CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Panama City Beach, FL Daily Water Report — August 23, 2026

Panama City Beach draws a quiet, almost glassy day that belongs to boats, paddlers, and divers more than anyone waiting on a ride. Diving leads at 8.9 and boating sits at 8.8, with kayaking a useful 7.7. Surfing stalls at 4.5 on a 0.2-to-0.4-meter sea that never finds period, sailing only reaches 6.1 in the light air, and fishing holds a merely serviceable 6.3. West-northwest wind is running around 4 knots, generally 1 to 8 through the day, under 1-percent cloud and a stable 1015-hectopascal pressure with no rain indicated. Waves sit near 0.3 meters at a short 3.75 seconds, swell about 0.26 meters from the west-southwest, and the calmest water arrives near 13:00 at 0.22 meters—that midday lull is the cleanest window for diving and small-craft work. Marine surface temperature is 30.2 C, half a degree above average. A 0.5-meter-per-second current setting toward the southeast is the main in-water tradeoff if you are drifting or holding station. Ashore the tax is heat: a representative 28.3 C that feels like 35 in 90-percent humidity, ranging 26.3 to 33.7 C, even with 13.7 kilometers of atmospheric visibility. Yesterday’s reconstructed history was windier at 9.3 knots, which lifted sailing to 8.8 and left kayaking at 5.1. Today’s lighter air flips that script while diving stays at 8.9 and fishing eases from 6.9. The 04:53 high and the 07:48–09:48 solunar major bookend the morning for anglers; the second major after 19:48 follows the 17:28 low, which also feeds the wildlife score of 6. Gusts build toward 12.4 knots around 22:00, the sloppier edge of an otherwise easy marine day. Looking ahead, highs stay in the low 30s, peak winds rise to about 12 knots tomorrow, and rain chances climb into the 30-to-45-percent range through midweek. Waves remain small, then flatten further from the 26th on. Best bet: spend the midday calm on a dive or an easy boat run, and leave the board on the rack.