CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Crescent City, CA Daily Water Report — October 4, 2026

Crescent City gets a qualified green light for small-craft time today: kayaking leads the board at 8.5/10 and boating follows at 7.9/10, thanks to exceptionally light northwest wind, no rain indicated, and a modest 1.1–1.4 m sea. It is a calm-air day, not a flat-water day—there is still 1.2 m of wave height around an 8.8-second period, with short-period northwest swell near 1.0 m. Respect the shoreward consequences of that distinction. The best all-around window is late morning into early afternoon, after the 7:53 AM high tide and around the day’s calmest projected seas near 1 PM, when wave height bottoms near 1.14 m. Wind remains light through the day, though gusts build modestly toward a 5.6-knot high around 4 PM. The afternoon tide turns upward after the 12:41 PM low and reaches a stronger 1.95 m high at 6:30 PM, useful timing context for shoreline plans but not a substitute for checking conditions at the water. Fishing rates a solid 7.4/10, with the 7:16–9:16 AM solunar major period lining up neatly with the morning high. A second major period runs 7:16–9:16 PM, after sunset but within dusk’s tail end at 7:24 PM. Pressure is rising near 1016 hPa, another favorable piece of the fishing score’s supplied inputs. Diving also comes in at 7.4/10, but the 12.9 C marine water and persistent swell deserve full attention. Atmospheric visibility is only 0.1 km under complete cloud cover; that is a serious navigation and lookout limitation, not a reading of underwater visibility. Sailing is merely middling at 5.2/10: the breeze is so light that getting moving may be the challenge. Wildlife scores 7.1/10, with the low-tide neighborhood around 12:41 PM and light wind offering the better shoreline-exploring setup. Compared with the recent reconstructed history, today is notably calmer in wind than the 4.4–8.7 knot stretch of the previous several days, and the activity scores reflect it—especially kayaking. Seas begin building tomorrow and rise more decisively through midweek, reaching 2.1–2.3 m Thursday and Friday despite continued light winds. Best bet: launch early, use the gentle late-morning air, and treat the low cloud and steady swell with more respect than the wind forecast suggests.