CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Philadelphia, PA Daily Water Report — August 23, 2026

Kayaking and small-boat work own Sunday around Philadelphia. The day’s scores put kayaking at 8.8 and boating at 8.5, a clear nod to light air, a flat marine surface, and a rain window that is already done by breakfast. Those numbers are suitability, not a safety stamp. Surfing sits at 4.5 on a forecast of no usable sea, sailing only 5.1 in thin, cloudy wind, fishing a middling 5.8, and wildlife 6.2. Diving is not scored, so it stays off the card. Current and forecast conditions for the 23rd describe a quiet, overcast water day. Representative wind is 4 knots from the south-southwest, gusting to 6, inside a 1.2-to-8.6-knot range, with the strongest gust 14.2 knots at 15:00. Wave height, swell, and wind waves are all 0 meters, current is slack in the marine feed, and the only rain window is 03:00–04:00 against a representative precipitation of zero. Air runs 19.0–28.6 C, representative 21.6 C and feeling like 23.7 C, under 94 percent cloud, 82 percent humidity, and stable pressure near 1013 hPa. Atmospheric visibility is 25.7 km; that is not a read on the water column. UV is 0. Tide data is unavailable, and so is marine water temperature. The useful windows follow the light wind and the solunar clock the fishing and wildlife scores actually use. Majors run 07:04–09:04 and 19:04–21:04; minors sit at 01:34–02:34 and 13:34–14:34, the latter just before that midafternoon gust. Dawn is 04:51, sunrise 05:20, sunset 18:49, dusk 19:18. A waxing gibbous moon, 76 percent lit, rises at 16:22. Cloud cover is the honest tradeoff: it helps keep the day gray and humid, and it is part of why sailing cannot climb even with a glassy surface. Yesterday’s reconstructed comparison looked similar on the water, with fishing, surfing, and wildlife matching today’s scores, kayaking a touch lower at 8.5, boating a bit higher at 9.1, and sailing stronger at 6.5 in slightly firmer 4.8-knot air and 1014.7 hPa. Through the 29th the marine forecast stays at 0 meters. The 24th through 26th look mostly dry with peak winds near 10 knots and cooler mornings; rain chances jump to 59 percent on the 27th and 28th before easing. Best bet: launch the kayak or small boat after the predawn drip and be off the water before that 15:00 gust, while the surface is still doing nothing at all.