CatchWindow fishing intelligence

North Spit, CA Daily Water Report — October 4, 2026

North Spit gets a qualified green light today: the light wind and dry forecast make it a notably workable day for boating, kayaking, diving, and fishing, but the 1.3–1.4 m sea state is still the boss. This is not a flat-water day, even if the breeze is behaving itself. The best all-around stretch is from the morning high tide at 8:05 AM through the early-afternoon low at 12:43 PM, when winds remain light and the pressure is rising toward 1016 hPa. Fishing carries the day’s top practical score at 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 near the 6:42 PM high tide; useful timing, but it comes with darkness and should not be treated as a safety endorsement. Boating scores 7.2/10 and kayaking 7.3/10, supported by winds generally under 6 knots, minimal wind chop, no rain indicated, and a weak west-setting current around 0.06 m/s. The tradeoff is the short-period northwest swell: 1.1 m at five seconds can keep nearshore water active and make launches, landings, and exposed shoreline work more demanding than the wind forecast suggests. The calmest wave height is only marginally lower, about 1.28 m near 4 PM. Diving also rates 7.4/10, a slight improvement over yesterday’s 7.3, with 14.3 C surface water and light wind helping the score. Still, cloud cover is complete, and the reported 12.2 km atmospheric visibility says nothing about underwater visibility. Bring proper thermal protection; the water remains cool despite running about 2 C above average. Compared with recent CatchWindow estimates, fishing has improved sharply from yesterday’s 6.1, while boating is steady and kayaking is just a touch below yesterday. Sailing is merely fair at 6/10: enough breeze to move, perhaps, but not much to work with. The next few days stay light-wind and mostly dry, but seas build from 1.4–1.6 m Monday to 2.2–2.5 m by Thursday, with potentially larger conditions Saturday. Best bet: fish the morning high, then let the low wind—not the lively swell—set your expectations.