CatchWindow fishing intelligence

New London, CT Daily Water Report — October 8, 2026

New London gets a qualified green light for getting on the water, with boating the standout at 8.3/10 and a decent 7/10 for kayaking. It is not a glassy day, though: short-period wind waves are doing most of the work, around 0.58 m at 2.9 seconds, with total seas near 0.66 m. That is manageable for many crews, but it will feel busier than the modest 5-knot representative SSW wind suggests. The best all-round window is late afternoon into evening, after the 2:42 PM low tide and before or around the 8:28 PM high. Winds ease from the morning’s sharper edge, when gusts are forecast to top out near 24 knots around 9 AM, and seas fall toward their daily minimum near 0.36 m around 11 PM. If you are launching early, give the gust spread proper respect; a 4-to-12-knot day can still deliver a rude surprise when the gusts arrive. Fishing rates 6.4/10, with the strongest solunar major period from 10:05 AM to 12:05 PM and another from 10:05 PM to midnight. Rising pressure, from roughly 1010 to 1016 hPa, is a constructive backdrop, but the morning gusts and choppy short waves make the midday major period more appealing from a comfort standpoint than the first few hours after sunrise. The afternoon low tide also lines up with a 4:35–5:35 PM minor period. These are timing cues, not guarantees. Diving earns 7.5/10, supported by 18.4 C marine water and relatively modest seas, but surface chop remains the tradeoff. Atmospheric visibility is forecast near 14.6 km; that is not a measure of underwater visibility. CoastWatch chlorophyll is very high at 20.13 mg/m³, a bloom-condition signal that may matter for water clarity, without saying anything on its own about marine life activity. Compared with the recent reconstructed CatchWindow record, boating is just shy of yesterday’s 8.5 but remains strong; kayaking is slightly below yesterday’s 7.2, while fishing slips from 7/10. Friday and especially Saturday look calmer, with Saturday’s waves forecast at just 0.1–0.3 m; wetter, more unsettled conditions arrive Sunday and Monday. Best bet: take the boat late today if you must, but save the smooth-water ambitions for Saturday.