CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Sandy Hook, NJ Daily Water Report — August 28, 2026

Today is a superb day for getting out on the water, especially if you want to launch a boat or a kayak. Conditions are remarkably tranquil—gentle and manageable from start to finish. The main story is the wind. With a representative southeast breeze of just 1 knot and gusts staying below 12 knots, the surface is about as calm as Sandy Hook gets in late summer. Wave heights hold steady around 0.3 to 0.4 meters all day, with the calmest stretch predicted near 10:00 p.m. at just over 0.3 meters. That negligible wind wave component means the small southeast swell at 0.28 meters and 3.75 seconds will be the only real motion you feel—barely a bump. For comparison, yesterday’s representative wind was 9 knots, and though boating still scored well, today’s near-glass is a clear step up. The outgoing tide around the low at 2:49 p.m. will add a modest current of about 0.5 m/s toward the northwest, but it’s nothing that should trouble a paddler or a small runabout. The trade-off: do not expect any surf. With wave heights that low, surfing scores a 4.7/10, and honestly, that’s generous for such small, weak swell. Leave the board at home. Diving, however, looks solid at 7.6/10 despite the high chlorophyll reading—that bloom will cut visibility underwater, but the warm 24.2°C surface temperature and light wind make entry comfortable. The full moon overhead (100% illumination, rising at 7:42 p.m.) will pull strong tides, so time your dive around slack water if you can; the low at 2:49 p.m. and following high at 8:46 p.m. offer the slackest periods. Fishing scores a 6.6/10, driven by the solunar minor period overlapping the afternoon low tide—the window from 6:27 to 7:27 a.m. and again from 6:27 to 7:27 p.m. offers the best timed action. Pressure is rising steadily, now at 1016 hPa, which often quiets post-frontal feeding, but the calm water should make for easy reading of structure and surface activity. Wildlife is a 6.8/10; the full moon and low tide expose shoreline habitat, but the wind is so light that birds and seals may be less active than on a breezy day like yesterday’s 8.4/10 score. Looking ahead, Friday’s peak wind jumps to 16.5 knots, making it much less friendly for small craft. Saturday and Sunday look nearly as calm as today, with wave heights bottoming out around 0.2 meters by Sunday. That Monday stretch carries a 45% chance of rain, so get your flat-water fix today. Best bet: launch the kayak or small boat on the afternoon ebb, when the southeast wind is just a whisper and the full moon tide carries you out with barely a ripple.