CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Charleston, OR Daily Water Report — September 5, 2026

Charleston’s water is in a cooperative mood today, and the scores say so without dressing it up as a safety stamp. Boating leads at 8.2, surfing sits at 7.9, kayaking at 7.7, and fishing and diving both at 7.6. Wildlife is a quieter 6.7. Sailing is the exception at 5.6: a representative west wind of 2 knots, ranging only 0.6 to 6.6 knots with an 8-knot gust around 15:00, fills almost nothing. That same light air is exactly why hulls and paddles look so good. The fishing window worth planning around is the morning solunar major from 07:26 to 09:26, not long after the 06:46 sunrise, with a second major from 19:26 to 21:26 as sunset comes at 19:49. Stable pressure near 1016 hPa and the light wind are what that score can actually use; tide data did not arrive, so the picture stays incomplete. Boats and kayaks get a wide daylight run: no rain is indicated, cloud cover is only about 9 percent, and the current is a modest 0.4 m/s toward 207 degrees. Waves hold 1.2 to 1.6 meters on a period near 9 seconds, with a northwest swell of 1.02 meters at 6.6 seconds from 306 degrees and essentially no wind sea. That is enough energy for a respectable surf score without turning the day chaotic. The lowest wave height is 1.16 meters near 23:00, which is after dark and not an invitation to linger. The tradeoff is temperature. Air runs 11.2 to 17.5 C, representative near 12 C and feeling like 11.6 C, with humidity around 89 percent. Sea-surface temperature is 14.9 C, 2.2 C above average, still chilly for long immersions even as diving holds 7.6 on light wind and manageable seas. The 12.2-kilometer atmospheric visibility is not a look underwater. This is a rebound from 3 September, when 12.8-knot wind dropped boating to 3.3 and kayaking to 2.4. Yesterday’s already quiet 2.9 knots set up today’s further lift; fishing eases from yesterday’s 8.1, and surfing holds at 7.9. Tomorrow looks similar and a touch smaller, waves 0.9 to 1.2 meters and peak wind 6.4 knots. By 7 September the breeze jumps to 12.8 knots, then 15.4 on the 8th, with seas building toward 1.3 to 1.7 meters by the 9th. Best bet: put a boat or a board on this thin west wind before the week remembers how to blow.