CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Southbank Riverwalk, St Johns River, FL Daily Water Report — August 23, 2026

Boating and paddling take Southbank Riverwalk today, and the scores leave little to argue. Open-Meteo’s current conditions and forecast put representative wind at just 3 knots from the south, gusting to 5, inside a day that only ranges from 2.5 to 8.6 knots. The marine forecast is essentially flat—wave height, swell, and wind waves all sit at 0 meters—and no rain is indicated. That mix of light air, no sea, slack current, and a dry sky is why boating reaches 9.4 and kayaking 9.0. Those numbers describe suitability, not a safety guarantee. The same hush that flatters small craft starves a surf session, which stays at 4.5 on empty wave height and period. Sailing only manages 5.8 because there is little breeze to work, even with cloud cover near 5 percent. Diving still looks inviting at 8.3, built from the light wind, flat water, and a NOAA CoastWatch surface temperature of 28.7 C, running 1.1 degrees above average. Atmospheric visibility stretches 17.1 kilometers; that is air clarity, not a view underwater, and no in-water clarity figure was supplied. Fishing comes in at a serviceable 6.9 from solunar timing, steady pressure around 1015 hPa, the easy wind, and available clarity data. Tide state is unavailable, so it is not part of that score. Wildlife sits at 7.8 on solunar timing and the light wind. The cleanest windows sit on the major solunar periods, 7:31 to 9:31 and again 19:31 to 21:31, with a minor pulse from 14:01 to 15:01. Dawn is 5:34 and sunrise 5:59. Air runs 24.5 to 33.4 C and already feels like 32.7 C in 77 percent humidity, so heat is the tax you pay. A waxing gibbous moon, 76 percent illuminated, rises at 16:17. The day’s strongest gust, 12.4 knots, is forecast at 18:00—still modest, but the one wrinkle if you linger. Yesterday’s reconstructed scores were softer for boating, kayaking, fishing, and wildlife, with more wind at 7.1 knots; sailing had more to work with then. Ahead, the marine forecast stays flat through the 29th, but the 24th already brings a 31 percent rain chance and a hotter ceiling near 35.9 C, then a 71 percent chance on the 25th as peak winds ease toward 10 or 11 knots. Best bet: put a boat or kayak on the river in that still morning solunar window, before the heat fully clocks in.