CatchWindow fishing intelligence

South Beach, OR Daily Water Report — October 4, 2026

South Beach gets a qualified green light today: boating and kayaking are the standouts, while fishing and diving have useful windows if you treat the ocean’s short-period chop with proper respect. Light southwest wind—around 2 knots representative, though gusts build toward 11 knots near 6 PM—keeps the surface from getting too unruly. The catch is the sea state: waves run 1.1 to 1.4 m, with an 8.1-second overall period and a 0.64 m wind-wave component at just over three seconds. That is manageable rather than glassy, and it can feel busier than the wind alone suggests. The cleanest all-around window is early, around the 8:22 AM high tide, when waves are forecast to reach their daily minimum near 1.06 m around 8 AM. It also overlaps the 7:15–9:15 AM solunar major period, supporting today’s 7.4/10 fishing estimate. Pressure is steady near 1016 hPa, rain is not indicated, and air temperatures should climb from the low teens into the upper teens Celsius. The reported 12.2 km atmospheric visibility is encouraging for travel and shoreline orientation, but it does not describe underwater visibility. A second worthwhile stretch arrives around the 7:16 PM high tide and the 7:15–9:15 PM major solunar period, though it comes with increasing gust potential and fading light after the 6:55 PM sunset. Shoreline explorers should note the very low 0.03 m tide at 1:13 AM and the lower 1.26 m tide at 1:14 PM; the latter is the practical daylight low-water opportunity, but surf and slick exposed surfaces still deserve caution. Water remains cool at a 14.3 C marine SST, despite running 2.8 C above average. Diving scores 7.5/10 and kayaking 7.9/10, both slightly below yesterday’s reconstructed ratings, while boating improves marginally to 8.2/10. Sailing is only a 5.9/10 proposition: pleasant enough, perhaps, but not much wind to work with. The next two days stay dry and lightly windy, though waves rise to 1.4–1.7 m Monday. A more substantial build follows Wednesday and Thursday, when seas reach 1.6–2.3 m and then 2.2–2.3 m. Best bet: launch early around the morning high tide, when the day’s lowest waves meet the strongest daylight solunar window.