CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Chatham, MA Daily Water Report — August 28, 2026

If you want to get on or in the water today, make it a diving day. With an 8.7 out of 10, underwater conditions are the clear standout across the board, and the window around the midday low tide looks especially appealing. The surface might not look pristine—southeast wind at 7 knots, gusting to 11, has the bay textured with 0.6-meter waves rolling in on a short 5-second period—but the water column itself is stable. Sea surface temperature is a seasonable 20.1°C, a tenth of a degree off the norm, and the wind is just enough to keep the surface from going glassy without stirring up the bottom in a meaningful way. The real diving opportunity opens up during the 11:00 to 13:00 window, when the waves dip to their calmest reading of 0.5 meters and the outgoing tide strips away the slack water. That morning ebb drops to a negative low tide at 07:20, so plan for a later entry if you want decent depth and clarity. Fishing and sailing both hover in the solid 7s, and they represent the next-best options if you are staying above the surface. The solunar setup is interesting: a full moon overhead means stronger tidal swings, and the major feeding period from 11:41 to 13:41 overlaps nicely with the high tide at 13:01. That hour around noon, when the flood is still building and the wind is lightest, should offer the most productive fishing window of the day. The downside? That full moon also pulls the tides hard, which can scatter fish during the extremes of peak high and low. If you are sailing, the southeast breeze is consistent enough to keep the sails full, but the gusts will keep you on your toes. Boating at 6.9 is workable, though the 13-knot gust potential later in the evening is a heads-up for anyone planning a sunset run. Surfing and kayaking both land at 5.6—doable but uninspiring, with that short-period swell and onshore wind chopping up the ride. Compared to the string of recent days, today’s dive score stays in the same elite 8.7-to-8.8 range that has held for a week straight. The water is essentially unchanged from yesterday’s 20.1°C, and the wind is actually lighter than Tuesday’s 8.9 knots. What changed is the boating score, which dropped from a solid 7.4 on Wednesday to 6.9 today—those stronger gusts and the full-moon current make handling a boat a little more work. Fishing is a slight step up from yesterday’s 6.0, and the solunar timing is the reason. Looking ahead, Friday keeps the afternoon sea breeze manageable with a peak wind just under 11 knots and waves holding around half a meter. Saturday warms up with a possible 28°C high and a slight uptick in rain chance, but the real shift comes early next week: by Tuesday and Wednesday, wave heights climb toward a meter and winds pick up, so if you have any offshore plans, the weekend is your comfortable window. Today, though, the best bet is to suit up between 11 and 1, slip beneath the chop, and let the full-moon tide do the work for