the United States at a speed of more than 1,000 mph is that spring turkey season will be open in many places as the path of totality starts its American journey at the Texas/Mexico border. 

That means that hunters in Texas' Rio Grande North Zone and in the Lone Star State's Rio Grande South Zone, along with Illinois' South Zone—which will actually open up on April 8—will have an incredibly rare opportunity to harvest either a Rio Grande or an Eastern turkey gobbler during this total eclipse.

Some incredibly lucky hunter might actually get the thrill of a lifetime, in fact, pulling the trigger on a longbeard as the eclipse occurs. Others might get to see the potential for some confused behavior from gobblers and hens who might mistake the sudden darkness for twilight and go to roost, only to fly down again after the shortest night ever for a longbeard.

That thought is worth considering if you’re turkey hunting in Texas or southern Illinois on the day of the eclipse, since you might be able to intercept a confused gobbler heading back to the roost at midday or see Mr. Tom flap his way down again a short while later in the day’s second fly down period.

What about the eclipse and its effects on fishing? Arguably, there could be a noticeable feeding frenzy that happens as the sun gets covered by the moon, the skies suddenly grow dark and the temperature rapidly falls.

That could cause gamefish species—largemouth bass in Texas, rainbow and brown trout in Arkansas, smallmouths and crappie in the Midwest all come to mind—to believe that sundown has somehow slipped up on them. As air temps drop, that could stimulate a feeding activity that anglers might expect to see in the late evening.

Real Scientific Tests

Don't laugh too hard at this idea, because as the 2017 eclipse crossed Missouri, Tim Reinbott, who was at the time the director of field operations at the Central Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center research farm operated by the University of Missouri, actually ran a series of scientific experiments when the eclipse happened on Aug. 21 of that year.

On a typical scorching-hot, late-summer day, Reinbott and his research associates found that as the sun got blocked, the air temperature dipped and farm animals reacted, including chickens that left areas of complete shade. Horses also were affected, including the foals at the farm, that "...just went crazy."

Reinbott's comments can be found at LiveScience.com. He described how the eclipse reaching totality over Missouri brought a noticeable change to insects, which of course, a lot of fish eat each day.

While some observers at the research farm recorded changes to certain plants, others found a reduction in the buzzing of bees during the eclipse. Reinbott himself noted a change in the behavior of another insect that usually makes a lot of racket in the late summer months: "Right before the eclipse, the cicadas, the insects got really loud, and then when it got to the eclipse everything went silent. It was kind of eerie."

How about the fish in the area? Yup, Reinbott said there was a noticeable effect there too.

"Right before totality, boom, the big fish started hitting!," he said after talking with friends and colleagues out fishing in the area as totality happened. He also noted that the sudden uptick in angling success likely happened because big gamefish like largemouth bass tend to feed early in the morning and late in the evening when the sun's light is dim. Because of the sudden loss of daylight, Reinbott said fish were likely confused. 

One of the 2017 eclipse’s most interesting outdoors stories happened when photographer and fly angler Trey Mullen grabbed his fly rod and camera on Aug. 21, 2017. Mullen and his angling buddy Adam Crowson went fly fishing on the North Platte River in Wyoming, hoping to get the perfect fishing memory and a great photograph too.

In his Instagram post about the experience, Mullen wrote "Out troutin' with @crashcrowson on the #solareclipse2017 #flyfishing."

When the eclipse reached totality there on the famed blue ribbon trout stream, Mullen and Crowson got exactly what they had been looking for and then some. As Mullen told the online fly fishing website Flylords, just prior to midday, the stars aligned for their angling expedition. Well, at least one star did.

"We fished all morning, took a few breaks from about 10:20-11:30 to check out the eclipse," Mullen indicated in the Flylords story. "We knew the peak of the eclipse was due around 11:45. So, we started fishing again.”

That decision to get back at it proved to be memorable indeed. 

"The heavens literally aligned today for this shot, about 3 minutes before totality (well, our 96 percent totality here),” observed Mullen. “Adam sight-casted to this nice brown feeding on the surface, ate a #20 Trico spinner. We landed him, I laid about neck deep in water to get the necessary angle, Adam hoisted the trout, I snapped a handful of different exposures with an ND filter, set the fish free, a little photo blending later, this image!"

For a couple of fly anglers troutin’ in Wyoming, the last great eclipse certainly provided the angling opportunity and fishing photograph of a lifetime. 

And the guess here is that the 2024 version of the total eclipse will do the same thing for some lucky hunters and anglers somewhere in the American heartland as the skies suddenly go dark for a few minutes and the air temperature abruptly cools down.

I plan to be one of those out there seeking that amazing outdoor opportunity and photographic experience and so should you.

Hey boss, can I have the day off on April 8? All in the name of work and science, of course!

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