CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Pilots Station East, S.W. Pass, LA Daily Water Report — August 24, 2026

Pilots Station East at S.W. Pass is a boat day first, a paddle day second, and a surf day only if you enjoy practicing patience. Boating leads at 8.6, up from 7.9 yesterday and 7.6 the day before, on light-to-moderate wind, tiny seas, a 0.5 m/s southeast-setting current, a dry forecast, and a cloudless sky. Kayaking sits at 7.3, a clear step up from yesterday’s 5.9. Those scores describe conditions, not permission; the water still gets the last word. The sea state is the story. Forecast waves run only 0.2–0.3 m, calmest near 12:00 at 0.2 m, with a short 4.25 s period and a 0.12 m swell from 168 degrees. Representative wind is a polite 5 kn from the west-southwest, but the day stretches from 3.6 to 16.1 kn, and the strongest gust, 20.6 kn, is timed for 19:00. Use the quieter morning and midday; treat late afternoon as the ride home. Surfing stays a 5.1 because height, period, and that light swell simply do not add up. Sailing is a middling 6.7, well off yesterday’s 8.2, on a breeze that is light and inconsistent until that evening kick. High water is a modest 0.48 m at 06:49, falling to 0.01 m at 17:51. Fishing is 6.9, down from yesterday’s 7.8, working off solunar majors at 08:54–10:54 and 20:54–22:54, that tide swing, stable pressure near 1015 hPa, and the wind field. Wildlife is 7.1 on those solunar windows, proximity to the evening low, and the lighter air. Diving holds at 6.7 for a third straight day on small seas and warm water; marine SST is 31.4 C, about a degree above average. Atmospheric visibility of 24.5 km is not underwater clarity. Chlorophyll is very high at 21.57 mg/m³ under bloom conditions. Air runs 27.1–33.4 C, skies are clear, and no rain is indicated. Through the 30th the marine forecast stays small, 0.1–0.3 m, while rain chances rise into the 30–40 percent range and hit 58 percent on the 28th. Best bet: launch on the morning high, work the noon calm, and be in before that 19:00 gust.