Fish Hoek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s coming up at Fish Hoek.

First up, the water’s a bit cooler than usual for this time of year, sitting at 58°, which is a touch nippy – about 3° colder than average. So you’ll want a decent suit.

The pattern for the next couple of weeks is a real mixed bag. We get a few glimpses of clean surf, but a lot of it is messy onshore stuff, especially in the middle of the run.

Friday the 21st is a write-off – we’ve got a 3ft cross-onshore chop with weak energy (398) and it’s just poor conditions. No good.

But Saturday the 22nd is where it starts to turn. Saturday morning we have a little 4ft SSW swell, clean with a cross-offshore NNW breeze. The energy is moderate (430) and the 11-second period gives it a bit of shape. Then Saturday afternoon the wind goes fully offshore from the NW with the same 4ft SW swell – that’s clean and fun, though energy drops a touch to 336. That afternoon session is the first real standout of the period.

Sunday the 23rd gets a bump in size to 5ft, but the SSE wind is cross-on and only light, leaving a bit of ripple. It’s marginal and the tide might be a pain.

Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th are poor. Tuesday morning has a solid 6ft SW groundswell (14-second period) and big energy at 1243, but that strong cross-onshore wind makes it choppy and lumpy – expert only if you’re desperate, but honestly not worth it.

Wednesday the 26th is poor with 5ft onshore windswell, short 8-second period, and onshore wind. Not good.

Then we get a nice little window. Thursday the 27th afternoon has a 3ft S swell with a WNW offshore wind – clean and glassy enough, energy at 391. But the real gem is Friday the 28th morning. That’s glassy conditions with a 3ft S groundswell, 14-second period, and 731 energy. That’s going to be clean, smooth, and have some push. Best morning of the whole outlook. Friday afternoon stays glassy too with 3ft SW.

After that, it gets messy again. Saturday the 29th has strong cross-offshore winds and a building 7ft swell by afternoon, but with strong breeze and rain, it’s poor. Sunday the 30th morning sees a big 8ft SW swell with 2079 energy – that’s going to be too big for most, and the cross-shore wind won’t help. Only for experts with big balls.

Then there’s a long stretch of poor conditions until Tuesday the 1st of September. That morning is glassy again with a 5ft SW groundswell (14-second period) and 1009 energy – that’s another standout. Clean, good power, very good conditions. Tuesday afternoon stays glassy with 5ft.

Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd are marginal but clean with offshore winds – the swell holds around 4-6ft, but it’s not as clean as the glassy days. Thursday afternoon has a light offshore with 5ft WSW swell, which could be a fun little session.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th are back to poor or marginal onshore junk.

Overall, the two true standouts are Friday morning 28th August (3ft S, 14s, glassy, 731 energy) and Tuesday morning 1st September (5ft SW, 14s, glassy, 1009 energy). Those are the ones to circle.

Fish Hoek is a fairly consistent beginner-friendly spot, but with a cross-onshore wind it turns into a choppy mess, so you really need that offshore or glassy window. Crowds can be a problem here when it’s good, so get there early.

Rusty.

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