CatchWindow fishing intelligence

South Beach, OR Daily Water Report — August 24, 2026

South Beach is a boat-and-paddle day first, with a workable surf and a cooler, quieter brief for anyone waiting on wind or a stronger bite. Boating leads the scores at 8.4, kayaking and diving sit at 7.9, wildlife at 7.8, and surfing at 7.3. Fishing is only a 6.5, and sailing a 5.6 — fair, given a representative 2-knot NNW breeze that barely gusts to 3. Those numbers rank conditions; they are not a safety stamp. The air stays easy. Forecast winds run 1.4 to 6.8 knots, with the strongest gust 8.9 knots around 15:00, so the morning and late evening are the gentlest stretches. Waves hold a tight 1.1–1.2 meters, period about 6.4 seconds, with a 1-meter swell from 321 degrees at a short 4.7 seconds and only 0.34-meter wind chop. The day’s smallest seas arrive near 23:00 at 1.06 meters. A 0.3 m/s current sets toward 315. Skies are mostly clear, rain is not indicated, and atmospheric visibility is 18.2 kilometers — that is air, not the view underwater. Air warms from 10.3 to 24.1 C; marine SST is 13.6 C, about 3.3 degrees above average, still brisk for long immersions. Tide and timing matter more than the breeze. The 04:55 low is a skinny 0.09 meters, useful for the wildlife score’s low-tide lean, with a minor solunar pulse just before it. The morning major, 09:18–11:18, rides into the 1.84-meter high at 11:49. A second low at 16:38 (1.13 meters) overlaps the afternoon minor, and the evening major, 21:18–23:18, sits under the 2.30-meter high at 22:34 and the calmest water. Pressure is 1014 hPa and falling, one reason fishing slipped from 7.1 yesterday. Boating and kayaking improved on yesterday’s 7.9 and 7.2, and they are well above the 22nd, when 7.4-knot wind cut those scores. The next several days stay mostly dry with single-digit peaks. Waves ease to 0.8–1.0 meters on the 25th and 26th, then build toward 1.2–1.4 meters by the 30th. Best bet: take a quiet boat or kayak between the morning high and dusk, and leave the sail cover on.