CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Redwood City, CA Daily Water Report — October 5, 2026

Redwood City gets an emphatic green light for boats and paddles today, with unusually placid marine conditions doing most of the heavy lifting. Boating rates 9.6/10 and kayaking 9.3/10: waves, swell and wind waves are all forecast at 0 m, while winds range from barely there to 8.6 knots. That is a fine recipe for easy handling, though the strongest gusts arrive around 6 PM and reach 10.5 knots—still modest, but enough to make a late return less glassy than the morning launch. The best all-around window is from shortly after dawn through the late-morning high tide. First light begins around 6:42 AM, sunrise is 7:08 AM, and the tide rises to 2.16 m at 9:43 AM. That overlaps the 8:05–10:05 AM solunar major period, helping lift fishing to 7/10 and wildlife to 7.4/10. Pressure is steady near 1013 hPa, skies are forecast clear, and no rain is indicated. Atmospheric visibility is a generous 21.1 km, useful for navigation and shoreline awareness, but it should not be mistaken for underwater visibility. Divers get a solid 7.5/10, supported by calm water, light wind and a 17.5 C sea-surface temperature. The tradeoff is water quality uncertainty: chlorophyll is very high at 6.48 mg/m³, a bloom-condition reading that can affect available clarity. It does not tell us what is happening below the surface, so treat the diving score as a planning guide rather than a visibility guarantee. The 0.93 m afternoon low at 3:04 PM also offers a useful shoreline-exploring tide window, with a minor solunar period from 2:35–3:35 PM. Sailing is pleasant but not thrilling at 6.2/10; the same light-air setup that flatters kayaks leaves little power in the canvas. Compared with the recent run, boating and kayaking are at or near their best marks, fishing improves from yesterday’s 6.7, and diving holds steady at 7.5. The next several days remain dry, warm and flat, with peak winds generally under 9 knots through Saturday before a breezier Sunday. Best bet: launch after dawn, work the rising tide into the 8:05–10:05 AM window, and enjoy water so calm it may make your paddle feel overdressed.