CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Port Townsend, WA Daily Water Report — October 5, 2026

Port Townsend gets a clear yes for sailing and boating today, with a qualified yes for fishing and a more cautious nod for kayakers. The water is notably small—waves around 0.2 m, ranging only 0.1 to 0.3 m—with a modest 0.08 m northwest swell. That is excellent news for hulls and sails, though the WNW wind builds enough to keep small craft from treating the afternoon like a floating picnic. The best all-around window is early through late morning, roughly dawn to noon. Winds begin light, pressure is rising through a healthy 1018–1021 hPa range, and the high tide arrives at 2:20 PM after a very low -0.07 m low at 5:48 AM. Fishing’s 7.6/10 estimate gets extra support from the 8:06–10:06 AM solunar major period, while the low-tide proximity and light early wind also favor shoreline wildlife viewing. The 14:36–15:36 minor period overlaps the high-water part of the day, but expect more breeze by then. Sailing leads the board at 9.4/10: 11-knot representative WNW wind, gusts to 16 knots, tiny seas, dry weather, and almost no cloud cover offer a rare combination of usable breeze and low chop. Boating is also strong at 8.3/10. Kayaking, at 6.7/10, is the activity most likely to notice the tradeoff: the sea state is friendly, but wind rises toward evening and gusts may reach 19.6 knots around 8 PM. Keep an eye on exposure and return plans rather than trusting the flat-water look alone. Compared with the recent CatchWindow run, sailing improves sharply from 8.5 yesterday and the lower scores earlier last week, while boating remains near its recent strong range. Kayaking slips from yesterday’s 7.3 as the wind becomes the main complication. No diving score is available today, so there is no basis for a diving recommendation. The next two days stay generally dry and manageable, with especially light seas forecast Wednesday. Conditions turn more energetic Thursday, when waves may reach 1.3 m and rain chances rise. Best bet: rig early, fish the morning major period, and be headed in before the evening WNW gusts decide they own the water.