CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Galveston Bay Entrance, North Jetty, TX Daily Water Report — October 4, 2026

A solid, workable water day—best for sailing and boating, with enough breeze to keep things moving but not enough sea to make the entrance feel like a washing machine. Sailing leads the board at 8.1/10, boating follows at 7.5, while fishing, kayaking, and diving sit in the respectable-but-selective range. Those are suitability estimates, not a substitute for judgment around the jetty and inlet current. The NNE wind is running near 10 knots, with a 9–12 knot daily range and stronger overnight gusts that reached 21 knots around 3 AM. Seas are modest but not glassy: 0.5–0.8 m through the day, settling to the day’s calmest 0.48 m near 7 PM. The short-period mix—0.48 m waves at 3.9 seconds, plus 0.26 m wind waves at 2.1 seconds—can still make for a choppy ride in exposed water, particularly for paddlers. The ocean current is forecast around 0.22 m/s toward 207 degrees, another reason to give the entrance proper respect rather than treating it like a protected bay launch. For anglers, the sharper windows are the sunrise major period from 7:14–9:14 AM and the evening major period from 7:14–9:14 PM, with the latter lining up nicely with the easing seas. Pressure is rising from a low near 1012 hPa toward 1016.5 hPa, and the 4:55 PM low tide offers a useful shoreline-timing reference. Fishing scores better than yesterday’s 5.8, at 6.7/10, though wind and available clarity factors keep it from becoming a banner forecast. Diving rates 7/10 in warm 28.9 C marine water, but very high chlorophyll at 5.07 mg/m³ signals bloom conditions; that is not a read on marine life, and it may be a tradeoff for water clarity. Atmospheric visibility is forecast at 13.5 km, which says nothing definite about what you will see underwater. Compared with recent CatchWindow estimates, sailing is nearly steady from yesterday, boating has improved, and kayaking has edged up, though it remains below the lighter-wind days earlier in the week. Monday through Wednesday look like the cleaner run, with 0.3–0.7 m waves; conditions turn rougher Thursday and especially Friday as winds and seas build. Best bet: take the evening window for a boat or sail, when the day’s lowest seas meet the second major solunar period.