CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Portland, ME Daily Water Report — September 4, 2026

Boating and sailing take the day on Portland water. Scores sit at 7.8 and 7.5 on a dry, cloudless Friday with a representative west-northwest breeze near 7 knots, almost no wind sea, and a modest 0.6-to-0.8-meter wave field. Fishing, kayaking, and wildlife watching land at 6.1, surfing at 6.3—workable, not special. Diving is unscored and stays off the card. Open-Meteo’s mix of current conditions and forecast shows air from 16.4 to 26.6 C, a representative 21.7 C that feels about the same, dew point 13.9 C, and 28.7 km of atmospheric visibility under a 0 percent cloud deck. No rain is indicated. Pressure is 1008 hPa and falling through a 1007.3–1011.0 hPa range, a small drag in the fishing methodology that already leans on solunar timing, wind, and whatever clarity is available. Marine water is 19.2 C. Swell is 0.64 meters at 5.65 seconds from 121 degrees, with a 0.7 m/s current toward 76 degrees. Waves barely change all day; the minimum is 0.64 meters near 22:00, which is night water, not a daytime gift. The useful windows sit around the solunar majors, 05:36–07:36 and 17:36–19:36, bracketing sunrise at 06:08 and sunset at 19:15. Wind stays in a 1-to-10-knot band for most of the daylight, then the strongest gust, 18.3 knots, arrives at 18:00—right as the evening major opens. That is the tradeoff: better breeze for a sail, choppier timing for a small boat or kayak. Last-quarter moon, 53 percent lit, does not rise until 22:17, so dusk at 19:45 goes dark. Surfing’s 6.3 is the short-period swell talking, not a building set. Compared with reconstructed CatchWindow scores, sailing has bounced from yesterday’s 5.4 after a light-air Thursday. Boating is a tick above 7.6. Kayaking and wildlife have eased from 7.0 and 7.8, fishing from 6.6, as the air warmed and pressure dropped from 1015.7 hPa. Late August fishing sat a bit higher, in the 6.8–7.4 band. Saturday cools to 15.8–21.1 C with a 12.6-knot peak and 0.5–0.6-meter waves, still little rain. Through the 8th, seas flatten toward 0.2–0.3 meters and winds ease; rain chances and a building sea return on the 9th and 10th. Best bet: put a hull under sail before that 18:00 gust and let the night swell go unanswered.