CatchWindow fishing intelligence

New Bedford Harbor, MA Daily Water Report — September 5, 2026

New Bedford Harbor is a dive-and-boat day, not a surf or fishing day. Diving leads at 8.8, sailing at 8.5, and boating at 8.4, with kayaking a workable 6.9. Surfing sits at 4.7 and fishing at 5.5; wildlife is a middling 6.2. Those figures describe relative fit, not a safety pass. The sea is small. Forecast waves run 0.2 to 0.4 meters at about 4.2 seconds, with a 0.22-meter swell from the south and even shorter wind waves. The calmest reading is 0.24 meters near 23:00. A 0.2 m/s current sets west. Representative wind is 9 knots from the north, gusting to 12, across a 3.4-to-10.8-knot range; the sharpest gust, 21 knots at 07:00, is the morning’s tax. Air is around 22 C under 39 percent cloud, no rain, and a rising 1009 hPa. Atmospheric visibility is 25 km—that is not underwater clarity. Water temperature is 20.3 C, a touch below average; the marine forecast lists 22.6 C. Go after the early gust fades, through the 1.22-meter high at 15:23 and on toward sunset at 19:14. Dawn is 05:45, sunrise 06:14. Solunar majors overlap the 0.19-meter low at 08:00 (06:42–08:42) and again 18:42–20:42 toward the late low, which is why fishing still gets a look even on a 5.5 built from solunar timing, tide, pressure, wind, and available clarity. Short period and modest height keep surfing muted. Sailing and boating take the extra breeze, the tiny sea, and a dry sky; diving keeps riding quiet, temperate water. Reconstructed scores show diving locked at 8.8 since at least August 29. Sailing is the jump—6.4 yesterday and mostly the low-to-mid 5s earlier—while fishing has eased from the 6.9s of September 1–3. Wildlife fell from 8.1 yesterday in lighter wind. Boating sits near the top of its recent range. Sunday through Tuesday stay quiet, with peak winds around 6 to 9 knots and waves still under a third of a meter. Wednesday and Thursday add 16-to-18-knot peaks and waves building toward a meter. Best bet: take a boat or tanks this afternoon, while the harbor is still this small and the northerly is still polite.