CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Little Tanaga Strait, off Tana Pt (NOAA PCT5641_1) Daily Water Report — October 5, 2026

Little Tanaga Strait is workable but demanding today: best suited to capable sailors, with fishing and diving reasonable only for crews prepared for cold water and a lumpy ride. Boating and kayaking are more conditional calls, not because the day is wet—it is largely dry—but because the wind and short-period wind waves will keep things busy. NNW wind runs from roughly 7 to 16 knots, with gusts building to about 30 knots around 14:00. That gust spread matters. Combined seas sit near 1.6 m, with a 1.1 m southwest swell at 7 seconds underneath nearly 0.9 m of wind wave at a quick 3.9 seconds. In plain language: enough motion to make the strait feel sharper than the headline wave height suggests. The 8.6 C water is cold, even with SST about 1 C above average, and the 9 C air feels closer to 3.5 C in the wind. The better water window is late evening, when waves ease toward the day’s minimum near 1.3 m around 23:00. Daylight is gone by then—sunset is 20:17—so that is a marine-improvement window rather than an automatic launch invitation. For daylight fishing, the late-morning solunar major period from 09:48 to 11:48 is the cleaner timing play, though wind is likely to become more assertive afterward. The evening minor period, 16:18 to 17:18, arrives before sunset but overlaps the gustier part of the day. Pressure is rising through the day, from an early low near 1008 hPa toward 1025 hPa, while atmospheric visibility is good near 26 km; neither figure tells you what underwater visibility will be. Sailing earns the strongest activity score at 8.1/10, reflecting usable wind despite the gusts and sea state. Diving rates 6.9/10 and fishing 6.6/10, but both carry the cold-water and surface-chop tradeoff. Kayaking at 5.2/10 deserves especially conservative judgment in exposed water. No tide data are available, so do not build a plan around assumed current timing. Tuesday looks notably friendlier, with 1.0–1.3 m waves and peak wind near 13 knots. Wednesday turns rough and wet, then Thursday through Saturday remain unsettled with seas generally above 2 m. Best bet: sail or fish the late-morning window, keep a hard eye on the rising gusts, and treat Tuesday—not today—as the easier water day.