CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Baltimore, MD Daily Water Report — August 23, 2026

Boating is the clear call today, with kayaking right behind it. The scores sit at 9.2 and 8.7, and they are earned the same way: almost no wind, a marine forecast of zero wave height, a light 0.3 meter-per-second current toward the southeast, and no rain on the books. Diving holds 8.4 on that same quiet surface plus warm water, and wildlife watching is an 8. Fishing is a usable 6.6, sailing a light-air 5.6, and surfing a 4.5 that cannot climb off a flat forecast. Those numbers are suitability scores, not a safety stamp. Open-Meteo’s current read is a 2-knot southwest breeze gusting near 5, with the day expected to run from about 1.7 to 9.8 knots. The sharpest shove is a 13.2-knot gust around 11:00, the one real wrinkle for small craft. Waves, swell, and wind waves are all forecast at 0 meters, calmest in the formal sense near midnight and never leaving that floor. Representative precipitation is 0 millimeters even though a rain window is flagged through evening, cloud cover is only 6 percent, and pressure is 1012 hectopascals and rising through a 1009.6 to 1015.2 range. Air starts near 19 degrees Celsius and is forecast to reach about 29; the representative 19.9 already feels like 22.5 in 93 percent humidity. Atmospheric visibility is 14.1 kilometers, which says nothing about what you will see underwater. NOAA CoastWatch puts marine sea-surface temperature at 27.8 degrees, 0.2 below average. NOAA tides are modest: high 0.56 meters at 04:05, low 0.27 at 11:27, a weaker high of 0.36 at 15:57, and the day’s lowest water, 0.20 meters, at 21:41. Solunar majors run 07:10–09:10 and 19:10–21:10, with minors at 01:40–02:40 and 13:40–14:40. Fishing is built from those periods, tide state, the rising pressure, the easy wind, and whatever clarity is on hand, and it still only reaches the middle of the scale. Wildlife leans on the same solunar windows, proximity to the lows, and light wind. Sailing is held down by the lack of breeze, not by the sky. A waxing gibbous moon, 76 percent lit, rises at 16:25 and covers the evening major. Yesterday’s reconstructed scores had boating at 8.4 and kayaking at 7.8 in warmer, slightly breezier air, so today’s quieter setup lifts both. Diving is unchanged at 8.4. Sailing eases from 6.4 because there is even less to work with. Fishing and surfing are flat day over day. The marine forecast stays at 0 meters through the 29th. The next two days look dry and warm with peak winds around 8 to 10 knots; rain chances rise later, especially the 27th and 28th. Best bet: take the boat or the kayak out in the cool early light