Flies Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Looking at the 16-day stretch ahead, it’s a slow start with a lot of junky conditions before we finally get a few windows of clean, surfable swell at Flies. The first week is pretty grim—tiny waves and onshore chop rule the roost until we see a shift mid-week. There’s a gap of several days here where nothing’s really worth paddling out, but hang in there because Wednesday the 29th of July afternoon and a few mornings in the first week of August offer the best of what’s on the table.

Let’s start with Flies. This is a beach/jetty setup, and for the first several days we’re looking at tiny, messy surf. Friday the 24th of July afternoon, the swell is a pathetic 1ft from the SE with a short, weak period of 8 seconds, and a cross-onshore breeze messing it up—combined energy is a meagre 62. Saturday and Sunday don’t get any better; we’re talking 0.3ft to 1ft swells with choppy cross-shore winds. Monday the 27th of July morning goes glassy, but it’s only 0.7ft of swell, so it’s a flat spell.

Then we finally see a pulse of energy building. The first real standout comes Wednesday the 29th of July afternoon. The swell jumps to 4ft from the south, period 8 seconds, with a clean offshore NW breeze at 9 mph. The combined energy hits 230, which is moderate wave energy. This is the first session where the waves have some push and the wind is working with us—gentle offshore and clean. It’s not huge, but after the dry spell, it’ll feel like a gift. Crowds are possible here, so expect some company.

Thursday the 30th of July holds similar 3ft swell from the SSE, still offshore NW winds, but the energy drops a bit to moderate (103 to 126). Surfable, but not a standout.

Next week, Tuesday the 4th of August morning shapes up as another good call. We get 4ft of south swell, period 9 seconds, with a clean cross-offshore NNE breeze at 9 mph. Combined energy is a solid 245. This is a long-period groundswell, which means better-shaped waves and more power, but it might wall up a bit at the beach break. Still, it’s clean and the swell is in the sweet spot for intermediates.

Thursday the 6th of August shows some size—6ft to 6ft from the SSW—but the period is a short 6-7 seconds, so it’s a bit messy and bumpy with cross-shore winds. Combined energy gets strong at 215 to 331, but this is more of a choppy, powerful mess. Even with clean wind on the morning, the short period and size mean it’s better left for experts or maybe kite gear. The water temperature at Flies is running about 69°F, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year—worth a thicker suit.

Overall, the best bet is Wednesday the 29th of July afternoon and Tuesday the 4th of August morning. Everything else is either tiny, onshore, or too lumpy to get excited about.

Rusty

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