CatchWindow fishing intelligence

New Bedford Harbor, MA Daily Water Report — August 23, 2026

New Bedford Harbor favors the in-and-on-the-water crowd today, not anyone hunting real swell or a sailing breeze. Diving leads at 8.8 and boating is close behind at 8.6, with kayaking a solid 7.5. Fishing sits at 6.7, sailing and wildlife in the low sixes, and surfing a modest 5.4. Those are suitability scores, not a safety clearance. Current conditions and the Open-Meteo forecast keep the air easy: a representative 4 knots from the southeast, gusting near 7, with the day’s wind only 2.6 to 7.1 knots until a late 13-knot gust around 23:00. Representative air is 20.2 C under nearly clear skies, ranging 18.9 to 23.7 C, humidity a sticky 91 percent, and no measurable rain despite a 13:00 timestamp. Pressure is 1012 hPa and falling through 1009.5 to 1014.2 hPa, which, with the light wind, is the kind of setup that leaves fishing merely decent rather than sharp. Atmospheric visibility is 12.6 km; that is not a read on the water column. The marine forecast holds waves at a representative 0.54 m and 3.7 seconds, ranging 0.2 to 0.6 m, with the day’s minimum near 03:00 at 0.18 m. Swell is only 0.3 m at 3.35 seconds from the south, wind waves shorter still, and a 0.6 m/s current sets toward 198 degrees. Water is 22.1 C, about a degree above average. Short period and small height are why surfing cannot climb, and the same light air that helps boats and divers leaves sailing hungry. Against yesterday’s reconstructed scores, diving holds at 8.8 and boating improves from 8.1. Fishing and surfing tick up from 5.8 and 4.5; kayaking, sailing, and wildlife ease off from 7.9, 6.5, and 7.5. Yesterday ran 20.6 C, 6.6 knots, and a higher 1015.6 hPa. Use the solunar majors at 06:46–08:46 and 18:46–20:46 if you are fishing or watching the shoreline; minors fall at 01:16–02:16 and 13:16–14:16. Sun is up 05:00 to 18:35, with a waxing gibbous moon rising 16:11. The next several days stay mostly dry and modestly wavy, warming into the mid-20s C with peak winds near 11 to 12 knots Monday and Tuesday, then lighter midweek before rain chances rise late week. Best bet: take the quiet morning water and treat this as a dive-and-small-boat harbor day, not a surf or canvas day.