Spring Lake Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s break down Spring Lake. I gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks look pretty bleak for catching anything decent around here. We’re in for a long stretch of weak, messy surf, and you’ll be waiting well into September before anything even remotely interesting shows up. There’s a massive gap of flat, onshore days before we get a little pulse.

Starting off on Thursday the 27th of August, it’s a total write-off. There’s a tiny 2ft easterly swell, but it’s completely bulldozed by onshore winds. The energy is a weak 68, so don’t even think about it. That same story continues through the weekend and into the start of next week. The only tiny highlight in this whole first stretch is Friday morning, August 28th. The swell is still a pathetic 2ft from the southeast, but the wind goes completely glassy. If you absolutely need to get wet, you might be able to catch a few close-outs on the sandbar, but the energy is just 84 (weak) and the swell period is short at 8 seconds. It’s not real surfing. The afternoons are all rubbish with the wind picking up.

We then hit a proper desert from Saturday the 29th all the way through until Wednesday the 2nd of September. The waves are consistently under 2ft, with energy readings mostly in the 20s and 30s. It’s a total loss for wave riding.

Finally, on Thursday the 3rd of September, things wake up. We get a decent pulse of swell – a solid 5ft from the east-northeast in the morning, with a moderate wave energy of 179. The wind is a clean offshore from the west. The period is just 6 seconds, so it won’t have that deep groundswell push, but it’s a noticeable bump. Thursday afternoon gets even better with a slightly smaller 4ft wave from the east, but with a clean, gentle offshore wind from the northwest. The energy is still decent at 170. This is the one session to target. Spring Lake is a consistent sandbar and it’s exposed to that east-northeast swell, so it will pick this up. Water temp is average for this time of year at 74°, so no drama there. Expect some company, as this spot can get busy.

That little window closes fast. Friday the 4th of September is still surfable with a 4ft easterly swell, but the wind is more cross-offshore and it just isn’t as clean. Energy drops to 148. The weekend of the 5th and 6th is back to tiny 3ft slop with onshore winds. The second week from the 8th of September onward looks even worse. We get a lumpy 5ft southerly swell on Tuesday the 8th, but it’s coupled with a period of only 6 seconds and a strong onshore wind at 18 mph. The energy is moderate at 152, but the surface conditions are ugly. After that, it all fades to flatness, with the surf dropping under 1ft and energy readings in the single digits. The last few days are almost completely flat.

So, don’t waste your time for the next six or seven days. If you can get a pass, make it Thursday the 3rd of September. That morning with the offshore breeze and head-high waves is the only real standout in this whole forecast. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best we’ve got.

Rusty.

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